does your dog dream?

I would say yes, for all the reasons you stated above. Running, howling etc etc in his sleep.

Oh Rory is so funny when she dreams, its totally normal but like humans I dont think your supposed to wake them up. Anyhoo Rory does all of what you mentioned but my favorite (and its vert rare) she will bark in her sleep but her mouth dosnt open all the way so her lips blow out, its is so funny. She has had her eyes open a couple of times and that is really freaky1

I don't remember where I originally heard this idea, I don't know if it was here, on another forum, in passing...
 
But someone mentioned this interesting thought:
If dog do, indeed dream, do they have the mental capacity to recognize that that wasn't real?  That that playtime didn't really happen?  Humans have a very complex brain, language attached to concepts, etc.  We can consciously and awarely accept that whatever happened is not reality.  Can dogs do this?
 
And yes, Tyson dreams.

Alieliza thats a good question because half the time when I wake up I think it was real, haha! But one time Rory was doing the doggy dreaming and woke up startled and ran to the door barking so who knows?

ORIGINAL: sheprano

Alieliza thats a good question because half the time when I wake up I think it was real, haha! But one time Rory was doing the doggy dreaming and woke up startled and ran to the door barking so who knows?

 
Bailey has done the same thing. A lot of the time durring the night he'll move his feet like hes running, and sometimes he'll suddenly jump up and be looking around as if something is about to attack or hes looking for another dog maybe. It's weird, and very annoying if he does this in the middle of the night & ends up standing on my back, he doesn't seem to realize his own size lol.

ORIGINAL: alieliza

If dog do, indeed dream, do they have the mental capacity to recognize that that wasn't real? 

 
WOW, that is far to deep an idea to think about without drinking beer. Interesting point though. I would say however I have thought things where real only to be told that they where not (childhood memories) and turned out to be dreams.

quote:

ORIGINAL: alieliza

If dog do, indeed dream, do they have the mental capacity to recognize that that wasn't real? 
 
mmm good question.
 
I had a dog that had gone through oh lord who knows what. He  had been terribly neglected, starved apparently harshly teased and not treated very well. Very frightened of thunder and loud noises. And the one time I witnessed him reacting to an ambulance siren  he howled and cried  like his heart was broken. And yet he had a wonderful loving affectionate jolly personality. Go figure.

In any case, he was lying over a favorite a/c vent near me when I heard him making funny little noises. I turned to see his mouth , nose, feet twitching. And the sounds he was making were like......sobbing....so very very sad. I said nothing to wake him. After what seemed a long time but probably wasn't he suddenly woke and sat straight up, blinked his eyes and looked around the room until he "found" me. He didn't cry. I didn't speak. I merely held out my arms and he silently walked into them for a gentle hug. He quietly leaned on me  for a moment, then looked up at me and wagged his tail. It broke my heart. I had never seen a dog have a "bad dream" and make those crying sounds like that......and then simply take refuge in a gentle embrace.
 
Oh great, now I'm crying again missing my sugar bear.  He died a couple years ago.

I think the "do dogs know dreams are not real" question is very interesting too. But... its important to note that I am not the original thinker.... I have a feeling I saw the same query on this board... so I can't take credit, but it is very deep.
 
Also,
How can we know that they are actually dreaming?  I mean, I think they are dreaming, and it seems as if they are dreaming, but can we ever really know?

ORIGINAL: bls4pets



In any case, he was lying over a favorite a/c vent near me when I heard him making funny little noises. I turned to see his mouth , nose, feet twitching. And the sounds he was making were like......sobbing....so very very sad. I said nothing to wake him. After what seemed a long time but probably wasn't he suddenly woke and sat straight up, blinked his eyes and looked around the room until he "found" me. He didn't cry. I didn't speak. I merely held out my arms and he silently walked into them for a gentle hug. He quietly leaned on me  for a moment, then looked up at me and wagged his tail. It broke my heart. I had never seen a dog have a "bad dream" and make those crying sounds like that......and then simply take refuge in a gentle embrace.

Man, that is a touching story. The cat I grew up with would sometimes have bad dreams. He'd wake up and meow pitifully until someone went and gave him a cuddle. The only time I've ever heard my dog howl is when she was dreaming. Who knows what she was dreaming about. Maybe being a big scary wild dog.

As for whether dogs know dreams are real or not... well, dogs don't have the same sense of time that we do. I suspect that they forget dreams almost instantly after they wake up, like we normally do. Sometimes we remember a dream, but usually because it holds some sort of special significance for us, or it's symbolic to us in some way. I don't think dogs are capable of that kind of abstract thought. I don't know about everyone else, but I rarely get confused about whether something is dream or reality unless it's something that is very much like what I can imagine might have happened, and then it's usually later that I'm confused, rather than straight away. So I am going to cautiously put forth the theory that the natural state is to not be confused about it and not think that it is real beyond the few moments after waking that are inherently confusing and have the dream formost in memory. Er, thus dogs dream, and might seem confused by them for the few moments after waking, but quickly realise they are not real, just like we do. I think this is a case where our intellect and capacity for abstract thought work against us and we confuse ourselves with reasoning that it should be real because we can imagine it being real.

Corvus, I agree with you that they do just forget them instantly.

bls4pets,

Your dog is our pup's twin! (minus the white paws)

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Shadow also has emotional dreams. We are not sure of his background but we have figured out that he went through some pretty rough times. He also loves to hug and will often wander over and lean on us to get his hugs.

I saw shadow's pic on another post and he just took my breath away, he looks so much like Joe, not just the coloring, the hair, it's the spark in the eyes and that "smile"
 
Shadow is beautiful.

Thank you bls4pets! We love him so much and count our lucky stars he has come into our lives. 

gus dreams...he makes little "ruff ruff..growl" sounds will twitching his feet