What Dogs Dream About When They Twitch, According To Harvard Evolutionary Psychologist
Your dog's whole world is you.
chalabalaphotos | Canva Anyone who has a dog as a pet knows that sometimes when they're fast asleep on the couch or plopped right next to you, they move and even kick their legs like they're running. It's made us wonder exactly what our loyal friends have going on in their minds when they twitch while dreaming.
What do dogs dream about when they twitch?
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Do dogs dream in black and white? Do they dream using primal emotions — anger, sadness, happiness? Do dogs even dream at all?
All of that was answered in 2016, during an interview with an expert from Harvard University, discussing dogs and the dreams they have when they are sleeping.
Turns out, when dogs dream they're thinking about two things: their human owners and running.
"Humans dream about the same things they’re interested in by day, though more visually and less logically. There’s no reason to think animals are any different. Since dogs are generally extremely attached to their human owners, it’s likely your dog is dreaming of your face, your smell, and of pleasing or annoying you," said Dr. Deirdre Barrett.
And if a dog's legs start twitching when he's dreaming? It's pretty literal — it means they're dreaming about running.
"[Dogs] may well be dreaming they’re running. Common sleep-walking doesn’t occur during dreaming sleep, but a much more vigorous REM behavior disorder— a spontaneous version of what Jouvet’s experiments did, is accompanied by dreams, so the more pronounced and fast the movements, the more likely they’re acting out a dream," Barrett said.
Not only does your pup love to be around you when they're awake, but they clearly can't get enough of you when drifting off to dreamland. It's a sweet conclusion to come to, and will certainly make you feel closer to your pup.
So, yes, they do love you and are loyal to a fault. Since the interview was brought to the public, dog owners everywhere have grown increasingly sentimental over the idea that their dog's entire world revolves around them. And who wouldn't be? Dogs are like children to many people, after all,
It makes sense why your dog wants to be around you at all times, and even revels in all the affection you bestow upon them. Of course, we recognize dogs as "man's best friend," but the true extent of that term was not fully recognized until this new information about what dogs dream about was brought to people's attention.
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Dog owners seem to have been cut deep by this one, as even just the sight of their companion sleeping has brought many of them to tears, research from National Geographic reports. Not just from cuteness, but from the unconditional love these animals show us.
Unlike the love in a relationship, the love that dogs (and cats, too!) have for their owners is evident by the way they respond to treatment.
For example, no matter how many times we yell at them for getting into the trash or eating our shoes, dogs can never stay mad at us for long, and vice versa. It just goes to show that unconditional love knows no bounds, especially across different species.
Of course, we cannot look into the mind of a dog, but the idea of a dog's love extending deep into their psyche and dreamworld does send warm fuzzy feelings through the body.
Want to know something even greater about love? One 2015 study out of Japan found that dogs feel love for their owners when they look into their eyes.
Our furry friends love us just as much as we love them. And that's the greatest gift of all.
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