Just something I've been wondering about. I know some dogs seem to dream more than other and that we don't know what there dreaming about. My girls has lots of dreams as does another dog I know and it got me thinking, if a dog dreams alot could it have an effect on there behaviour while awake.
So for example say if a dog had a bad event say like it was bit by another dog, if it then kept dreaming about it would that make the dog more likley to become reactive to dogs as in its mind it keeps getting bitten.

I think that you would need to ask your dog what she dreams about before drawing any conclusions :) :) I've always assumed that dogs only have happy dreams - chasing rabbits etc :)

has there been any study on this in humans? if not then it is unlikely we would be able to say whether it is possible in dogs. For one thing we have no way of knowing what a dog thinks about even when it is awake, let alone when it is asleep.

I have dreamt my husband has done something wrong in a dream . I have woken up in a bad mood because of it so he has said sorry to make me feel better ! :-P

I read on one site that they monitored brain waves of rats trained to run a maze and the brain activity was the same when they were in REM sleep than when they were running the maze.

I know I wake up some times realy annoyed when a friend has wound me up in my dream, allthough there is the question of do animals know it's just a dream like we do. Kids behaviour sure can be effected by bad dreams.

> I have woken up in a bad mood because of it so he has said sorry to make me feel better ! :-p

LOL :) :) :) :)

>I have woken up in a bad mood because of it so he has said sorry to make me feel better ! :-p

Has he got a brother?  :-)

> Has he got a brother?

LOL :) :) If he has, he certainly doesn't live in my house :)

Lol yes he has but he is taken !

I've read through the thoughts each of you have.  Now, I don't accept that my dogs dream, even when they are making silly noises, and pretending to run.

But then, I don't dream myself.  Not ever.

Really Jean you never dream?
I dream every night.

No, not ever.  I'm sure that if I did, then I would dream about dogs. 

Actually, when I go to bed I don't sleep.  I die.  I'm sure I sleep so deeply that there is no thought process.  :-)

Every night???  Blimey, what do people dream about.  Serious question, because I genuinely don't have a clue.

>Every night???  Blimey, what do people dream about.

All sorts - it'd make a fascinating novel if only the recollection didn't fade so quickly on waking! I can still remember stress-induced nightmares from 35 years ago though.

Sometimes my dog wags his tail furiously when he is fast asleep. No idea what he is dreaming about but whomever or whatever it is, he is pleased to see them :)

Every night???  Blimey, what do people dream about.  Serious question, because I genuinely don't have a clue.

Strange stuff normaly and dreams can run together so u will be doing one thing then suddenly doing something completely different and u don't notice untill u wake up and think how did that happen.
this morning's dream (I got up early to sort dog I'm looking after then went back to bed) I was in Sainsbury shopping with my mother then I was flapping my arms and flying around the store which no one seemed to notice. We payed for our shopping and the cashier New me but I've never seen her befor so just pretended like I knew her. People were dressed up funny for some concert that had apperantpy happened. Then I was flying around the car park while holding a chopping board in my mouth to see if I could still fly with the extra weight. But had to stop as the big snakes from my work were lose in the car park and they were trying to reach me. Then mum told me off for flying where people could see me and I was asking if I could go to my friends house and that I would fly home as it will be dark no one would see me so just leave the bedroom window open. That's when I worked up.

Most dreams after being awake for 10 mins I start forgetting what it was I dreamed about but some I rember even some nightmares I had as a kid.
I know if I dream about work it's going to be a bad day at work. Also when ever I'm being chased in my dreams foe some reason no matter how far ahead I get I allways give up as I can't be bothered to run anymore. When I dream I'm in my house I never dream about the house I live in now (been her around 10 years now) it's allways my old house I grew up in. Have also died twice in dreams.

I have great dreams where it is like a big adventure doing so many things with so many people often involving my dad who is no longer with us .
I am often dressed in combat clothes and I am armed ! Oh dear I think I need to go and get therapy lol !
The bad ones are horrible the last one being when I took the dogs swinming and Puds my sweet girl who I lost a few weeks ago got into trouble and I couldn't save her. This was a few weeks before she died and had no clue she was going to either although she didn't drown.

I do wonder with dogs though as the different types of whimpers and woofs we get sometimes the ones awake ignore yen but certain times they will look really concerned although they know something exciting or they are giving a warning dependant I suppose on what they maybe dreaming about or it could be the look to tell them to shut up !!

> I do wonder with dogs though as the different types of whimpers and woofs we get

Tara dreams a lot (although not always) - her legs move around vigorously and she often kicks the wall etc, she also can make lots of woofing noises - definitely not a dog to have sleeping in your bedroom :) If she isn't dreaming she is snoring :) :)

Lol snoring , squeaky , woofing dreams are the best !

mine sleeps in my bed, I was getting kicked in the back the other night by her

Blimey Jo you could write a really interesting fantasy novel.

I'm allways having strange dreams lol I had to stop watching zombie films as I kept being munched my zombies in dreams and actualy woke up convinced zombies were real. Lol

Jean you DO dream, everyone does or you wouldn't have refreshing sleep......this could be measured by EEG.
You just can't remember what you've dreamt.
http://www.asdreams.org/subidxeduq_and_a.htm

Even rats dream.... it's been found and studied.

The only time I have heard one of my dogs howl, is when he has howled in his sleep. Only a few times in 8 yrs but it wakes me up immediately. Very very spooky when it happens.

>You just can't remember what you've dreamt.

If that's the case, how come I've never heard anyone else say they don't dream?  I feel like I'm the only one!  :-(

I never used to dream Jean (or I guess, remember I'd dreamed) but recently I have been having more and more bizarre dreams. I tried golden turmeric paste well over a month ago and within 2 days of starting it I had to stop because my dreams were so vivid and odd I was waking myself up multiple times a night. The dreams haven't stopped.

Eg - last night I dreamt I got called out to a dump of a farm for a sick pig, but en route my brother's best friend re-directed me to the local sports center because the pig was there and when I got there the pig was fine but there were 100s of fairly big piglets who tried to bite at my feet when I went in the room, then I was expected to show 2 in a class of 60 with 100s of spectators, but I wasn't allowed a pig board or anything, and eventually I had mine walking with bits of string used as leads (up behind the ears for steering, very important apparently) and everyone was wanting to know how I did it. I don't even LIKE pigs!!!

So my suggestion is to try turmeric paste!

Ok - you're freaking me out now!   LOL

Listening to some of you, I am now soooo glad that I haven't a clue what it's like to dream.  Because honestly, if I had some of the scary dreams that you lot have, they would keep me awake all night!

I freak myself out lol!

>If that's the case, how come I've never heard anyone else say they don't dream?  I feel like I'm the only one!  :-(

My mother says she stopped dreaming - or at least stopped remembering the dreams - when my father died, and it wasn't until she had come to terms with his loss (about 10 years) that she started again. Now she says her dreams can be very comforting because that's when she gets to speak to him again, and to her sister who died two years ago and the shock gave Mother a small stroke. She says it's lovely that in her dreams she isn't disabled any more. :-)

>She says it's lovely that in her dreams she isn't disabled any more

That is so touching.  How wonderful that it gives such comfort.

I have quite vivid dreams very often and even more so if i forget to take my medication - last night I alternated between competing in a local showjumping competition, and watching a very funny comic drag act on an alternative comedy stage - "his" name was Eyrey Fayrey as his material was drawn from works by the Bronte sisters...

I believe the reverse, especially when it comes to what kind of dreaming is going on ...... which is why I try to suggest people make all their dog's waking experiences good ones.  But as we can never KNOW what our dogs are dreaming about, I guess we can't possibly know whether dreams affect waking behaviour.   I know if I have a disturbing dream, it can spill over into the early part of the next morning, occasionally.

JeanSW.....I've never remembered a dream in my entire life and am now in my 60s!    I generally sleep well, have no problems falling asleep and may wake up once in the night only....slightly more during menopause and hot flushes, but still no  remembered dreams.  Feel I'm missing out!  

>.....I've never remembered a dream in my entire life and am now in my 60s!

Oh how normal you sound.  :-)  :-)  :-)

Am sure that dogs dream. Some of them sleep in our bedroom and their mutterings, chunterings and occasional  muffled woofs convince me that they are dreaming pretty vividly.
I dream every night, some dreams more memorable than others. I've have also had premonitory dreams, some very traumatic .
Wish I could dream up lottery numbers.

>Wish I could dream up lottery numbers

:-)  :-)  :-)

One of my dogs I have had since a puppy.
He has never howled... except, three times so far in his  8+ year lifespan, I've been woken by him howling in his sleep. Wakes you up with a chill down your spine!

During the first couple of months after one of our boys joined us at 10 months, while a sleep his legs would thrash around, he'd start to howl waking himself, scrabble to his feet & run from the room to be found shaking in the kitchen. Found it disturbing & wondered what had caused him to dream like that, happily it stopped & hasn't occurred again. I'd love to know what he was running from?  

I believe dogs dream ( I know I do). When we brought our current pup home the first couple of times she crashed out you could see she was acting out her litter interactions. Growling, wagging her tail paws a pawing general litter like behaviour. Now occasionally she still dreams as she has become more vocal she will do this in her sleep also.

It's funny when she wakes herself up

The scariest for me was the first night when she came home she had the rapid breathing pups have and had this really weird (completely Normal apparently) sleep where she was so floppy and twitchy I was worried. I couldn't rouse her I panicked so much as I had a dog I was resuscitating nightly due to tracheal collapse before.  I read up on it  (thank god for the Internet) and stopped panicking. No-one told me about that it was very scary.

I has something similar Tish when I couldn't wake my girl.
She was sound asleep having a dream. Her feet were going and she was making her normal little noises then suddenly started screaming and I mean screaming. I was shaking her and shouting her name in a panick trying to wake her up and couldn't. I was beginning to think she must be having a fit and she woke up and gave me a look as to say "do u mind, you just woke me up". I've only Hurd her make that noise once befor that when she was bitten as a puppy and I hope I never hear her make that noise again. I do wonder if she was dreaming about that incerdent as she was still a pup when that happened.

I panic at the best of times - that would have totally freaked me Jo. That  'fit' like movement was exactly what the pup did and it was just like déjà vu for me.  lily used to go rigid and screech when she was first diagnosed then as her condition worsened she would just gag as her trachea collapsed.  she would pass out and tongue would go blue. We kept her alive through resuscitating her over and over. She went on for another 6 months and then one night I couldn't get her back. She died in my arms. She was such a brave little thing. I still miss her.

This pup woofs away in her dreams wags her tail they are happy dreams to watch.

My weim does the same thing and it is very scary to see. I also try and wake her up but it takes a while. My friend said that it is dangerous to wake the dog up from this deep dreaming as they can be shocked. Do you think this is true?

I had a shock last night, one of my dogs made such a bizarre noise I woke thinking I had intruders.. It took me a while to come to and realise it was him, never heard this noise before and I had to wake him up to stop it x

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">My mother says she stopped dreaming - or at least stopped remembering the dreams - when my father died, and it wasn't until she had come to terms with his loss (about 10 years) that she started again. Now she says her dreams can be very comforting because that's when she gets to speak to him again, and to her sister who died two years ago and the shock gave Mother a small stroke. She says it's lovely that in her dreams she isn't disabled any more.

That is interesting, I lost my Mother just over a year ago and I was unable to understand why I could not dream about her. Then  just before the year anniversary, I had the most vivid, amazing dream, all sorts of memories and happy things.I woke the next day feeling like a tonne weight had been lifted from my shoulders.