Many owners wonder if it is true that i dogs dream. And the answer is: absolutely yes. Sometimes they dream so intensely that they cry and move their paws so hard that the owner thinks the dog has convulsions while sleeping. In reality he is only dreaming. But what do they dream?
Do dogs dream? Of course yes
Dogs dream, just like we do and just like cats do. Sure, i subjects of their dreams they will be different from ours, but the mechanism is always the same. Considering that our four-legged friend on average sleeps 12-14 hours a day, here is the sleepduring this time, is never so deep that he dreams all the time.
As with people, a dog’s sleep can be divided into different phases:
- Light sleep: the dog appears to be sleeping, but in reality it simply closes its eyes and remains in a state of vigilant rest. Any slightest noise or stimulus makes him wake up immediately, ready and attentive. This phase tends to last about 20 minutes (READ also: How does your dog sleep? The 7 favorite positions and what they tell us about their state of mind)
- REM: is the acronym for Rapid Eye Movement. This is the stage where dogs dream. In this phase a part of the brain, the bridge to be precise, prevents the dog from the real physical movement connected to the dream. But this does not mean that minimal movements are not possible. Just as happens for us during REM sleep, if we or the dog dream of walking, we don’t actually do it. And this is because the brain takes care of inhibiting certain connections in order to prevent us from harming ourselves while we sleep. However, this control is not total: small movements of the eyelids, eyeballs and limbs are possible. This explains why the dreaming dog moves its eyes, cries, trembles or moves its paws. Despite what everyone thinks, the REM phase, the dream phase, lasts very little, 2-3 minutes at most. And this regardless of whether the dream seems to last longer
- Non-REM phase: this is the phase in which the dog truly rests and which leads either to awakening or to a new phase of light sleep
What do dogs dream about?
Hard to say what do dogs dream about. Since they cannot speak, they cannot tell us about their dreams when they wake up. THE dogs dream of their owners? Possible.
There are different interpretations on what the dreams of our four-legged friends could be based on the movements they make. However, they are based on pure hypotheses and speculation.
For example, when i dogs dream and move their pawsit could be that they are dreaming of running or playing with something. Sometimes, however, i dogs dream and cry, whine and make noises while they sleep: it is possible that they are dreaming of something unpleasant, perhaps another animal that steals their food or a cat that they can’t catch.
The dog dreams and moves his mouth? Well, it’s pretty clear: he’s dreaming of eating.
What to do when your dog dreams?
Actually it would be better to talk about what NOT to do when your dog dreams. We must not disturb him or wake him when he is in the deep sleep phase, precisely so as not to create stress and agitation.
In general Puppies tend to dream more than adultsbut a lot depends on the individual subject. If he whines, trembles, or moves his paws while sleeping, he is most likely dreaming and has no sleep convulsions while sleeping. Also because the convulsions would be accompanied by other symptoms, such as sialorrhea and loss of urine and feces.
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