Who has never watched their dog sleep peacefully? We sometimes take the opportunity to admire him and take a few photos. It is not uncommon to witness small groans or muscle spasms. We then ask ourselves, “What could he possibly be dreaming of?” Maybe he’s chasing a squirrel or maybe he dreams of playing with you.
A study by Dr. Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist at Harvard University School of Medicine, suggests that dogs dream in a similar way to humans. Just like us, our canine companions dream of their daily experiences and therefore of their favourite human! Experts therefore hypothesize that dogs don’t dream logically, but rather about what they find interesting and about things they are emotionally attached to. As Dr. Barrett explains, “As dogs are generally extremely attached to their human owners, it is likely that your dog dreams of your face, your smell, and of pleasing or teasing you.” Your dog also probably dreams about his favourite chewy treats!
Dogs sleep on average 12 to 14 hours a day. The dog’s sleep cycle is shorter than that of humans, but it also includes phases of light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep. It is estimated that during the night, humans have 4 to 6 cycles of 90 minutes while our canine friends have 15 to 20 cycles. Another interesting fact discovered by Dr. Stanley Coren, author of the book “Do Dogs Dream?”, would be that large breed dogs would have longer cycles than small breed dogs. For example, a large dog would have a new dream approximately every 90 minutes while a small dog would have a dream every 10 minutes.
Can dogs have nightmares? Unlike humans, dogs are not as creative with their imagination. So, it is unlikely that they will have nightmares like us. On the other hand, as they can relive traumatic memories, your dog may dream of the terrifying arrival of the delivery man or the dreaded bath time. If you are worried and think your canine companion is having a nightmare, know that waking a sleeping dog is never a good idea. Instead, let him complete his sleep cycle, to avoid disrupting the restorative sleep phase. Remember that “The amount of sleep everyone needs is about another five… more minutes.” ⏰😉
