Canine Nightmares

Question
Apx every couple of weeks during the late night hours my doberman makes horrible, very loud, high pitched cries. Her brother passed away just over a month ago and he used to do the same thing. I believe them to be nightmares but not sure what to do or how to relieve her of them. They seem to be getting worse. It is the most horrific scary sound in the dead of night.
Thank you so much for your time,
kiwi112teca@yahoo.com

Answer
I would not worry about the nightmares alone, as long as the dog is doing well otherwise.

Dreams probably occur in dogs, just like they do in us, during the REM phase of sleep.  We don't know what they dream about, but we can guess.  They may dream about running, chasing prey, or being chased themselves, in pictures and sensations in their mind.  They have good dreams, as well as nightmares.  Dobermans are vocal dogs, who often make a wide variety of noises, and sometimes can sound like they're talking to you.  So it's probably not surprising that she's also vocal in her sleep.  

If the cries are disturbing to you, you can wake the dog by softly saying her name.  I would be careful of waking a dog up from an active dream by touching it, as there is a possibility they could awake confused and nip or bite.  

My only suggestion would be making sure she is getting daily adequate exercise and outlets for her drives, to promote more restful sleep.