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We’ve all seen our dogs sleeping peacefully when suddenly their legs start moving like they’re running and muffled barks escape from their lips. “Oh, look, he’s chasing a rabbit in his dreams,” we say. But do we really know what our dogs are dreaming about or if they’re dreaming at all?
This is an extensive subject but there are a few key things we know. From EEG tests, we have found that dogs have similar sleep patterns to humans. They have the REM cycle which is when dreams occur. It is presumed that they are watching the images before their eyes at this point. It seems little dogs dream more than bigger ones and puppies dream more than adults. But do dogs dream those seemingly nonsensical dreams like we do, the ones with a clock, a giraffe and chocolate pudding? To do that, they have to have imagination. And from seeing my dog toss a sock around pretending it’s prey, I’d say they do. The old adage is true – it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie, even if they seem to be having a nightmare. What does your dog dream about? Kelly is a pet writer. She lives in the Boston area with her three pit bulls and one neurotic cat. |
December 4th, 2009