Waking a Deaf Dogĭog owners who have a dog that is deaf or losing hearing will want to be especially cautious and thoughtful about how they wake the dog when it is sleeping. A great strategy that will usually prevent your dog from getting startled is to talk more loudly and move around the room until your dog gets up and joins you. However, if you have a dog who sleeps more deeply you may need to be intentional about waking them. Lucky in many instances dogs will hear us enter the room or get off the couch and will wake up on their own. Similarly, if your dog falls asleep in the car you will need to wake your dog up when you reach your destination. In general, if your best friend is sleeping it’s good to let them get their rest undisturbed, however, there are some times when you need to wake your dog up.įor example, if you’re about to leave the house for several hours it’s a good idea to wake your dog first to give them a chance to potty. Your vet will also test your dog for vision and/or hearing loss. Your vet will explore if your dog might be in pain from an underlying condition (such as an ear infection) that could lead to this behavior. If your dog startles awake by snapping or biting, it’s also a good idea to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for a wellness exam. Instead, take this situation as a lesson for you about needing to give your dog more space while they are sleeping.
If for some reason you do wake up your dog and they react and snap at you, don’t punish them.
#Sleeping dogs lie house how to
Veterinary Centers of America (VCA) estimates that 60% of dog bites in children occur when the child wakes or attempts to wake a dog who is sleeping.īe sure to teach children, guests, and anyone else in your home about how to engage with your dog, and advise them that if the dog is sleeping she needs to be left alone. Have them sleep in their own dog bed or designated space like a crate. In waking them up unintentionally in your sleep, you could startle your dog. If you have a dog who you know startles easily when they are awoken from sleep, consider not having your dog sleep in bed with you. We expect our dogs to live in our homes and allow us to take things (i.e., toys, treats, garbage) out of their mouths, and we wake our dogs without thinking about the consequences.ĭog parents should avoid waking their dogs while they are sleeping and especially avoid waking the dog by touching them. We have high (sometimes unrealistic) expectations of our dogs to be gentle, compassionate, and generally not dog-like. When dogs get scared or startled, they communicate the only way they can and that often is with their teeth. We love our dogs, and they love us, but it’s important to remember that while we might consider them our babies, dogs are still dogs.
This unfortunately isn’t an uncommon situation.
As a result, the dog was startled and bit her. Roberson explained to the press that she considers the bite to be her fault because she had snuck up on her sleeping dog to kiss him goodnight. The majority of people who experience dog bites are bitten by dogs that they know, including their own dogs. Many of these bites occur because dogs get stressed or startled.Īn easy way to startle your dog is by waking them unexpectedly from sleep. Recently there was news that “Duck Dynasty” star Kay Robertson was bitten by her dog. She required stitches and will need plastic surgery. None of us like to think we could be bitten by a dog, especially our own, but unfortunately, accidental bites due to human error are not uncommon. The same is true for our dogs.īeing woken out of deep sleep can be startling and disorienting for dogs, which can lead to your dog snapping, lunging, or even biting out of fear. The old saying goes, “let sleeping dogs lie” and there is some reasoning behind this! Most of us aren’t too happy about being woken from a deep sleep.