Do dogs dream?

Is your dog really dreaming about chasing a rabbit?

We don't know for certain if dogs dream but it is hard to imagine that they don't Credit: Alamy

I like to think my Labrador dreams; he will occasionally twitch, paddle with his legs and sometimes give out one or two “woofs” while asleep. Do dogs dream? Do we know? How can I be sure he is  not having a fit?

Wonder what our dogs dream about?

Whether or not dogs dream  isn’t known with any scientific certainty; however, it is difficult  to imagine that they don’t when  they demonstrate behaviours  in their sleep, like those you  describe, that resemble what  they do when fully awake and  cause us to wonder what our  dogs are dreaming about.

A post shared by Stephanie (@marcsm84) on Mar 1, 2018 at 12:34pm PST

The difference between dreams and fits

It is certainly possible to  distinguish the signs associated  with dreaming from those of a fit  or seizure; particularly if you have  ever witnessed a dog having a fit.  For instance, dogs always have  dreams while asleep; they commonly have a fit while awake. Their eyes will usually be partially closed while having dreams and they will look calm and relaxed. A dog’s eyes will typically  be wide open during a fit.

Dogs may salivate, vomit and defecate while having a fit. This  doesn’t happen during a dream.  Dogs’ leg movements while asleep  tend to look like they might be running, “chasing a rabbit”, while during a fit the leg movements are stiffer and more rigid and there will be more violent muscle activity, uncontrollable shaking and thrashing about. These motions while asleep are typically gentler and quite brief, whereas seizure activity lasts much longer.

Dogs are easily woken when dreaming and behave normally  once awake. Seizures cannot be interrupted and the dog is usually disorientated and confused immediately afterwards.

Psychology Today says: “Also, during sleep the brain wave patterns of dogs are similar that of people, and go through the same stages of electrical activity observed in humans, all of which is consistent with the idea that dogs are dreaming.”