Pets & Nightmares

[KP the nut]

KP the Nut, do you have any advice on how to teach a dog how to do this? We have a dog we're trying to train to wake me up when my husband is on nights.

Hi Melody, not really any advice. I have 2 dogs, one is a staffordshire terrier crossed with many other breeds (best described as a little black dog:roflmao:), she isn't v empathic at all. The other is a springer spaniel/collie cross (sprollie)and he is amazing, he knows how I'm feeling day and night. Since being at home he has decided he is my protector, no training just a caring dog.

I may be shot down in flames for saying this but some of the natural empathy IMHO comes from the breed. GSD, Labs, Retrievers, spaniels, hounds are caring, terriers aren't. My little dog is 'you want me to do what' 'or why should I move' where as the sprollie is 'me I can do that oh pleeeeaaaaase let me'.

Other members have trained their service dogs and be of more help.

(((HUGS)))
KP

 

[Happy Head]

Does anyone here in the US know where to get a dog trained to be a psychiatric service dog?

 

[melody]

Thanks KP, your "Sprollie" sounds amazing! Mine is a GSD and she's very sensitive to how I feel during the day, but doesn't always come to me in a nightmare. It's funny I never thought about it before, but maybe I don't make noise all the time and she doesn't know...

Which members? I'm not sure I've come across any yet, but maybe when I'm reading posts I should keep my mind open all of the time instead of a quarter of the time. :tdown:

Hugs right back at you!

 

[maddog]

I think that the temperament of the breed, and therefore of the dog, plays a large part in how connected and responsive to humans they happen to be. Those breeds who tend to be more human oriented obviously tend to be more responsive, while the independent breeds or those with very hard wired drives are probably more self-contained and internally focused, as it were.

My own dog, a lab, is always within touching distance of me at night, and serves as my first and principle grounding object when I wake from a nightmare or in distress for any other reason. As someone else said above, she is a good barometer of the level of real vs perceived danger, in that I can be pretty sure if she is calm and unaffected, the critical danger inside my head is probably not real, whereas obviously if anything was really happening she would be alert.

Whichever way, and regardless of their individual responses, I think animals are great, healthy and very very good reminders of what really matters in life and about keeping things in perspective.

Maddog

 

[Roline]

I have a Flat coat Retriever and he is brilliant:D
During the day he stays close to me, but if I'm having a bad day he stays very close and keeps licking me. One day I was having a very bad day and couldn't get off the sofa. The phone kept ringing but I couldn't be bothered to answer it, so the dog must have got so fed up with it ringing that he picked up the phone and dropped it on me! Such a clever dog!!

Nightime he sleeps downstairs, and I sleep badly. In the morning he comes upstairs and sleeps on the bed with me - thats the best sleep I have :) I dont have to be vigilant and feel comforted if I have a nightmare. I hadn't realised that before reading this post :oops: Maybe he will have to sleep with me every night, but dont think H would be very pleased as he's a rather large dog!!!

 

[KP the nut]

Maybe he will have to sleep with me every night, but dont think H would be very pleased as he's a rather large dog!!!

My H will occassionally sleep in our spare room, especially if I have had a few rough nights and he needs to sleep. Then my lovely cuddly dogs sleep with me.:oops:

 

[apocalypted]

Hi sandy, I have a cat that is super independent and we suspect she may be bengal. We base this on her appearance but also her characteristics as she is almost dog like at times. At night sometimes, especially when I am having nightmares I wake up with her on my pillow wrapped around my head. She also comes to my side when I am upset and lets me hold her when I'm crying.

 

[LiamM]

My avatar picture is of my most beloved cat, Desi. I don't currently live with her. While I was living with her and after I gained her trust she would nearly always be there for me when I woke up. She'd cuddle next to me, knowing that her gentle presence was one of the best things to calm me. No other pet I've had has been that good at helping me. I have a bird now who will come and sit next to my head in the morning when I wake up.
Aw, now I miss Desi again! :(

 

[HëllaBubz]

I've rescued 3 cats, plus my partner's rescued cat, and all 4 of them rotate sleeping with me, although the black one sleeps next to me the most, he likes to sleep against my side, and the white kitten sleeps next to my head.:confused:
I have woken a few times with a paw on my face, but the cats seem to get up and purr next to my pillow whenever I have nightmares, and it wakes me.

I have to say though, there is nothing quite like a cuddly furry warmth pressed up against your side to help you sleep, and the cats seem to love it too, they go nuts whenever I am not sleeping with them on the bed......maybe the PTSD is catching!!!!:eek:

 

[AngelaMarie]

My male cat. that I adopted in the neighborhood after being abandoned, jumps up on to me and licks my tears off my face. His twin sister will lay with me day after day when I am having a hard time. They know and love us. How lucky are we?!

 

[claudineriddle]

My pet doesn't wake me up from the nightmare but he is always watchful on my activities and try to protect me from insects or anything that may create some trouble to me.

 

[TheLost]

I have two rottweilers and a cat who all sleep up in my room when Im anxious. THe biggest rottweiler sits at the top of the stair and guards and growls at every noise as if he knows Im scared people will come into the house(that was part of my trauma) He patrols the garden and house at night and scares the hell out of anyone around as he has a HUGE growly bark, a bit like a lion! He is almost psychic and knows how Im feeling.