Sweet Dreams

Sorry I've been AWOL lately. We have had a ton of rain over the past three weeks. We've only seen the sun now and then. I'm allergic to a mold spore in rain and my allergies have been having a great time with my system.  I have a very sore throat, lots of sneezing and itchy eyes. To try and regain control I've been downing antihistamines and if I sit still for more than two minutes I fall asleep. Trying to think straight enough to post a blog is almost impossible. Today the sun is out, though the temps are over 90, so I'm trying to catch up.

Yesterday Morgan paid a visit to Dr B. It was time for a recheck on her thyroid. She's been taking Soloxin for about 40 days and we want to see if she needs an adjustment. She's doing well and is much more alert and active than before she started treatment but she's lost several pounds and she really didn't need to, so we'll have to watch her weigh and offer more treats.  Don't you wish your doctor would suggest more treats?

There was one thing I needed to discuss with Dr B. Morgan has started have nightmares. All my dogs dream, I can tell from their movements and little sounds they make when they sleep. A couple have had bad dreams. Pylon was thrown from a car when she was about eight weeks old and never got over the fear. She would hide if she thought we were taking her for a ride and she always needed medication for car sickness. All her life, almost every night, she would have a dream and sounded like a person crying. She slept next to the bed and I'd reach out and pat her till she woke from the dream and thumped her tail to let me know she was OK.

Sebastian has bad dreams fairly often. We don't know what he went thru before he found us, so we don't know what's bothering his sleep. Just speaking to him or touching his shoulder let's him know that he's alright and he goes back to sleep.

Morgan's dreams are different. They started about a week ago. We were watching a hockey game and Morgan was asleep in the living room with us. Suddenly she let out a scream, jumped up and started running blindly around the room. Rob caught her and held her for a minute till she was fully awake. Then she was OK and went back to sleep. It was strange and upset all the other dogs.

A few nights later, the same thing happened. Then Sunday night we were all asleep and around 4AM she screamed and started running. I jumped out of bed and held her for a few minutes. She calmed down and went back to sleep. I wasn't so lucky. I didn't get back to sleep.

At our vet appointment I told him about her dreams. He asked a few questions and was able to rule out mini strokes. The conclusion we came to was that two of her medications are causing her brain to be more active than it was a few months ago. During the daytime that's great. She's alert and can play and move about and even chase a rabbit.

But during the night, her brain is staying more active and maybe that rabbit she chased the other day is chasing her in her dreams.

We've decided to use a pheromone spray at night to turn her dreams into more pleasant adventures. He also warned to keep her to a routine so she doesn't feel stressed at bedtime.

If the nightmares  continue or become worse we can try tweaking her medications a little to give her sweeter dreams.