Dog had screaming nightmare last night

[Rollerbird]

We got woken up last night in the early hours by our 6 year old lurcher screaming like she was in severe pain. We thought she might have got a shard of bone stuck in her guts or something. We realised she was still asleep so we woke her up and she needed cuddles and reassuring and when awake seemed relieved and was wagging furiously like when a family member comes home.
All the years we have had dogs we have never experienced anything like that before.
It was like she was really panicking and scared. Not like a normal dog dream at all.
Thinking about it this morning I decided to ask everyone on here -
Has anyone ever experienced this?

My last boy three or four times howled like a wolf in his sleep-proper desperate cry’s. He always slept downstairs but on waking from those nightmares I remember him being thrilled to see us all and then really clingy and sleeping in my room for the rest of the night.

Yes, one of my dogs has dreams like these. He is generally a very verbal sleeper, and there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't bark in his sleep. Funnily enough, when he is awake he doesn't bark at all, at anything. A few times he has screamed in his sleep, but it has only happened when we have been right there with him, so we have been able to see straight away that he is asleep, and we have woken him up and reassured him. I can see how scary it would be to wake up from that though.

Yes, he wasn't screaming but it was clearly a bad dream. He'd fallen in a canal earlier that day and had to be fished out and in the dream he was making panicked gurgling sounds as if he was reliving what happened. He was next to me on the sofa so I cuddled him and he was okay after a short time.

Yes, mine has woken me up howling in his sleep several times!

It's really horrible isn't it

Yes OP my girl has very vocal nightmares and dreams bless her

It can be quite frightening the first time it happens!

But you do get used to it - mine often chases things and kind of half howls and then moves his paws 🐾

It can be quite frightening the first time it happens!

More than the bad dreams what stayed in mind for me was him being fast asleep and wagging his tail, it was so sweet.

Is it your first lurcher op?
Their screams are legendary..

Our greyhound does this when he sleeps funny on his leg. Quick rub and he's back to normal (while we are still in extreme danger mode). They are just so SOFT!