Do dogs dream?? PLEASE HELP ME!!!?
What do dogs dream about? Are there any experts on here today? I'm writing a paper for my English class about the differences/similarities in dogs dreaming/thinking. How do dogs think? What is the difference between human emotions and dogs emotions? When dogs dream can they hear things? Do they see in color? What do they dream about? I'm doing some research but I wanted to know if you had any extra information. I hate researching! Please help me! Thank you so much!
Comments
I can't help you with everything, but dogs definitely dream! Have you ever seen one sleeping, while they move all their legs like they're running? So they have more physical dreams than most humans do.
I would say dog emotions are more primal, but I do believe they feel basic emotions like any human. Dog's emotions are comparable to a human infant - they feel security with those who feed them, keep them warm, show them affection, etc. That then turns into love. But unlike an infant, they have the strength to physically act on other emotions like fear, whereas babies can only cry. They have basic primal insticts as well - a lot of dogs will growl if you put your hand near their food bowl, cause they're protecting their "kill", like they would if they were in the wild. Even if they've been a house dog their whole life, they still have their "species memory", so to speak. Research that, it will help.
The reason dogs are such domesticated animals now is, they've been able to adapt their instict for pack mentality to include humans. The family they live with becomes their "pack". Usually the person who cares for them the most, feeding, attention, etc., becomes the alpha dog to them - the one they follow & show the most loyalty to. You will see dogs protecting the children in their family just like they would the pups of their pack.
So think of all the emotions dogs are capable of - fear, anger, annoyance, aggression, loneliness, sadness, insecurity, joy, love, excitement - they must be able to feel all these in dreams as well.
The difference is, they don't have language - much like a baby human. So there are no words to define what they feel, they just feel it. So they dream in concepts, not clearly defined "plots" like humans. Just try to imagine what you feel, but without words - the actual effect these emotions have on your body - the sinking feeling when you're scared or disappointed, or the soaring feeling you feel when happy.
Dogs aren't color blind, they just see black & white better than colors, which are muted & faded. They also have much better night vision than humans, so could potentially have dreams in the dark, since they can see better.
I think their dreams are from an eye point of view looking through their own eyes, instead of seeing themselves like people sometimes do. They might consist of chasing things (predator instinct) someone hurting them if they've been abused (fear instinct), or just sleeping in the sun being happy!
I have to say, this is an awesome question, and I'm a little jealous they didn't give us these assignments when I was in school!
Well I'm no expert about canine psychology, however dogs certainly do dream! My dog constantly sleeps and she commonly makes unique sounds and movements as she's sleeping, no doubt she is having a dream because her paws will move as if she is running and her eyes flicker, no doubt she is dreaming. I like to think she is dreaming about chasing rabbits or something of that sort. Who knows though? Dogs can't speak to us and if there are any studies then I don't know how they are being proven because any tests on dogs and their dreams would probably be considered animal cruelty. Oh and yes of course they can hear, just like humans when we are in the middle of a dream and someone wakes us up- same thing for dogs. Alrgitht well I helped you enough, time for you to stop using Y.A. for your homework
Yes, dogs do dream. They would dream about their experiences, I would assume chasing a cat or another organism. Dogs just want to have fun, sleep, eat, and have sex. I would assume we have very similar emotions to dogs, but dogs are really loyal and they love you unconditionally. I am not sure if dogs can see color. I know some can't, but I don't know about all of them.