You have probably seen this. Your dog is asleep, twitching, their paws are moving like they are running, maybe they let out a little yip or a soft woof. You watch them and wonder: are they dreaming? And if they are, what about?
The short answer is yes, dogs dream. And the really fun answer is that the science suggests they are probably dreaming about their day. Which means, yes, they are probably dreaming about you.
The Research Is Pretty Clear
Researchers at MIT did the foundational work on this back in 2001. They studied rats running through mazes and recorded the activity in the rats’ brains while they were awake. Then they recorded the brain activity while the rats were asleep. The sleeping brain activity replayed the exact same patterns as the maze-running activity. The rats were literally re-running the maze in their sleep. They were dreaming about the thing they had been doing.
The same thing has been shown in dogs. Their brain activity during REM sleep (the stage of sleep where dreaming happens) closely mirrors the activity patterns from their waking day. The structure of the brain that handles memory and learning in dogs is structurally similar to ours, and the sleep cycle in dogs is similar too. They go through light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep, just like we do. They just have shorter cycles (about 20 minutes each) and they enter REM sleep faster than we do.
What Are They Dreaming About?
Most of the evidence points to this: dogs dream about their daily experiences. The walk they took this morning. The squirrel they saw. The treat they got. The person they love. You.
If your dog twitches and “runs” in their sleep, they are probably chasing that squirrel or playing with the dog they met at the park. If they make little yipping or barking sounds, they might be reacting to something in the dream. If they whimper or paddle their paws, they are probably in an active dream sequence.
Some dogs clearly have nightmares. I have seen dogs whimpering, growling softly, or showing signs of distress in their sleep. If your dog is having a nightmare, the instinct is to wake them up. Resist that instinct. Dogs who are woken from a deep, active dream can be disoriented and may snap before they realize where they are. The dream will pass. If it is prolonged, you can gently call their name from across the room, but do not touch them until they wake up on their own.
The Sleep Position Tells a Story
How your dog sleeps can also tell you a little about how comfortable and secure they feel. Dogs who curl up tight in a ball are conserving heat and protecting their vital organs, which is a leftover behavior from wild ancestors. Dogs who sprawl out on their side or back, belly up, are at maximum comfort. They feel safe, they are at the right temperature, and they are letting their guard down completely.
If your dog sleeps belly-up next to you, take it as a compliment. That is a dog that feels completely safe with you.
Older Dogs Dream More
Older dogs tend to have more vivid and frequent dreams, possibly because the aging brain processes memories differently. If you have a senior dog, do not be surprised if they have more nighttime activity, more twitching, and more vocalizations in their sleep. It is normal. The same caveat applies about waking them up.
Puppies dream a lot too, but their dreams tend to be about the new things they are processing. That is part of how they learn. Every walk, every new person, every new texture, every sound gets filed away during sleep.
What About the Little Sleep Noises?
Whining, soft barking, growling, paddling paws, twitching whiskers, lip-licking, and tail wagging in sleep are all normal. They are signs that the dog is in an active dream state. Just like in humans, the body does not fully shut down during REM sleep. It just turns off the major muscle movements so the dog does not physically act out the dream (most of the time).
Some dogs do act out their dreams. They might jump up suddenly, bark, or even snap. This is more common in younger dogs and it is usually harmless. Just make sure they have a safe place to sleep where they will not hurt themselves if they leap up out of a dream.
Stay fresh and furry, Nicole / Vroom Grooms LLC
About the Author
Nicole is the owner and certified groomer behind Vroom Grooms LLC, a mobile dog grooming service serving Northwest Ohio. She has been certified since 2020 after completing 640 hours of hands-on training, and watches a lot of dogs nap between appointments. You can catch her live on Twitch at DogGroomerNIcole, where she streams real appointments and talks through what she notices about each dog.
This post was drafted with help from Nagini 🐍, her digital assistant, who keeps the blog running, handles the tech side of the website, and makes sure Nicole spends more time with dogs and less time wrestling with WordPress.