twitching and shaking when asleep

by Flor
(Philippines)

My shih tzu is almost 3 months old now. When he's sleeping, I notice that he has facial tremors and his entire body shakes, and it's not cold.

What could be the problem?



Hi Flor
As long as this is only happening when he's sleeping, and he has full and normal control of his muscles when he's awake, then it is most likely nothing to worry about.

Puppies dream when they're asleep, just like we humans do, and their eyes twitch, their faces move, even their legs may move and they often whine or cry, or even bark. It's all normal.

If your pup has any difficulties when he's awake, or he seems to be sick in any way, then have him examined by your vet right away. Otherwise I don't think you need to be concerned.

Best of luck.

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twitching and shaking when asleep

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Oct 09, 2011
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18 Month Old Chihuahua Shaking And Eye Twitching (Asleep?)
by: Anonymous

My wife and I have an 18 month old Chihuahua. Earlier tonight, she was lying down and we thought she was sleeping. All of a sudden, my wife said 'What is wrong with her?'. I looked over on the bed where she was lying and she was shaking and her eye was open, a reddish color and twitching. I started saying her name, but she was non-responsive. I finally picked her up and she was OK. Even though her eye was open and twitching, could she have still been asleep? She is a light sleeper and always responds when we talk to her, but she didn't this time. Here lately, she has been really congested as well. Should we be concerned? Other than this, she is normally active, playful, etc. It just really scared us. Thanks in advance!

Jul 22, 2010
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experiencing the same
by: Anonymous

I must say I am researching because we just got a chihuahua pup, she is about 11 weeks old now, she twitches and shakes in her sleep. I have bred chihuahuas and min pins before and have not noticed anything to this extreme before. It is almost like her nervous system has no control while sleeping, or she is just loving her new life and constantly dreaming about it. Either way she worries me. She is completely normal while awake, eats well, plays well with other dogs, ect. But when we 'rescued' her she must have had over 100 ticks on her little body. It was aweful! I keep wondering if it has something to do with nightmares about the ticks. What do you think? She had so many as she is growing she has scars throughout her entire body showing up now.

Jan 08, 2010
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Dreaming puppy
by: Anonymous

I agree.. I would bet anything your baby is dreaming. I raise puppies and I see it all the time. We have house dogs that do the same but the best story is one dog we had used to run the trails ( horse ) with us and everytime we'd take "Monday" with us, that night she would wake us up kicking us, lying on her side as though she was in a full run..all fours working in time. She'd whimper and give off little barks.. We sure do miss Monday!!!

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