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Every night when we are sitting on the couch relaxing, our dog keeps jumping up and spinning wildly. It seems like something that we are not necessarily aware of will startle her every time she starts to relax. She can do this a few times a night or as many as a dozen times before she finally calms down enough to fall asleep. What causes this and is there anything we can do that will help her have an easier time settling down?

Submitted: 58 days and 22 hours ago.

Category: Dog

Value: $9

Status: AWAITING EXPERT REPLY

Pet's Sex: Female
Pet's Age: 3

Already Tried:
We've tried some lavender oil on a cotton ball, which I am told has calming properties. It has not helped.

Posted by Dr. Gene 58 days and 22 hours ago.

Answer

Hi there --

The most likely reasons for this are:

1. Flea bites - this is the most likely, especially if your dog is not on a monthly flea preventive medication; you don't ever have to see a single flea for a dog to be sensitive to flea bites. Dogs with flea bite hypersensitivity usually require a course of antiinflammatory medication (for itchy skin) in addition to monthly flea treatment/prevention such as Frontline, K9 Advantix or Advantage.

2. Anal gland inflammation/infection - this is also fairly common, and a vet should perform a rectal examination to see if this is the cause.

Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!

58 days and 22 hours ago.

Reply

Hi, Thanks for the prompt reply. However, I'm sure it's neither of these. She's on Frontline and doesn't show any signs of itching of any kind. As for her anal glands, just had them checked less than a week ago because she does occasionally scoot. Our vet expressed them and commented that there wasn't much of anything in there anyway and certainly nothing that would explain this spinning habit of hers.

Posted by Dr. Gene 58 days and 22 hours ago.

Info Request

Ok, fair enough.

Is she trying to chew or lick at any part of her body while she's spinning around?
Do you ever notice her doing this during other times of the day?
Any muscle twitches as she's sleeping?

58 days and 21 hours ago.

Reply

No chewing or licking of any kind and we've never seen any muscle twitching. She does a similar thing occasionally when she's up and about during the day, but at those times it's more she's chasing her tail or she's protesting something. However, in the evening, it seems like it's an involuntary, inappropriate response to any little stimuli that takes place when she's sitting with us and starts to doze off. For some reason it always happens in the evening and like I said, over and over again. It's very abrupt, like she has no control over it. I should also mention that our vet checked her stool sample last week and didn't find anything.

Accepted Answer

This may be a sleeping disorder (REM sleep disorder). I would do a meticulous skin exam (if not done already) to ensure no skin lesions exist, prescribe a trial course of prednisone (which as a steroid used for inflammation and itchy skin) and if no response, suggest a referral to a neurologist. Try to record a video of one of these episodes and bring it with to the neurologist. You can find one close to you here: http://www.acvim.org/websites/acvim/index.php?p=3

Accepts:
Expert:	Dr. Gene
Pos. Feedback:	n/a
Answered:	9/26/2009

Dog Veterinarian

6 years of general practice; special interests in internal medicine, pain management and anesthesia.

58 days and 20 hours ago.

Reply

Thanks. Seeing a neurologist seems like a big expense and I would hate to rush into medicating her unless it's absolutely necessary. Is sleep disorder something that is likely to get worse with age and possibly cause her to harm herself?

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Pet's Sex: FemalePet's Age: 3 Already Tried: We've tried some lavender oil on a cotton ball, which I am told has calming properties. It has not helped.

Answer

Reply

Info Request

Ok, fair enough. Is she trying to chew or lick at any part of her body while she's spinning around? Do you ever notice her doing this during other times of the day?Any muscle twitches as she's sleeping?

Reply

Accepted Answer

Reply

Thanks. Seeing a neurologist seems like a big expense and I would hate to rush into medicating her unless it's absolutely necessary. Is sleep disorder something that is likely to get worse with age and possibly cause her to harm herself?

Related Dog Questions

Pet's Sex: Female
Pet's Age: 3

Already Tried:
We've tried some lavender oil on a cotton ball, which I am told has calming properties. It has not helped.

Ok, fair enough.

Is she trying to chew or lick at any part of her body while she's spinning around?
Do you ever notice her doing this during other times of the day?
Any muscle twitches as she's sleeping?