Could my dog be sighing

Answer 1

Yes, one of the "words" in dog language that they "say" to each other is a loud sigh. They use this when they are going to nap to alert others to their plan, it also can be "said" by one dog to another (or mine say it to me) to ask the other to "chill" or to "be quiet so I can sleep". I get it from my Airedales (current and past ones) when I have the TV on too loud when they are trying to sleep or when I am tossing and turning or talking in my sleep. Try it sometime to say to your dog to "relax". They will very often relax, lie down, and sigh back at you. Mine say it back as they relax every time, so when they say it to me, I do the same back to them.

I discovered this at first when caring for infants who did the same thing if they were irritable and you gave them a deep sigh as you held them, it would often make them relax. Then I noticed one of my dogs "saying" it over and over to me when I was "disturbing their sleep". Since then, it has become one of the words in the vocabulary I "speak" to all dogs (most of which are body language "words"), and they universally understand it and say it back. Try it and see if yours will (it may take a few times for them to realize you actually are using one of their "words".)