do pets dream?

snorlax

i have always wondered if animals dream and if they do is it similiar to the way we dream? Sometimes my dog barks when he's asleep and sometimes he wines..and sometimes the cat miaows when she's asleep (which she does a lot).

Ruu_Old

Good question, I would say yes. My kitten often makes little noises and often swats things in her sleep. Maybe she is thinking of the time when her prey got away from her or whatever.:) Most cats spend more of their time asleep so I'm sure they have something going on up there. Watch your cats movements next time. Mine often sleeps on her back, likes shes sunbathing.:)

Black Swan

I believe so. Had a Great Dane that used to lay on his back, with his legs in the air. Occasionally, when asleep, the legs would move as if running in slow motion, and he would do a muffled bark.

iFight

Very Good question, never thought about that. Id presume that they would, but dont know for fact. Ive seen my dogs moving a bit when theyre asleep.

Rhyme

Id say so, my dog whines and runs in her sleep... when it gets a bit too frenzied i wake her up... poor thing.

Karoma

Tests performed (Using an EEG for instance) have shown that dogs experience similar stages of sleep as humans - including R.E.M. Coupled with the noises and involuntary body movement: I would say yes, they do.
Even if it seems like they are having a bad dream it is best not to wake a sleeping dog. Dogs, like humans, need uninterrupted sleep for healthy mental activity.

Rhyme

I suppose you're right, it gets a bit loud sometimes... ill 'let sleeping dogs lie' in future.

Feral Mutant

I read before (think it was a Horrible Science) that mammals and birds dream but fish and other animals don't. It also said that animals often cannot separate dreams from reality after they've woken up though I have no idea how anyone could know that.

Doctor DooM

I am as sure as I can be that dogs dream without, actually being one. My little mongrel used to bark and growl and run in his sleep. One time he was particularly upset so I woke him up, he looked up extremely confused at me.

Chinafoot

There's a really good article here about research that was done in Massachusetts by a guy called Matthew Wilson.

Worth a read.

magnumlady

I believe my cats dream, they shake and look like they are running.

Faith

They certainly experience R.E.M., anyway.

meowCat

I believe they do dream.
My sister's dog used to look like its having horrilbe dreams each night, making weird crying sounds and all that jazz.

aidan24326

I think it's pretty well accepted at this stage that most if not all mammals, and possibly other animals aswell including birds, do dream. We can never know for sure what goes on in the mind of a dog or a cat or any other creature but the evidence through observation and neuro research suggests that many non-human animals probably do dream in whatever way is appropriate to their own level of mental complexity.

6th

peachypants wrote:

There's a really good article here about research that was done in Massachusetts by a guy called Matthew Wilson.

Worth a read.

Matthew Wilson has done some good work and the possible human inplications are positive but he implanted micro-electrodes into the hippocampus (the region of the brain associated with memory) to rats to do his studies. Not nice imo.

6th

Most birds and mammals dream but it would appear that its warm blooded creatures that do. Snakes and reptiles dont experience REM.

Tar.Aldarion

Animals certainly dream. We are animals too.
I am not sure about reptiles, it's hard to say.
No brain scans are found to show they do, when their eyes flutter as they sleep.

The_Minister

I read somewhere that elephants that see their parents die while they are babies, often have nightmares later in life.

murrayeel

i'm pretty sure that animals also dream.my dogs sometimes whine in their sleep so i presume they also dream.:)