Asleep, Awoke, Attacked?

[KMSlemons]

Hi all,

It's been quite awhile since I last posted, but I do read the forums often. For those who don't remember us, I own a purebred white German Shepherd named Mgelika. He made a year on January 6 and has topped out at just over 100 pounds. Mgelika is a very docile, quiet, almost goofy dog. He has never shown the least bit of aggression toward anyone - except another male dog that instigated a fight. Luckily I was able to separate them and there's been no other incident.

Until....

Last night I had gone to bed and was dead asleep when my twenty one year old daughter called my cell phone and woke me. She was hysterically crying and asking me to come get Mgelika. She lives with us and was sitting on the couch beside him. She said he'd been dead asleep and in such a deep sleep that he was snoring loudly. Then he woke, turned his head very slowly toward her (almost like he was afraid to look and see who was over there sitting beside him) and then began snarling ferociously at her. She said she spoke to him, tried to reassure him, etc and he just leaned forward toward her and snarled even worse. She said his eyes were crazy like a rabid dog and that he would not even respond to her calling his name. She put a pillow in front of her in case he lunged to attack and started calling for me. Unfortunately I was asleep and didn't hear her. She said she then tried to ease off of the couch to just get away from him and every time she moved he growled furiously, showing every tooth. She finally just called my cell and I came out.

When I got to the living room, he was laying on the couch with his eyes open. I put my hand on the back of his neck and told him to come. He got down immediately and walked very obligingly to the bathroom. I did not witness any aggression, nor did I hear him even growl.

She is so rattled by it that she refuses to be alone with him. I later pulled him back from the bathroom and had him jump on the couch beside her. He offered nothing but puppy kisses. No aggression. To be safe though, I took him to my room to sleep.

Today he's lounged around all day and still has offered no aggression toward anyone.

He's up to date on his shots, current on Heartworm Preventative, is exercised frequently and showing no signs at all of being sick or in pain.

Is it possible he was dreaming even with his eyes open? Have any of you experienced something similar?

All answers are appreciated because I am truly baffled. He's such a sweet, goofy dork of a dog. I just can't even fathom him snarling, much less at one of us.

Thank you,
Kris

[Micky]

I can only say what I have expierenced, when I woke up my old dog of 13 years from a deep sleep it took her some time to wake up, she snarled at me with all her teeth showing I gave her some time to come around and then there were kisses, but as I say my dog was old and a very deep sleeper, maybe that can happen if a young dog is in a deep sleep, just give the dog some time to come around from a nap and as you said after that there were kisses, hope that helps ...

[vicky2200]

This is unlikely, but is she sure he didn't have a seizure? Sometimes after a seizure a dog may show aggression because they dont know who you are, or who they are.

[CassandGunnar]

Originally Posted by vicky2200

This is unlikely, but is she sure he didn't have a seizure? Sometimes after a seizure a dog may show aggression because they dont know who you are, or who they are.

I was just thinking that. When Ruger had his first seizure, after we'd had him for almost 3 years, he came after me.
I'm not sure about seizure types, but it's usually hard to ignore or not notice a seizure if you're right next to the dog. They can be pretty disturbing to see.

[ShenzisMom]

Like others, I would bring the dog to the vet. I usually say NILF, more training/excersize, but I really think this is a health issue. I hope this is a one time occurance for you and Mgelika.
I think we have all seen the video of the dog waking suddenly and ran himself into a wall. Could this be similiar?

[middleofnowhere]

It reminds me of an episode on NPR where they discussed people who do stuff similiar to sleep walking only it gets very involved. People can sleep with their eyes open. I'd guess dogs could too.

[onyx'girl]

When was the last time he was vaccinated? I agree, it sounds neurological and possibly he had a seizure. If he is laying around today, that is another sign that he may have had one...usually dogs are lethargic afterwards. I'd start a journal and record his diet, water intake and anything else(chemical exposure, head trauma, etc) that he may have experienced recently.

[Mrs.K]

It doesn't have to be neurological. He might just have been scared to wake up beside somebody and simply got scared and snarled at her. Maybe he could not see who it is, maybe she smelled different. It was in the middle of the night.

How long does she live with you guys now? If he was in deep sleep, just woke up because of a noise she made, maybe didn't recognize her at first... that might very well explain why he snarled.

[onyx'girl]

She said he'd been dead asleep and in such a deep sleep that he was snoring loudly. Then he woke, turned his head very slowly toward her (almost like he was afraid to look and see who was over there sitting beside him) and then began snarling ferociously at her. She said she spoke to him, tried to reassure him, etc and he just leaned forward toward her and snarled even worse. She said his eyes were crazy like a rabid dog and that he would not even respond to her calling his name. She put a pillow in front of her in case he lunged to attack and started calling for me. Unfortunately I was asleep and didn't hear her. She said she then tried to ease off of the couch to just get away from him and every time she moved he growled furiously, showing every tooth. She finally just called my cell and I came out.

I don't know...sounds a bit more than a startle response, especially if it lasted that long. I'd still keep tabs on the behaviors, etc for awhile.

[Jax08]

And keep a log of the incidents. It seems more than a startled dog to me also. I don't think a startled dog would have leaned forward and continued to snarl when the person they know spoke to them. At that point, he should have responded.