# Waking from nightmares



## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

Hi! I have a one year old German Shepherd named Timber... I was wondering if anyone here has taught their dog to wake them from nightmares? And if so how did you do it?


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## chuckd (Jul 16, 2019)

How do you know it's a nightmare- what if he's just dream-chasing the mailman?

Just wake him up if you're concerned. Maybe out of reflex-snapping range, though.


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## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

Sorry. To clarify having Timber wake a person from nightmares.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

there’s a few things you’ll have to identify first...
is there something(s) consistent that you do when having these nightmares that will serve as a cue to the dog? may have to get some video footage.
also, how would you like the dog to respond... what’s going to be effective in waking you?
lastly, how good of an actor are you? real question...


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## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

Thank you for your reply. My breathing changes and that's probably one of the most consistent things. Also as far as a cue goes I've taught him the command pressure so if I'm laying or sitting he'll come put his front paws across me an half lay on my while nudging my face. And lastly not the best actor😂 but willing to try😁 he won't wake me at all presently (obviously I've never taught it so not expecting it) but how do you get it consistent to where he knows it's what he does all the time an not just when he feels like it.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

··Timber·· said:


> Thank you for your reply. My breathing changes and that's probably one of the most consistent things. Also as far as a cue goes I've taught him the command pressure so if I'm laying or sitting he'll come put his front paws across me an half lay on my while nudging my face. And lastly not the best actor😂 but willing to try😁 he won't wake me at all presently (obviously I've never taught it so not expecting it) but how do you get it consistent to where he knows it's what he does all the time an not just when he feels like it.


if you feel he’s fluent enough now with “pressure” i would stop practicing this out of context and begin pairing your verbal cue with the physical cue (heavy breathing) then eventually weaning off verbal - since you won’t be able to provide this while asleep. the consistency comes from repetition, and the reward.... whatever it is he finds rewarding/motivating. you’ll also have to be prepared to lose a few nights sleep once he catches on since he’ll be enthusiastic and will probably give some false alerts. are you able to verity that you’ve had a nightmare? because towards the end of training the key will be to only reward accurate alerts. if you aren’t able to verify this... results will continue to be inconsistent and/or unfair to the dog.


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## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

Thank you for your help! We'll give it a try!


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

··Timber·· said:


> Thank you for your help! We'll give it a try!


could take several weeks, just to give you a timeline..... and even longer to proof. how old is the dog (closer to 1 or closer to 2) and where does he sleep at night?


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I would think a cold nose in the face would snap you out of it and 'touch' targetting isn't too difficult to teach.


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## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

He turned one in October so still pretty young and he usually sleeps in a crate in a different room but has jus started sleeping in my room with me...


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## chuckd (Jul 16, 2019)

··Timber·· said:


> Sorry. To clarify having Timber wake a person from nightmares.


Ahh... that makes more sense!


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## NiabiTheGreat (Jul 14, 2019)

My boy does it. I don't really know how much was natural and how much was taught though. I am the same as you. Heavy breathing/breathing changes. I would wake up and use the physical cue for him lay over me(I just pat my chest) He would get praise, pets, and a treat if I happened to have one. I "taught"(He has done it himself since 3mo, I just taught him a cue for it) him if I start shuffling or breathing heavily to push, nudge, bark, or paw my face(Same thing If I am having a panic attack)every time he did it he would get praise, pets, and a treat, plus I would stop which he seemed to like most. I have a camera set up in my room and watched a couple days of footage to see patterns and then paired what I did with the physical cue to either go over me or get at my face. Eventually, he just seemed to pick it up. I have had nightmares much less frequently since I got him, but he is great when I have them. He is 17mo now. I started to teach it at 13mo, and because he already knew the physical cues for laying on/over me and breaking my panic attack, he was good at it by 14mo and pretty solid by 15mo. It can definitely be taught though!


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## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

Thank you for your reply! That is very helpful and it's nice to know someone else on here has taught it to their dog I have alot of migraines as well and he definitely knows when I don't feel good so I'm hoping he can learn this too!


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## NiabiTheGreat (Jul 14, 2019)

*Very long. Sorry! (I have too much time...)*
I have been thinking, mainly because I was thinking about possibly "Retraining" or rather readjusting what my boy does. The way arthur wakes me up isn't very pleasant. I am happy he does and he always gets rewarded, but I also end up with scratches, bruises, or black eyes, lol. He learned the behavior he uses to help panic attacks and wake me up when he was a pup. I used to throw a blanket over myself and he would freak out. Whining, barking, scratching, biting and using his head to try and get the blanket, and later everything else, away from my face. I thought it was "cute" and would praise and pet him when he got frantically excited when I came out. I continued to "play" with him like that until around 9mo when I realized how anxious and panicked he got(Panting, ears back, eye whites, whining, etc.). So I wouldn't recommend using what I did as his way to wake you up unless you are a really heavy sleeper...(And just to note, he is not nearly as stressed when he does it now. Still a bit frantic but he recovers within 30 seconds or less)

What I am thinking would work best and be fastest to train is what, Galathiel, said. Touch/Targeting with his nose.

Take what I say with a grain of salt! I am a total newbie. I only got my first dog/GSD 15 months ago. This is just what i would/will do. 

I would not use any verbal commands throughout the entire training process. His verbal command will be the heavy breath, not any actual words. I would start like it is a new command(Even if he already knows how to target/touch). Place a sticky note, masking tape, or some sort of target onto your hand. click/mark and reward when he touches his nose to it. Once he know what he is doing I would add a physical cue of tapping on the target with my other hand. I would tap and then once he touched I would mark and reward. From there I would move the hand closer and closer until it is over my face. I would work there for a bit and then move the target onto my face(Forehead or cheek). I would then do the same thing, tap with the hand and mark when he touches. Once he got good I would start to add the verbal cue. I would heavy breath, tap with my finger, mark and reward when he gets it. I would do lots of different heavy breathing(Through the mouth, through the nose, Quiet, Loud, etc.) So he knows that it could sound a bit different but means the same thing. Then I would slowly start shrinking the target. Once the target goes I would start fading the tapping. Then start changing positions(Sitting and then laying down. Going back to the tapping to show him if he gets stuck) Then move and do it on the bed sitting first, then laying down. If/when you wake up if he doesn't do it take that as a training moment and have him come over and do it. Of course getting lots of praise and treats throughout the whole process. Kinda like recall. Coming back is always a really awesome thing. Touching you with his nose when he hears that sound is always an awesome thing. 

That is what I will probably be doing anyway, and kinda like what I did to teach him what he does now. Except no target since he always went for my face, and the tapping was me holding my hand over my face. I would heavy breath or shuffle when my hands covered my face and slowly made my hands more and more open until he was responding to just the breathing/tossing. I am sure there are easier ways. My boy knows how to "Boop"/Touch my nose with his, and I taught that just by waiting until he offered it because he wanted food(and I dabbed a bit of food on my nose) That may be an easier way, I just don't want to mess up his boop trick cause it is one of my favorites, lol. It should be pretty easy once you start, and I would think in 2-4 weeks training for 5-10mins a day, you would be good to go.


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## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

I love your boop trick. A new idea of something fun to teach Timber😁 it is a good idea to jus teach a target with his nose. He doesn't always know where his paws go with pressure and when they get your eye it's a bit unpleasant lol. He already knows the command target but it's just to touch his nose to my hand so it shouldn't be hard to change it a bit to my face. I enjoyed reading your post. Any suggestions an tips are always helpful


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

Use a post it note. Start with it on your hand. Then move it to another location. Once the dog gets the post it note, you can use that to train a target anywhere.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

If you are having nightmares by all means train your dog, dogs are awesome. But you might want to teach yourself about lucid dreaming. I suffered from horrible nightmares as a child so someone taught me. I've done it all my life and it's awesome. I also sleep with a dog, always have and that helps as well. 
Basically you train yourself to either rewrite the dream or stop it and wake up.


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## ··Timber·· (Dec 25, 2019)

A little update for you guys. Timber woke me up for the first time last night from a nightmare! Yay! he missed some but I can't complain he's caught on really quickly!!


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