Have you ever looked over to see your sleeping dog twitching and moving in their sleep? If so, you have probably assumed they are dreaming of chasing bunnies or something of the sort. But many people have asked the question: Do dogs dream? The answer, according to new studies, is yes.
Testing done on lab rats over a course of time showed that the rat’s brain functions varied during sleep. Scientists would put them through mazes during their waking hours, and at night the rats were presumably dreaming of those activities. Rats are less intelligent than dogs, which means if their brain function is any indication, our dogs are in fact dreaming, too. Dog’s sleep patterns also resemble humans, in that they have different cycles of sleep (https://www.livescience.com/53743-dog-dreams.html).
Another interesting fact as to why some pooches move around and twitch in their sleep is due to the Pons. Located in the stem of the dog’s brain, it is responsible for keeping larger muscles still during sleep. This keeps them from acting out during dreams. In puppies and older pets, sometimes this is less functional and therefore causes them to twitch more (https://www.livescience.com/53743-dog-dreams.html).
So to answer the regularly asked question: do dogs dream? The answer appears to be yes. If they have had a particularly busy or active day, it is believed they dream about that in some form or other, which attributes to their dream running. Your pet is probably reliving those glorious moments they spend with you during their waking hours. Though theres no science to prove exactly that, it is a nice thought.