Dog and sleep apnea

My husband has sleep apnea and wears his cpap machine at night. He often falls asleep on his recliner while watching TV. Our dog keeps waking him up during his naps on the recliner. Can dogs know when you stop breathing to alert you? Our dog has had no training at all. Has anyone experienced this before? Please enlighten us.
Thank you

Tahmalees wrote:My husband has sleep apnea and wears his cpap machine at night. He often falls asleep on his recliner while watching TV. Our dog keeps waking him up during his naps on the recliner. Can dogs know when you stop breathing to alert you? Our dog has had no training at all. Has anyone experienced this before? Please enlighten us.
Thank you

I've heard stories of things like that, people who said their pet kept waking them up licking their face or something and then the pet died, and they started feeling worse, and were diagnosed with sleep apnea..

so, it's entirely possible.

They train dogs to alert to epilepsy and diabetes.
Some dogs seem to have trained themselves.

chunkyfrog wrote:They train dogs to alert to epilepsy and diabetes.
Some dogs seem to have trained themselves.

Yep. My friend's 4 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with T1 diabetes and is now on an insulin pump. Of course, this includes ongoing vigilance against not only the highs that everyone knows about, but deadly lows as well. Their family dog has designated himself as her "helper dog". He alerts her parents every time he senses a low, and he's never been wrong yet. It's really crazy how animals do that!

Dogs often train themselves to alert their owners before they have seizures, low blood sugar, and several other medical conditions. It's amazing how well they can be tuned in to humans.

Of course, dogs are often clueless or alert for something entirely unimportant.

The dog could also be reacting to snoring, not actual apnea.

Try napping on the recliner with the CPAP and see if the dog leaves him alone. Take the water tank out before moving the CPAP machine.

BTW, napping without CPAP is bad for you. Not as bad as going all night without it, but still something to avoid.

Can dogs know when you stop breathing to alert you?

What an interesting question.

And, giving it a moment's thought, yes; I think they do both.

Had a Bernese Mountain dog (Rita) and back before diagnosis, and she would routinely wake me when I fell asleep in the recliner. I hadn't considered it before; however, she must have sensed my breathing difficulties (which I did not, at the time) and took charge of the situation.

Sadly, we lost Rita to the widespread malamine contamination of doggie food from chinese sources back in 2007(or so).

.

Captain_Midnight wrote: Had a Bernese Mountain dog (Rita) and back before diagnosis, and she would routinely wake me when I fell asleep in the recliner. I hadn't considered it before; however, she must have sensed my breathing difficulties (which I did not, at the time) and took charge of the situation.
.

I think your story was one of the ones I remember having read.

palerider wrote:

Tahmalees wrote:My husband has sleep apnea and wears his cpap machine at night. He often falls asleep on his recliner while watching TV. Our dog keeps waking him up during his naps on the recliner. Can dogs know when you stop breathing to alert you? Our dog has had no training at all. Has anyone experienced this before? Please enlighten us.
Thank you

I've heard stories of things like that, people who said their pet kept waking them up licking their face or something and then the pet died, and they started feeling worse, and were diagnosed with sleep apnea..

so, it's entirely possible.

I had a cat who would fuss with my face, and I finally realized he was probably curious when I was making odd sounds. Once I woke up and sounded normal, he would leave. I decided he was probably helping me avoid my choking / gasping fits. I knew I had sleep apnea, but I didn't realize it was the cause of my high blood pressure. I also thought the choking fits were caused by gerd, but it was probably related to the sleep apnea. I don't have them anymore unless I fall asleep without my machine.

Anyway, after Chase (the cat) died, I started having a lot more choking fit, several a week. Some really bad nights. I realized just how much he had been helping me. He couldn't stop the apnea events of course, but he was waking me up before the choking events, and those would burn my throat, and sometimes, I would inhale it and then gargle as I breathed. I would sit up for hours as it hurt to breath and swallow. My current kitties are all very sweet, but they don't do much to help me. They probably just think I purr with a strange accent.

zoocrewphoto wrote:They probably just think I purr with a strange accent.

Or you are speaking a language the animal doesn't understand?!

Hi first time poster

The other morning while I was sleeping my dog woke me up he was up around my pillow sniffing does this mean I stop breathing

Guest wrote:Hi first time poster

The other morning while I was sleeping my dog woke me up he was up around my pillow sniffing does this mean I stop breathing

Ask him, dogs are honest, he will tell you! Do you have symptoms, night sweats, waking up with a jolt, potty breaks many times a night. The list is almost endless. Jim

Guest wrote:Hi first time poster

The other morning while I was sleeping my dog woke me up he was up around my pillow sniffing does this mean I stop breathing

That, or you have bacon drippings on your pillow.

I completely believe it! Recently I have been narcoleptic and snoring growing louder and louder as I am told each time I fall asleep again. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago but I didn't believe it as I had none of tuese symptoms to my knowledge. However I recently suffered a bout of pneumonia and my breathing has been noticeably different - worse. I fell asleep midday to find my 8 mo old puppy had scratched me and was currently biting me - nothing to break the skin but seemed deperate to wake me up. My daughter told me I had started snoring very loudly and suddenly stopped. People may disagree but they do not know this dog. He has NEVER shown aggression, biting, scratching ... He was fine once I woke yp. I know he saved my life.

I absolutely believe you... they're amazing and wonderful!

RoseyBasil wrote:I completely believe it! Recently I have been narcoleptic and snoring growing louder and louder as I am told each time I fall asleep again. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago but I didn't believe it as I had none of tuese symptoms to my knowledge. However I recently suffered a bout of pneumonia and my breathing has been noticeably different - worse. I fell asleep midday to find my 8 mo old puppy had scratched me and was currently biting me - nothing to break the skin but seemed deperate to wake me up. My daughter told me I had started snoring very loudly and suddenly stopped. People may disagree but they do not know this dog. He has NEVER shown aggression, biting, scratching ... He was fine once I woke yp. I know he saved my life.

I surely hope that you will finally take your dog's advice and do something about your sleep apnea NOW!
Have a sleep study done and get a good, data-capable machine to monitor your therapy.