Ollie always has done that howling thing you describe when asleep. When he was younger he would get up and walk straight past you with eyes open and not even realise you were there and then if you kept calling him softly he would come to you tail wagging and ask for a cuddle.

He sometimes can do this two or three times a week and then we may not get any for months there is never anything we can link it too and vets have always looked amused by it.

The other day he put his head in the air howling but very softly and eventually he responded to our voices then went back to sleep. The first time my sister heard it she we was on the phone to me and said she had never heard a dog do that before in the 30 years of owning them.

I hope she is ok now? I think dogs get nightmares just like humans. Dougie is also very vocal in his sleep, normally after an eventful walk. Its normally just dreams, but I can tell if he has had a nightmare because when he wakes up from it, he is very unsettled, and seeks reassurance from me. I pull his bed into my bedroom and he tends to go back to sleep pretty quick after that.

Has there been a time recently on a walk or out and about where she got a fright? A dog she was unsure of maybe? something startled her?

Glad everything okay now, it might be just the occasional occurence hopefully.

Marius does this sporadically - the first time he did it I raced downstairs thinking he was dying or something as it was the eeriest howling I'd ever heard. When I switched the light on he looked startled and was just lying on the mat in front of the fire like normal. He hardly ever does it now, but I can understand why it would freak you out, it did me!!

Danny my rescue lurcher used to have terrible night terrors when we first got him. He was really badly treated though and beaten by his previous owner.
He would make terrible noises and cry in his sleep. He'd also shake a lot and was really hard to wake up. It really frightened me and was so upsetting to see. I too thought he was having fits but he was fine immediately after.
Gradually though he has got better and hardly does it now he knows he's gonna get hugs and kisses rather than a good beating.
It is a scary thing to see though.