It’s natural for any animal to sleep at some point during the day, but, at times, you may find your German Shepherd sleeping with his eyes apparently open and worry whether that’s normal.
In most situations it is, actually. The most likely cause is that his eye is only partly open and what you’re seeing is actually the dog’s invisible third eyelid, the nictitating membrane, at work.
While it normally retracts when the eye opens, there is a certain degree to which it will remain shut and make it appear as if your GSD has his eyes open when they’re still very much closed.
This membrane helps clear dust and debris out of the eye so it’s quite useful, even if it’s a bit jarring to see your Sheppie sleeping in such a state.
But why does this happen every now and then and is it a cause for concern? Well, let’s take a look-see.
1. You’re Seeing The Nictitating Membrane
As explained earlier, the nictitating membrane, or the third eyelid in simpler terms, is the thing you’re actually “seeing”.
There will be periods where your German Shepherd’s eyes will be partly open even though he’s not actually aware of anything, but his eyes may appear exposed.
This could just be a result of his sleeping position, if anything, and shouldn’t be a cause for concern as it does happen from time to time.
2. The GSD Isn’t Completely Asleep
Being a guard dog, it’s not uncommon for your German Shepherd to only partly fall asleep, trying to remain alert for any intruders while he’s taking a rest to do his job.
He still may not be visually aware of your presence, but any form of odd, light noise or other disturbance will likely stir him and he’ll be ready to hop into action if need be.
While you may think that he’s not getting enough rest that way, you’d be surprised just how efficient dogs are with their sleeping habits.[1]
3. He’s In The REM Sleep Stage
When your German Shepherd hits the dreaming sleep stage, you may also find him with his eyes open.
It’s but one of the many different reactions he’ll be exhibiting during this stage with others usually being whining, twitching, barks or yelps, depending on the dream.
This one is arguably the most startling reason as the sudden random movement may spook you or even make you think your poor dog is suffering from a seizure, but rest assured that he’s fine.
At worst, he may be having a bad dream.
4. It’s A Canine Survival Instinct
A common belief, in GSDs in particular, is that this is a survival instinct left over from their lupine ancestors.
This was back when they slept in less safe environments and always needed to be aware of their surroundings to ensure survival.
Similar to #2, your dog may be asleep to a degree where he’s getting rest, but some part of his brain remains active and alert for any danger so that he may act and wake quickly.
5. He May Have An Issue With His Eyes
Finally, the one negative reason behind it could be some form of health issue that’s affecting his eyes with pannus being the most likely culprit.
While most of the symptoms simply cloud the dog’s vision due to the odd immune system response, the main problem is the swelling of the third eyelid.
This can lead to one or both of his eyes to remain open when he sleeps due to the discomfort it provides him.
While an easy condition to remove, it’s best to do it sooner than later so your GSD’s eyesight doesn’t suffer permanent damage.
There’s also the other potential health cause behind sleeping with open eyes, narcolepsy, a much nastier problem than pannus.
If you find your Sheppie doing so in unusual places like by his bowl after he was eating mere seconds ago or during play, then narcolepsy is most likely at play.
Regardless of the exact cause of the issue, if you suspect something is up, it’s best to talk to your dog’s vet about it so he can properly determine the root cause of the issue.
Thankfully, both problems are quite easy to notice so you shouldn’t worry about missing symptoms.
Is My German Shepherd Sleeping With His Eyes Open Something I Should Be Worried About?
Not really, unless the reason behind it revolves around any of the two mentioned health issues or some other, similar reason.
Do keep in mind that every pooch is different, and if you suspect something is up with your GSD, it won’t do you any harm to ask your vet if what you’re witnessing is normal or not.
In Conclusion
If your German Shepherd sleeps with his eyes open every now and then, there’s no particular reason to worry.
It’s relatively normal behavior, particularly if he was trained to be a guard dog.
He’s more than likely just keeping himself alert for any intruders so that he could react quickly.
Don’t worry, he’s still getting his sleep in.
The only time you should worry is if he seems to fall asleep out of nowhere and still have his eyes open or if his third eyelid appears swollen which prevents him from fully closing them..
Then the cause is a health condition which should be looked into by a licensed veterinarian which can tell you how to further treat it.
I’m sure that whatever the cause behind your GSD’s open eye sleep sessions is that you’ll be able to get to the bottom of it.
Until next time, pet parents.
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References:
[1] Rachel K., Sara O.-G., Rachel C., Toby K., Séverine T., Joshua W., Rosa D. C., Jane M. (July, 2020.),Sleep Duration and Behaviours: A Descriptive Analysis of a Cohort of Dogs up to 12 Months of Age, DOI
