People who fortunately can share our life with a puppy, we know that many times when they sleep they make strange noises and movements, as if they were having a pleasant dream or a nightmare. It is scientifically proven that dogs dream every day, but … what do they dream about?
We are going to inquire a little about the most common dreams that dogs have, in their need for rest to be able to dream and obviously in what we should or should not do, if we see that our dog is having a bad dream.
Index of contents
- 1 Can dogs dream?
- 2 How many hours does a dog sleep and how many times does it dream?
- 3 How do you know when a dog is dreaming?
- 4 What do dogs dream about?
- 5 How to sleep a dog to make it dream?
Can dogs dream?
Dogs, like humans and many other animals, have always been suspected of dreaming. Although the only basis that was had until relatively few years ago, were the movements and noises they make while sleeping.
But various scientific studies conducted on dogs, which consisted of performing electroencephalograms to measure their brain activity while sleeping, have shown that dogs possess exactly the same qualities as humans during sleep.
This means that dogs, like humans, go through different stages of rest while sleeping, in which the brain emits certain waves that intensify or fade as we experience what is known as the REM phase. It is during this phase when both humans and dogs dream of pleasant things and sometimes not so pleasant things…. but we dream.
An electroencephalogram consists of putting brain wave receptors over the head (superficially, by means of adhesives) to measure brain intensity, it is not invasive or painful. It is a fairly common test in human medicine and did not cause any type of damage or torture to the dogs that were observed.
So the answer is a clear and resounding yes. Dogs can and do dream every day, just like humans, regardless of whether we remember our dreams or not.
How many hours does a dog sleep and how many times does it dream?
This question is actually quite complex, given that there are many factors that determine a dog’s usual hours of sleep. For example, some breeds of dogs like Shar Pei or the Saint Bernard, they are very sleepy compared to other breeds.
A dog that has a medium or high activity during the day, that is herding or working with its owner, sleeps less hours than a dog that remains alone at home for several hours while their owners are working, for example.
If we speak at general levels, we can affirm that an adult dog sleeps about fourteen hours a day, spread over nine or ten hours during the night, and the rest in short naps throughout the day. Depending on the hours and habits of home life, the nap hours may be shorter, thus increasing the daytime naps.
Puppies sleep many, many more hours, reaching eighty percent of total daylight hours or even more. Although they are not very fond of taking long naps, it is normal that they take many short or medium naps during the day and night.
It is not always when a dog falls asleep that he dreams, since the dream itself is experienced when the REM phase is reached. And for this you must first go through other different phases that require a certain time. But some dogs have the incredible ability to reach the REM phase in a few minutes, but not always.
How do you know when a dog is dreaming?
You can’t really know for sure, since dogs don’t always make sounds or make movements when they dream. But we can know that they are dreaming, when for example they are growling in dreams, barking or trying to bark, moving their feet as if running or making any other movement while they sleep.
Sometimes our dog can give small kicks or have tremors While sleeping, it may be because you are dreaming or because they are simple muscle spasms, very common indeed.
There are two very common postures that practically all dogs use at bedtime. In addition, not all are equally conducive when it comes to expressing our dog sleeping.
- Dog lying on its side, normally stretched throughout. When they sleep in this pose they are more likely to have expressive dreams.
- Coiled dog, usually with the muzzle under its hind leg or next to the ass. In this posture his dreams are not so expressive.
- Upside down dog, with the legs stretched or half hanging. This pose is actually a way to cool off when they are hot, as they have the least hair on their bellies, usually just a bit of fluff.
What do dogs dream about?
It would be really fun to see what our puppy is dreaming of, surely in many of his dreams we go out ourselves playing with him, or doing anything else. The truth is that nobody knows what dogs dream about, because it is simply impossible to know.
But as with humans, it is believed that when the dogs sleep They dream of things that happen to them in their daily life, in their day to day. If you’ve spent the day playing with other dogs and walking around, chances are you’re dreaming of that or activities you’ve done on previous days.
Sometimes our dogs growl or bark in dreams, that is because they are dreaming that they are in a situation where they bark or growl. We should never wake them up when they’re dreaming, because they could be scared or bewildered and bite us. It is the same as when humans wake up from a nightmare, for a few moments we are very confused and do not really know where we are. So we should never wake up a dog that is dreaming.
How to sleep a dog to make it dream?
The easiest way to make sure that our dog is going to take a good nap, like when for example we are going to leave him alone at home, is to tire him out with a good walk and games.
A good walk accompanied by games with other dogs or with ourselves (throwing the ball, a stick, etc …), is a healthy and healthy way to exhaust your energy so that later you want to enjoy a good nap.
Going out and exercising a bit is also an excellent idea, although it should be at a slow or moderate pace, we should never force our dog or want to tire him out in half an hour. A little jogging or a bike ride without going too fast are excellent options. Also the use of skates, scooter, etc …
When we get home we simply have to change the water in your drinking fountain so that it has clean and fresh water and ignore them so that they get a little bored and take a good nap. Obviously we are talking about adult dogs over twelve months old, puppies only need to play a little and browse, they should never be forced to exercise.