Sunday, February 24, 2008

Sleep Barking


Baxter is a sleep-barker. Shortly after he falls asleep, the eerie barkfest begins... Because his mouth is closed, it sounds as if he were barking through a pillow. He usually starts off with a string of muffled "broowoowoof" sounds, but at times it can vary from puppy-like whines to haunting howls to deep, intense, growls. These vocalizations are usually followed by some serious foot and leg twitching, as if he were in hot pursuit of something or other.

I think Baxter's sleep-barking is particularly interesting because he so seldom barks during the day. Kirby, on the other hand, is quite prone to letting his feelings be known in an audible way, and he rarely barks in his sleep.

This makes me wonder if the sleep-barking may be a manifestation of Baxter's repressed desire to bark all day long... Does Bax just lay there all day, quietly, when he really feels like cutting loose at every noise like Kirby does? And if we're ever successful at getting Kirby to bark a bit less, will he start sleep-barking more often too?

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