Do Dogs Dream?
You’re sitting on the couch watching TV. Your faithful pup is lying at your feet sleeping.
Suddenly you start to notice him twitching. His tail starts to thump, and he starts yipping ever so slightly. You think, “What the heck? Is he ok?” Then you begin to wonder if your pooch is dreaming. It sure seems that way, right?
This begs the question, do dogs dream? And if so, what are they dreaming about, and do different breeds of dogs dream differently?
Read on doggie lovers to learn more.
What’s Dreaming About?
Sleep is a time for restoration, repair, and healing no matter your species—even fish sleep by reducing their movement for a period of the day.
There are several phases of sleep that humans go through during the night, but the two primary phases are
- Non-REM sleep
- REM sleep
REM standing for rapid eye movement. It is during REM sleep when dreaming occurs. This stage happens about 1.5 to 2 hours after you fall asleep.
There are many theories on why we dream. But one of the most widely accepted ideas states that dreaming is when we process our thoughts, emotions, and events from the day.
Although dogs differ from humans in many ways, studies have shown that they have similar sleep cycles and patterns to their sleep, just as we do.
A Study on Rats
With studies confirming that dogs have the same sleep patterns as humans, the notion that dogs dream doesn’t seem out of the realm of reality.
In 2001 scientists set out to prove this notion. Researchers studied the brain waves of rats when they were awake and sleeping. The rat’s brain waves were monitored when they were awake, solving mazes. The rats’ brains were then monitored when they were sleeping. Researchers discovered similar brain waves when the rats were sleeping as when they were awake solving the mazes. This finding indicates the rats were dreaming of completing the maze challenge from earlier in the day. From these findings, researchers theorized that all mammals, dogs included, do dream.
After this initial study of rats dreaming, further research completed on dogs returned similar results. In this study, researchers inhibited the pons, the structure of the brain that keeps humans and dogs from acting out dreams. When the dogs entered REM sleep with the pons inhibited, the dogs began to get up and walk around even though the dog’s brain waves indicated that they were indeed sleeping. This solidified the theory that dogs do, in fact, dream.
Research has concluded dogs dream, but what are they dreaming about?
No one really knows what dogs are dreaming about. Until researchers come up with a collar that translates barking into English like in the movie UP, we will never really know what dogs dream of.
However, we know that dreaming is how thoughts and events of the day are processed. With this knowledge, we can speculate that dogs dream of all the fun they had playing and going for walks with their humans. It can also be assumed that dogs experience nightmares about things that they may perceive as unpleasant- like a trip to the vet or a bad interaction with another dog while on a walk.
When a dog dreams
When a dog dreams, his breathing becomes deep and steady, and his heart rate slows as he drifts into the land of sleep. If you keep an eye on your pup, you may notice his first dream appear after about 20 minutes. During this time, his breathing will become shallow and irregular. You may also see some muscle twitches and eye movement behind his closed eyes.
How many dreams do dogs have a night?
The number of dreams a dog has a night depends on the size of the pup. Small dogs, such as Chihuahuas and Yorkies, have a short sleep cycle, with a dream about every 10 minutes. Their dreams last about 1 minute. Large breed dogs, like Golden Retrievers and Labs, have a longer sleep cycle. They dream about every 60 -90 minutes, with their dreams lasting 5-10 minutes.
The length and frequency of dreams are also dependent on how active and tired a dog is. If your pup spent the day running and playing, then the presence of dreams would be greater than if they had slept all day long.
Puppies tend to spend more time sleeping and therefore spend more time in REM dream sleep than older dogs. These dreams are assumed to help puppies process their constant learning and exploration of their environment, just as dreams in humans help with processing information and learning.
How to ensure your dog has happy dreams
Since dogs seem to dream about their day’s events, playing, training, and walking your dog will assure that he has pleasant dreams.
Looking for fun things you can do, try these:
- Go for a walk or a hike in a new area
- Find a new way to play with an old toy
- Teach him to “find” his food by hiding it
- Work on a new command or trick
The ideas and possibilities are endless!
Do you think your dog dreams? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook or Instagram. We’d love to know your experience.
Are you looking for new ways to entertain and engage your dog to give him some sweet puppy dreams? Give us a call! We can help place you in one of our training programs to give your dog a stimulating and engaging workout to keep him dreaming sweetly!