The Hidden Clues in Your Dog's Sleep
The Question My Vet Asked
Friday, I had one of those conversations that reminds me why I never want to stop learning. I LOVE Chinese Medicine (TCVM), but am by no means as skilled as I’d like to be — and certainly not the vets who have been to the CHI Institute.
I took Harvey in for his annual and discussed his nighttime seizures with my holistic veterinarian. We were talking about Chinese herbs and one of the first questions he asked surprised me:
How is his sleep?”
I told him that, honestly, his sleep seems pretty good right now. But then I mentioned two things I’d been noticing as different.
Harvey has started paddling in his sleep. And the only time I ever hear him bark is while he’s asleep—just a little huff or soft bark, like he’s dreaming. Now mind you, this is after a year of various levels of detox work and significant improvement in frequency and duration. I have only ever heard him bark twice — and that was last summer at the neighbor’s landscaper. He doesn’t bark at them anymore. He doesn’t bark at anything.
That simple observation led us into a fascinating discussion about Shen.
In Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM), Shen is often translated as the spirit or mind, but it’s much more than that. It reflects emotional balance, consciousness, sleep quality, and how well the body and mind are “settled.”
Poor sleep isn’t always about waking up repeatedly. Sometimes it’s what happens during sleep that tells the story.
Dreaming. Restlessness. Paddling. Vocalizing. Twitching. Even seizures.
For dogs like Harvey, whose seizures have almost always occurred shortly after we go to bed or while he’s sleeping, those little nighttime behaviors may be pieces of a much bigger puzzle.
It reminded me that the answers aren’t always found in bloodwork or MRI reports. Sometimes they’re hidden in the details we almost dismiss—the little huff in the middle of the night, the legs paddling as they dream, or simply paying attention to how our dogs sleep, not just whether they sleep.
I came home thinking about how often we overlook those subtle clues.
Our dogs are always communicating with us. Sometimes, we just need to learn a different language to hear what they’re saying.
This was all part of the diagnosis on selecting the Chinese Herbs and Homeopathic considerations.
It’s fascinating to me and leaves me digging deeper into learning every time.
To get every post and other paid subscriber benefits, upgrade to a paid subscription. There will be richer content for paid members, including guides, interactive Q&A beyond what I can cover on FB, seasonal protocols, live sessions, discounts on service packages, etc.