To have overreacted about DDog and terrified us both for no reason?

[squashedalmondcroissant]

Dp and I were watching tv last night and I got up to go to the loo.

DDog has his own bed in our bedroom but isn't generally allowed on our bed as he gets it all hairy. He knows this but sometimes sneaks onto the bed anyway if we are downstairs. He ALWAYS immediately jumps off the bed if he hears us coming upstairs (trying to hide where he's been 😂).

I walk past the bedroom and notice he's laying on the bed on his side, not moving, eyes open. I got worried as he hadn't jumped down when he heard me coming, and although he does sometimes sleep with his eyes open I thought it odd that he didn't wake up when he heard me come in the room. I walked over, spoke to him, called his name and stroked him. Then I put my hands under him and sort of gently 'jostled' him to try and wake him up. No response at all, not even a blink.

By this point I was really panicking and called Dp upstairs saying I think something was wrong. He came in and not long after DDog woke up, jumped up like nothing had happened!

Once our heart rates had returned to normal I started feeling really guilty that I had overreacted and worried Dp for no reason, we were both a bit out of sorts for the rest of the evening.

Did I overreact? Should I have tried harder to wake him up? I was panicking and DDog is quite elderly so not infeasible that something could have been wrong.

We had exactly the same about three evening ago. DDog bed in the lounge, DH got up to go to the loo and was ‘holy crap the DDogs ill, or maybe dead’

he was motionless with eyes open, called his name, nothing, I thought he’d had a stroke, I got a biscuit and threw it towards him and he shot out of his bed, all waggy tail and snaffles the biscuit. Absolutely fine.

I think he was in a deep sleep and for some strange reason had his eye open.

we were a lot ooooooop for a while too.

I have had this with my dog. She is an very elderly greyhound. At times, she has been on her bed with her eyes open, and she is coldish. I give her a nudge, and nothing happens. A few times, my own heart has stopped as I thought this was it. It was her time. So nice to go in her own bed. Then she leaps up and looks at me like I farted in her face.
She doesn't really greet me much when I get home now, as she sleeps deeper and is a bit deaf. The blessing with that though is that she is no longer stressed when we have thunder. She used to be in absolute bits.

If you're not already you'll laugh about it one day.

I woke up one morning to DPs first words being "your fucking dog" like wow ok!

DDog had been in such a deep sleep he was barely breathing and scared the crap out DP in the night! He lived another 8years after that 🤣

Also dogs eyes don't close when they sleep for the last time due to the way the muscles work (a question I asked when DDogs time came as a way to calm my mind). So that's why DDog2 sometime sleeps with her eyes open because that girl can really rest!

Probs a bit late to the party but i would keep an eye. My parents old dog did this and it turned out that it was having absence seizures because it had a tumour on the brain. We have never forgotten the time when she had one outside when it was pouring with rain and as children we couldn't move her. My mum came back from the shop and we had tied an oil skin apron round her to stop her from getting soaked. hopefully it's just a once off but something to have in mind.