Do dogs dream? This question boggles the minds of dog owners and investigators. Hence extensive research has been carried out that suggests that dogs make gestures similar to humans when they dream. Owners may find their dogs making jerky movements or waking up in the middle of the night just to howl at an imaginary figure. In addition to these activities, studies have shown that dogs have the same changes in electrical activity in their brain (like human) when they are dreaming. Anatomically, a dog’s brain is similar to that of humans and so the question of whether dogs dream or not, does not seem too far of a stretch from reality.

Do Dogs Dream?

Electroencephalogram analysis indicated that dogs have electrical changes when they transit into different stages of sleep. This concept is also similar to humans, who sleep in four stages, one of them being REM (resting eyeball movement); it is in this stage that humans dream as indicated by the changes in the brainwaves. Similarly, research on dog’s brain indicated a change in brains’ electrical activity when dogs fall into REM stage of sleep. In REM stage, irregular breathing and involuntary and uncontrolled movements are likely to occur, because of dreaming. 

Another interesting conclusion was made from these studies that the duration of dreaming varies among species. For instance, a golden retriever may dream every 90 minutes, while a toy poodle may dream up to nine times in the same time period. Puppies are found to dream more often than adult dogs, simply because there brain is exposed to unusual and new information every day.

What’s in the Dream of a Dog?

Answering this question can be quite a challenge, since conclusions are solely based on scientific evidence that cannot be confirmed. However, since similarities between dogs and human electrical activities have been established, one can use the same theories of dreams on dogs that are used for human dreams. For instance, some psychiatrists believe that humans dream of the things they see or experience throughout the day. Similarly, the jittery movements of your dog while he dreams can be compared to the movement he makes when moving in an unfamiliar territory or the loud bark he made as an airplane passed away could be translated to a faint bark in dreams;the twitching of his paws could be that he is having a dream of romping through the dog park.

A study conducted on rats indicated that rats displayed the same array of electrical activities in their dreams as they did when they were left in a maze i.e. electrical activity at a peak matched an electrical peak recorded while they were sleeping. Since dogs are more active than rats, there are high chances that dogs too dream in the same manner.

How to Know If Your Dog Is Dreaming

To identify the dreaming state of a dog, all you have to do is identify some physical changes. On an average dogs start dreaming after 20 minutes of sleep, this is when they start transiting into REM sleep. Here is a list of physical changes that might occur in your dog.

• ?Shallow breathing. After a little while from dosing off, your dog develops shallow and aperiodic breathing pattern, which indicates his transition in the REM stage of sleep.
• Eyeball movement. In a dream you view an image like you would in real life, therefore eyeball movements are often observed. You will notice your dog’s eyeballs moving from left to right under his eyelids.
• Nose twitch. Dreams can be compared to a virtual reality image, where the experience is so real that dogs will actually try to sniff and make sounds like they would if they saw them in real.
• Leg movement. Dogs often make quick movements with their legs while sleeping. This is an indication of the kind of dream they are having. If your dog makes a loud breathing noise with some leg movements, then he might be running away from something in his dreams. If his leg movements get quicker and he makes some whimpering sounds, it is an indication of him either being in a fight or escaping from an enemy. Interpretations can be made in accordance to the physical symptoms they show in combination to the way your dog would ideally react in a similar situation, while being awake.

Here is a video of an owner who has recorded his dog, while he was dreaming.

Do Dogs Have Nightmares?

One cannot be very sure wile answering this question, but if the similarities between human and dog’s dreams are made, it is likely that dogs too have nightmares. If you feel your dog is having a nightmare or is showing signs of restlessness while sleeping, do not wake them up. This is because REM is the more relaxing stage of the entire sleep cycle, and by waking up your dog, you might disturb or cut down on his sleep.

Should You Wake up Your Dog When He Is Dreaming?

Besides above mentioned reasons, there are several other reasons why you should avoid waking up your dog from his sleep:

• ?For example, waking your dog from REM stage can come as an immediate shock and disturbance for him, which is contrary to what we want.
• ? Next, since dogs are extremely active and alert throughout their day, disturbing them from sleep could leave them agitated or irritated throughout the next day. They might become grumpier, less active, sleep at odd hours or not want to play around much.
• ?Another reason not to wake your dog up is to let him relax and rejuvenate during his sleeping hours, it may look like he is having nightmare, but you cannot be certain about it. Therefore, waking him up could mean depriving them of a much-needed rest after an entire day of activities.
• ?Lastly, try changing your dog’s location or sleeping place. Sometimes, temperature differences, light issues or uncomfortable surroundings can also lead to sleep disturbances and nightmares.  

Despite these facts, if you decide to wake your dog up, take into considerations the following factors.

• Do not touch him. Disturbing your dog while he is dreaming could be very disorienting for him, since it takes time to process fiction from reality. Meanwhile, he might resort to an aggressive behavior, such as barking or hurling towards you. It is better not to touch your dog when waking him up.
• Use a soft tone. Many of us resort to loud and alert voices when we intend to wake up our dog. Hypothetically, this should work, but in fact, it only puts your dog in a mode of alertness, in which he might respond aggressively to loud noises. Make use of low and soothing tones to call them, this way they will wake up knowing they were in sleep.
• Ease his distress.If your dog has woken up by now, then mission accomplished! You are now free to touch him, caress him and play with him, as if you would normally.