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Why is my dog twitching like his heartbeat when he's awake?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Male | neutered | 3 years and 2 months old

My dog is twitching slightly. It's almost like it's to his heart beat. I thought it was a dream but he is awake and it's still going on.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on July 5th, 2016

Lucien may be having tremors. Tremors are involuntary, rhythmic and repetitive muscle movements that alternate between contraction and relaxation, usually involving to-and-fro movements (twitching) of one or more body parts. The tremors may be rapid, or they may be slow vibrations, and they can occur in any part of the body. These tremors may be idiopathic (unknown), or caused by genetics, trauma, as a side effect of certain drugs, severe weakness or pain, toxicity, or inflammation. I would monitor Lucien for now. If he continues to have tremors, I would take him into your vet first thing in the morning. Your vet will be best to diagnose if he is having tremors, what is causing them, and how to treat them.

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8Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    It could be a sign of pain or maybe something on his skin (external parasites), if it carries on for more than a couple hours and you can't see anything obvious that is causing this, I would recommend having it checked by a vet.

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    3Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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