Kicking Back Legs

[Zumie05]

Do any of your Cavs kick or jerk their back legs when they are resting? Its kind of funny, almost like a twitch. I have found Coco seems to only do it if she is laying on my lap or very close next to me. She kicks out one of her back legs, almost like to move around the blankets or something. Weird?!?

[waldor]

She's probably dreaming... and running in her dream. All our dogs have done that. Sophie, who is our first Cavalier, also wags her tail in her dreams.

[Zumie05]

She does this fully awake though!?

[Blondiemonster]

Mine does it too. Before she falls asleep. It's seems t annoy her a little, as if she doesn't have control over it. It seems similar to the twitch us humans do when we fall asleep. (u know, when u uncontrollably twitch your leg?)
As a matter of fact a human doctor has told me that this is our brain thinking we are dying. No kidding. The brain pattern before we fall in a deep sleep is similar to dying. The body goes into a "paralysed" state and the brain gives up muscle control.
It freaks me out a little ever since. Ofcourse not sure if the dog thing is the same.

[Soushiruiuma]

Guinness does this occasionally, both sleeping and awake. He seems incredibly pleased with himself after doing it too, I used to be so worried that everything was a sign of SM, but it just seems to be a quirk.

[theresa d]

mine do it too,very funny!

[Furrfoot]

Yep, and for such a little thing, she can kick the stew out of me!

[Spangly]

I`m sure there are lots of different types of kicking going on here but I have to say that we noticed that Spangle was kicking her back legs very violently days after we got her.

I remembered that I had read about this in `For the Love of Ollie` by S Smith as one of the symptoms of SM.

I`m sorry, I really don`t want to worry anyone here, but Spangle`s kicking was extreme and always when settling down to sleep.
No-one else seemed to be worried about it except me, but I knew it wasn`t right.

She is an SM dog but is coping well at present.

As I said though, there are all kinds of kicking, done for all kinds of reasons, including those involuntary ones that even humans do sometimes when drifting off to sleep.

[CooperLove]

My Cooper does this. It is just after he lays down to rest (not asleep though). He will kick a few times.

He also kicks his back legs while standing, when he wants to play or wants a treat. This is the same thing I've seen dogs do after going to the bathroom. Except he does it all the time.

I don't know if the resting kick and the play kick are related.

[Ddavis]

My Tyla has done that since she was a puppy .... partcularly if she sees someone approaching and gets excited. Basically one violent kick and maybe a few more little jerks, basically just showing a bit of excitment. She also do it if someone speaks to her while she is on my lap. She gives the impression she is not interested, but that kick gives it away!

My one Cavalier, Caleb used to do the kick as well when he as lying down resting. He did not have SM and I just think it was a jerk before getting comfortable.