You probably have anecdotal evidence that your dog dreams. Maybe he runs in his sleep or yips or snarls or even sleep walks. Maybe you have theories (he finally caught that squirrel!) about what your dog dreams.
Interestingly, there is a ton of research that shows dogs do, in fact, dream just like we do. They take information from their day and assimilate it in an abstract way.
Back in 2001, MIT researchers used brain monitoring technology to watch rats’ brains as they learned to run a circular maze to earn a food reward. They used the same technology to monitor their brains while they slept, and for many of the rats, the brain patters matched, indicating that they were dreaming about running the maze.
In a Pyschology Today editorial, Dr. Stanley Cohen writes that it would be more surprising if dogs didn’t dream since we understand so much of their brain structure and function. Further, he shares how to tell when your dog starts to dream:
It is really quite easy to determine when your dog is dreaming without resorting to brain surgery or electrical recordings. All that you have to do is to watch him from the time he starts to doze off. As the dog’s sleep becomes deeper his breathing will become more regular. After a period of about 20 minutes for an average-sized dog his first dream should start. You will recognize the change because his breathing will become shallow and irregular. There may be odd muscle twitches, and you can even see the dog’s eyes moving behind its closed lids if you look closely enough. The eyes are moving because the dog is actually looking at the dream images as if they were real images of the world. These eye movements are most characteristic of dreaming sleep. When human beings are awakened during this rapid eye movement or REM sleep phase, they virtually always report that they were dreaming.
Personally, I’ve always known – yes, anecdotally – that my dogs dream. Emmett has bad dreams. His fur stands up. His lip curls. He snarls and whimpers. Lucas has active dreams where he’s running and chasing (and, probably, catching! it’s a dream after all!) because his legs windmill in the air or his nails click on the wood floor as he moves rapidly in his sleep.
Cooper, though… Cooper has good dreams. No, Cooper has great dreams! I think he’s playing with Newt or running with Lucas or snuggling or ripping up toys or… who knows… all of those at once. Why do I think that?
This.
What do you suppose he’s dreaming about? from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.
What about your dogs? Do dogs dream? Are they “active” sleepers, moving and running and barking? Do you have theories about their dreams? Are they catching squirrels or eating ice cream?
Too cute! I know Titan dreams. Sometimes he’s running; sometimes eating; and sometimes making barky like noises that I can’t figure out yet. It’s so cute to watch him but sometimes I have to wake him because he gets breathing so heavy, I’m afraid he’s fighting or something. 🙂
He EATS in his sleep?!!? I love that so much! That’s seriously the funniest thing. Emmett says those sound like the greatest dreams EVER!
awww little cooper is so cute!
Thank you! 🙂 I think so!
Funny you should mention dreams…Elvis wags his tail when he dreams. Not just little flicks of the tail, either. They’re big, loopy, joyful wags, just like when he’s awake. He’s the happiest pup I’ve ever known.
That’s fantastic!! What do you suppose happy little Elvis is dreaming about??
I suspect he dreams about playing with our other dogs – his favorite thing. Or maybe digging up cicadas and snacking on them. My husband observed him running through the yard with a chirping cicada in his mouth – the bug’s wings sticking out each side – then he ate it. He’s a mess. The dog, not the husband 😉
Hershey’s paws twitch and she makes high pitched, muffled yips, a sound she never makes while awake! If memory serves she does her most intense dreaming after we’ve been to the dog park, probably reliving the experiences of the day.
Oooh, interesting! Based on the research, you’re probably spot on.
Oh my god that is so funny! I love it when Charlie wags her tail in her sleep, but typically I laugh so loud that it wakes her up!
HAA! I was giggling, too! I was trying to hold the camera still and not wake him… a difficult task. What do you think Charlie is dreaming about?? Hiking?
I had read this post the other day, but never commented. Last night Cricket was laying on my lap just twitching and squeaking away! One leg was hanging down and going a mile a minute. Dad always says she’s chasing rabbits in her sleep! I think she dreams a lot more than the other two dogs. She also often snores, so I wonder if it’s because she tends to sleep much more soundly than they do?
That’s so cute!! And, that’s a good question! Emmett is my big snorer, and he sleeps more soundly than the other two… I think you’re onto something!!
Our dogs definitely dream. I love it when they are so comfortable that they go into a deep sleep. They’re noisy dreamers at time too. 🙂
I have a boxer and she consistently dreams – every night. Face twitches, howls, legs going crazy. It’s quite a site to be seen. I should record her and post it to YouTube, as your video was great. I’ve accidentally woken her with my movements, and the look on her face is priceless. Confusion at it’s best!
Poochie talks in his sleep too… all. day. long. but especially in the middle of the night. We’ll be awakened by a few soft woof-woofs, and if we call out his name, he suddenly acts possessed and begins making strange, high-pitched alien-like noises. Years of this nonsense almost every night, and it still cracks me up.
A little while ago I could actually definitively tell what my old lady Nikita was dreaming about! My two hounds live in The Netherlands and had never seen a mountain before or very rocky terrain. I got to take them home on a month long camping and hiking trip to Ireland a while ago, for the very first time, where they had to jump up slopes and from rock to rock every day. When we got back to the very flat lowlands here her movements while asleep were different. Instead of her normal running and squeaking she was doing big jumping movements with little tail flips (balancing in her dream probably)! This lasted about 2 weeks. She’s never done this before or after so I know she was dreaming of the holiday. My young male, Ború, is very vocal when sleeping, almost to the point of full on barking. He is quite shy when awake though and not a big barker. Perhaps in his dreams he’s taking on all the things he ran away from in real life?! I really wish I knew what they dreamed of but for two weeks, or so, it made me very happy to know what Nikita was dreaming about!
Okay, hopefully someone will answer this, my pit bull is the nicest sweetest dog I’ve ever met, but she is constantly having nightmares. I know this because she literally has tiny seizures in her sleep and her hair stands up, she is a recused dog from the street and we don’t know but we believe the poor thing could have been used for breeding, I’m just worried that’s she dreaming about what happened earlier in her life. Is it possible for a dog to have something similar to PTSD and if so is that what she’s dreaming about?
Emmett used to have nightmares. He’d snarl in his sleep. All his fur would stand up. Sometimes he’d start barking and startle himself awake. I think it’s totally possible for dogs to dream as richly as we do, and I wouldn’t really worry about it unless they’re seizures instead of just muscle twitches… Maybe chat with your vet about it, just to be extra cautious!!