Doggie Dreams
Courtesy: MobilityDog.org
Dogs tend to spend about half their day sleeping – even more for puppies, older dogs, and larger breeds. During all that snooze time, do dogs dream? If you’ve ever seen Princess twitch and yip in her sleep, you’d be inclined to say that they certainly do. But does their sleep resemble human slumber? And what the heck are they dreaming about anyway?
Dogs’ Sleep Cycles
Dog brains process information in much the way human brains do. We can conclude, therefore, that their dreaming behavior likely also resembles ours. Indeed, researchers believe dogs go through the same kinds of sleep cycles humans experience. As we do, they have periods of wakefulness, times when they experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and periods of diminished eye movement. REM sleep typically begins about 20 minutes into a sleep period and lasts for two to three minutes.
For us, the most vivid and memorable dreams occur during the REM period. The same is probably true for your dog. During your dog’s REM sleep, you might observe:
Twitching legs or paws.
Changes in breathing patterns.
Flickering eyes.
Whimpering or barking.
Swishing tail.
Reliving the Day’s Events
In a famous experiment involving rats, scientists monitored the brain activity of the rodents as they navigated a maze. They discovered the brain areas active when the rats were awake and moving through the maze were also engaged when the rats were asleep and dreaming. Mammals (rats, dogs and humans), it would seem, tend to dream about the events of their day. If Princess spent time chasing squirrels, digging in the garden or trying to escape a bath, these same vignettes are likely to dominate her dreams. Inasmuch as dogs are emotionally attached to their owners, it also seems likely they often dream about us.
Resting Poodle on the Beach (Courtesy: MobilityDog.org)
Does Breed Affect Dreaming?
When it comes to canine dreaming, size appears to matter. Small dogs dream more frequently than larger breeds, and their dreams tend to be briefer. Large dogs appear to have fewer but longer dreams. Although we can’t be entirely sure, we can guess that your Doberman or German Shepherd may well dream about guarding against invaders, whereas your Pug may dream about chasing butterflies. Your sleeping Labrador Retriever is replaying the time spent chasing a tennis ball, whereas your Shih Tzu is dreaming about snuggling in your lap. Your Chihuahua is probably dreaming about all of this.
Do Dogs Have Nightmares?
We all have dreams that evoke the more stressful parts of our lives. Sometimes these become downright scary. The same is likely true of your pooch. It can be tempting to wake your dog to comfort her, as you might a child. However, there are risks associated with awakening a dog having a nightmare.
For humans, coming to from a frightening dream can be disorienting. Similarly, a dog can be momentarily confused if awakened from a crisis-filled dream. A dog in this state may react aggressively toward the person waking her. This can be especially dangerous for children, even if they simply want to spare Princess the discomfort of a nightmare.
If it’s true that dreaming helps a dog relive and make sense of her day, then best to leave the dog alone with her dreams. She’s finding ways to cope with both the comfortable and uncomfortable parts of life. In other words, let sleeping dogs lie.
The similarity between human and canine sleep is just one more example of how we and our pets are more alike than different.
Mobility Dog’s Poodle Palooza 2025