What Do Dogs Dream About?

Anyone who has a dog has probably seen them sleeping. In fact, most dogs nap for about 50% of the day, and they lie around awake but doing nothing for another 30% of their time. Usually they sleep motionless and do not make any noise other than heavy breathing and the occasional snoring, but sometimes dogs will begin twitching their paws and ears in their sleep. They can also make quiet barks and shift around. This is actually because dogs are dreaming. It is not yet possible to say with complete certainty what the subjects of dogs’ dreams are, but scientists have been able to make several educated guesses. However, what is indisputable among research is that dogs do have the capability to dream.

The hypothesis of what dogs—or any animals—dream about was created through several different experiments. One of the more well-known of these involved rats and took place at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The rats were kept in a maze for an entire day. While they were in the maze, their brains were monitored. When the rats slept that night, their brains continued to be surveilled. When scientists compared the data they gathered, they found that the same parts of the brains lit up when they were in the maze as when they were dreaming, which showed that they were dreaming about the maze (AKC). While this experiment only studied rats, it implies that other creatures could dream about their experiences during the previous day. Just like humans, animals mostly dream during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Although dreaming does not only occur in REM sleep, it is when the highest percentage of dreams take place.

This experiment does not directly correlate to dogs, however. Rats are quite different creatures, and their brains function unlike that of a canine’s. Other experiments have been performed on the topic of animal dreaming, some of which were carried out specifically with dogs. One such experiment was done with a part of the brain called the pons. The pons is partially what controls sleep cycles and prevents large muscles from moving during a dream. Without this important part of the brain, someone might perform everything they were dreaming in real life, which could lead to some very dangerous situations occurring. Similarly, puppies tend to twitch more in their sleep because the pons isn’t fully developed yet. The experiment was performed with dogs who had their pons temporarily disabled in a safe and controlled manner (AKC).

The results of this experiment led to the conclusion that dogs dream in a comparable way to humans, which makes sense because the dog’s brain is structured similarly to a person’s. They tend to dream about their daily activities and about things they enjoy. For example, a dog that took a nice hike up a mountain one day might dream about climbing the mountain that night. Aside from recent events in their lives, dogs also dream about things that bring them pleasure and joy. They might dream about food, walks, or even their owners. Dogs will also move differently depending on their current dream. A dog that is dreaming about running might twitch their paws and legs, whereas a dog dreaming about eating their favorite treats might twitch their face and maybe even hang their mouth open while drooling slightly. Dogs can dream about more complex things too. Examples include visions of begging for a walk to their favorite place or taking a ride in a car and feeling the wind rush past.

Unfortunately, just like humans, dogs do not always have pleasant dreams. Though it is infrequent, dogs are able to have nightmares as well. As an example, a dog who dreads taking a bath or going to the vet might have a bad dream about one of these occurrences. While they are usually not very frightening, it is generally unwise to wake a dog who appears to be having a nightmare; they can sometimes fail to realize that they are awake and impulsively snap or bite at someone. Some signs to watch out for that indicate that a dog could be having a bad dream are growling and whimpering.

To sum up, the question “What do dogs dream about?” does not have a definite answer. But the canine brain is quite similar to the human’s, which makes it a little bit easier to speculate about what their dreams might entail. Different dog breeds have different brains, however, so it is possible that they may dream about slightly different things. Overall, the studies that have been conducted show that most animals—or at least the ones tested—all dream about past experiences and feelings that they have had.

Image credit: Unsplash

Sources:

www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/what-do-dogs-dream-about/

www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-care/do-dogs-dream/

www.pawcbd.com/blogs/posts/what-do-dogs-dream-about

www.rd.com/article/what-do-dogs-dream-about/

thevets.com/blog/what-do-dogs-dream-about/

www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/how-many-hours-does-dog-sleep-day