You've probably seen it happen—your sleeping dog suddenly lets out a woof as his legs begin to twitch. Is he dreaming?
Many scientists say there is evidence to support the idea that dogs do, in fact, experience dreams. Researchers using an electroencephalogram (EEG) have tested canine brain wave activity during sleep. They've found that dogs are similar to humans when it comes to sleep patterns and brain wave activity. Like humans, dogs enter a deep sleep stage during which their breathing becomes more irregular and they have rapid eye movements (REM). It is during REM sleep that actual dreaming and, often, involuntary movements take place. Dogs may move their legs as if they are running, whine or whimper as if excited, and breathe rapidly or hold their breath for short periods.
Not all dogs dream equally. Research suggests that small dogs dream more than larger dogs. A Toy Poodle may dream once every ten minutes while a Golden Retriever may only dream once every 90 minutes. Dreaming also seems to occur more frequently in puppies. This may be because they are processing huge quantities of newly acquired experiences.
10 comments:
TY for your blog,
and yes my Huskies dreams,
.....and they snoring *lol*
Greetings
~Whitewolfe~
We always have suspected the dogs were dreaming and now we know. Thanks, cool article.
I knew it! Thanks for this post. Our Shit Tzus dream a lot.
My dogs also dream a lot and Shadow has turned 10 and snores like crazy, but he doesn't dream near as much as Sadie who is a mix lab/pit and Shadow is an Eskie. I enjoy your blog, Thanks.
Heh, it surprises me to think humans wonder if dogs dream. Of course dogs dream!
It's so cute when dogs snore.
English Springer Spaniels dream as well. My favorite is when she starts wagging her tail while she sleeps!
As far as the snoring, oh my - awful!
i believed dogs do dreams. My two doggies are always dreaming and would make sounds like soft crying while kicking their legs. :)
I know my dogs dream, and our one dog, which we obtained from a pet store (prior to knowing about puppy mills) has intense emotional dreams. We think he is reliving his conditions when he was born and the few weeks he was possibly caged or squeezed in with other pups. He gets very loud, whining, whimpering and when I carefully move toward him and touch him, it is like he is in another state. One has to be careful when they are like this because they may growl not realizing where they are.
I always figured that dogs dream. Our family dog was always making noises as he was sleeping, and now my husky does the same thing. It's so funny to watch!
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