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Have you ever seen your sleeping dog lying on its side and appear to be running? Have you heard your pet growling in its sleep? They're probably dreaming. I wonder if our Yorkie named Murphy (who passed away over 10 years ago) ever dreamt about the time he hopped up on an ice chest to gain access to the dessert table at our cook-out. He proceeded to eat half a cheesecake! Then I wonder if that same dream turned to a nightmare because, in reality, he puked like a human about five times. I wonder if he dreamt of how we played ball on the stairs. We'd throw a tennis ball to the top of the stairs. Murphy would run up and get it, chew on it a brief bit, then let it bounce all the way down to us. He would bounce and bark until we threw it back up to him. We'd repeat that routine over and over again until he'd wear out. Some times we'd refuse to throw the ball back and he'd race full speed down the stairs right at us to steal it back. Yes, I wonder if he dreamt of good times like that. I know we do. A recent article on people.com got me thinking about pets and dreams and our little guy.
Your pet is dreaming about you … Scientists say that all mammals have similar attributes, one of those being that they have dreams. That’s right, our cats and pups enter into a REM sleep cycle too, just like us, and chances are they dream about the things that happen to them every day. So it’s likely they dream about you! Unfortunately, that also means that pets can have nightmares, too. If you ever notice your pet in what looks to be a nightmare, try not to startle them awake. Just like us, they want to be woken up gently!