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03-01-2014, 11:37 AM
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Location: kS.
505 posts, read 536,077 times
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How many of us have seen a sleeping dog moving it's legs or feet as if running or paddling through water? My dog used to do this and make whimpering, yelping or barking sounds as he slept. It was a common occurrence.
If dogs dream do cats? What about dolphins? Elephants? Fish? Birds?
Is there a level of intelligence or brain size that determines if any animal is able to dream or not?
As human beings we are capable of remembering certain intense dreams (fear, sex, excitement/death etc...). Is there any way to know if animals can remember certain dreams?
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03-01-2014, 02:02 PM
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Location: Northeastern US
16,748 posts, read 11,194,080 times
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I haven't read any of the science on this so I can only tell you that one of my two dogs does definitely dream as you describe -- the other, maybe 10% as much. The dog that dreams is also far more self-aware and complex in personality. He has anxiety issues (he's a rescue who had some neglect and wrong-headed discipline as a puppy, plus was removed from the litter too soon). The other dog is a typical terrier, much more straightforward and instinctive and self-absorbed. I suspect she sleeps the sleep of the just most nights.
I think it's a mistake to put animals at that much of a remove from humans. Humans are animals and it's to be expected that whatever purpose dreams serve in us, they will serve to an extent in some of the lower life forms as well. I'm sure their dreams are correspondingly simpler, but no less a part of their make-up. Of course one can only indirectly infer dreaming from outward signs such as you describe and from brainwave patterns -- so there is no absolute proof that their experience of dreaming is that similar to ours. We can't jack into a dog brain and see and hear their dream on a monitor, much less experience their subjective reaction to it.
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03-01-2014, 08:28 PM
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255 posts, read 383,103 times
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I think my cats dreams, they twitch a lot in their dreams and sometimes they kind of meow. It would be interesting to know what they dream about though. They don't really do much during the day now since they're old. They basically lay around all day and sleep or eat. When my older cat was a kitten, he would get into such a deep sleep and twitch that he wouldn't notice if you picked him up in his sleep to cuddle him. He notices now though. Also I wonder if he notices that I sleep because when he wants me to wake up to feed him he uses his paw to touch my nose.
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03-01-2014, 08:38 PM
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417 posts, read 815,131 times
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Mine bark and run in their sleep so a definite yes from what I can tell.
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03-02-2014, 03:59 AM
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Location: Not.here
2,828 posts, read 4,091,629 times
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According to this article, based on research done at MIT, they go through REM sleep and have dreams.
Do dogs and cats really dream? - USATODAY.com |
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03-03-2014, 06:09 AM
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Location: An Island with a View
758 posts, read 959,565 times
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They certainly do, believe me. But I'm sure their dreams are just as rubbish and stupid like humans' ones.
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03-03-2014, 09:55 AM
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Location: California
120 posts, read 198,763 times
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I am sure they do. My dog yelp and whimpers in her sleep sometimes. She is a small dog, so I suppose she has nightmares of bid dogs chasing her  . |
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03-03-2014, 09:55 AM
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9,238 posts, read 21,623,992 times
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03-04-2014, 11:51 AM
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Location: Prescott AZ
6,781 posts, read 11,014,773 times
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I wake up my little doggie when he is dreaming and crying out, just so he knows its only a dream and I am there for him.
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03-04-2014, 05:39 PM
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Location: Penna
726 posts, read 1,151,092 times
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All conscious being dream, it is an aspect of same...like breathing.
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