What do dogs dream about? Research explores the mystery of canine sleep

You could be the owner of your dog’s dreams.

If you’ve ever wondered why your dog might kick, twitch or whine while catching some shut-eye, experts believe it’s because they’re dreaming just like humans do.

One of the more notable studies about dog dreams came out of MIT more than 20 years ago, in which researchers studied the sleep cycle of rats, finding that the rodents were recalling real-life events and experiencing complex dreams.

Dogs, then, are likely to dream in a similar fashion.

“(Dogs) probably dream about their owners and interacting with other dogs and with people that they enjoy,” veterinarian José Arce, former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, told USA Today. 

A dog’s age and size also plays a role in frequency of dreaming.

According to the American Kennel Club, smaller dogs are more likely to have increased dream frequency than larger pups, but they also have shorter dreams, whereas larger dogs have less dreams but for a longer duration.

“Puppies seem to dream more, and for some reason older dogs seem to dream a little bit more than the middle-aged dogs,” Arce added. 

But, just like humans have nightmares, your Fido might, too. Experts warn, though, not to wake a dog despite it growling or whimpering in its sleep, lest you face the consequences.

The Journal of Veterinary Behavior reports that approximately 6% of dog bites happen while the pooch was asleep.

“When a dog is growling, that’s something I wouldn’t interfere with,” Arce explained. “You have to be very careful around their mouth because sometimes they will bite you, not on purpose, but … they don’t have any control.”

While little else is known about what happens when animals sleep, Arce believes artificial intelligence might factor into future research and help researchers “find more answers.”

“Because a lot of these technologies [are] just developing as we speak and it’s getting more sophisticated,” he said.

Recent research on dogs has yielded more findings about their brains and behaviors, like the fact they can smell humans’ stress, can distinguish languages, how they emote and why little dogs outlive big dogs.