Do Dogs Dream?

[jonza]

www.petplace.com/

I found this pet site recently with all sorts of stuff on it. A lot of you probably already know most of this, but there are some interesting articles.

Here’s another one for dog lovers:

Do Dogs Dream? by:_Dr. Nicholas Dodman

Puppies spend a much greater proportion of their sleep time in REM sleep than adult dogs.Your dog lies asleep at your feet, and suddenly his legs begin to twitch and run. Is he dreaming? Or are you dreaming to think such a thing? Wake up and smell the dog food! Of course he's dreaming. Why would you think otherwise?
Although no one really knows the true function of dreaming it does seem to be necessary for normal data processing and memory storage. Dogs think and they have memory. And their memory banks need period purging and reorganization during sleep just as ours do.
Dogs and humans are not as different as some scientists would have us believe. Scientists tend to dwell on the differences between the two species, whereas the sameness is positively compelling. We're 95 percent identical genetically and physically (right down to the iron-containing porphyrin ring our common blood pigment, hemoglobin). Because of this blue print similarity, you might expect a lot of the inner workings to be the same –and they are. Our brains are similar, our neurochemistry is the same, and our reflexes and memory are "wired" in like manner.

Types of Sleep
Like humans, dogs have two main types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and slow wave sleep (SWS). As a dog falls asleep the first stage he enters is SWS, the “sleep of the mind,” in which mental processes are muted but muscle tone remains. The next stage is REM sleep, the “sleep of the body,” in which the body is fully relaxed but the mind is racing and the dog’s eyes are darting rapidly.

In SWS, brain waves are slow, undulating and of high amplitude much like those in a lightly anesthetized animal or person. In this stage, the dog appears calm and at rest. Dogs and humans are more easily aroused from SWS sleep, which appears to be a transitional state with incomplete muscle relaxation.
By contrast, in REM sleep brain waves are rapid and irregular, like those of the awake state. Dogs, like people, display REM sleep, and during REM sleep they show evidence of heightened mental activity – fast electroencephalogram [EEG] (brain wave) pattern. They may move their legs as if they are running, may whine or whimper as if excited, and may breath rapidly or hold their breath for short periods.
When REM sleep is achieved they are at their most relaxed and are most difficult to waken. It is during this more profound physical sleep that their eyes begin to dart and the brain waves pick up pace. Humans awakened from this state report that they have been dreaming; dogs are probably dreaming too when they are in REM sleep, although no dog has ever told anyone about a dream he’s had.
Incidentally, adult dogs spend about 10 to 12 percent of their sleeping time in REM sleep. Puppies spend a much greater proportion of their sleep time in REM sleep, no doubt compacting huge quantities of newly acquired data.
And if you’ve ever wondered whether dogs that seem to be running during sleep are dreaming of catching rabbits or something similar, you can safely say they are.

john

[Rachel]

Sleeping next to a dreaming Tucker, there has never been any doubt in my mind that he does some exhaustive dreaming. He even barks (albeit a muffled one) in his sleep at all those critters he is *chasing*.

[KYS]

Sheba and Pepper twitch when they are dreaming.
Once in awhile Rocky will scare the crape out of me,
when in the wee hours of the morning he will
let out a huge deep bark when he is dreaming.

[GoldenRetrLuver]

Daisy twitches and has "rapid body movements" when shes sleeping.

[puppygrrl4eva7]

Sometimes Ringo will make soft little puppy woofs when he sleeps it's soo cute

[lovemyshiba]

Kito makes those little puppy barks when he dreams too--I call them "puppy mares"!!!

Riley must dream about chasing things--his legs start going, and he lets out a "woof", but doesn't wake up--the other 2 meanwhile, are looking around trying to find whatever he has barked at!!

[tatsxxx11]

My girls definitely dream! Cody's feet twitch and she has REM. Star lets out little muffled woofs and her mouth and eyes twitch and her feet do the cutest paddling aciton. Being a Lab, no doubt she's recounting her last swim! Cody's probably chasing some defensless critter! Emily, around here we call them doggiemares!

[pitc9]

Buddy, in the first few weeks we had him he had nightmares, he would be twitching SUPER bad....whining shaking and barking...sometimes they were so bad I would wake him up, and hold him to make sure he knew he was okay and no one was going to hurt him or leave him again!


So I am sure they dream, I just wish I could stop the nightmares!

[denver83tet]

Sometimes, my golden will whine a little or make some real funny noises while she is sleeping.