Dogs growling in their sleep can be a normal and healthy behaviour, as they may be dreaming about past experiences or playing. However, it can also indicate a medical or behavioural issue, such as discomfort, pain, or anxiety. To determine the reason behind your dog’s growling, it’s important to observe their behaviour and consult with a veterinarian. Understanding why dogs growl in their sleep can help provide them with the proper care and support they need.
Do Dogs Dream?
While our dogs can’t speak to us and tell us about their lives, scientists have gathered through observations that, in fact, dogs do dream.
The average dog begins to dream after about 20 minutes of REM sleep. REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, is the deep stage of sleeping associated with rapid eye movements and dreaming.
During REM sleep, dogs may make strange noises, and their muscles may twitch. It’s believed that when this happens, dogs are dreaming. People and dogs both dream about what has happened during their day. When the brain is sleeping, it’s finally able to process the information that was gathered during the day.
Since our dogs can’t speak, we can’t be certain what they dream about. While people primarily dream visually since sight is one of our strongest senses, it’s believed that dogs may have dreams that rely more heavily on their sense of smell and hearing.
Dogs can make many noises while they’re sleeping. Some of those may include:
- Chewing and licking
- Growling
- Barking
- Snorting
All of these sounds may be an indication of what they’re dreaming about. Chewing and licking may indicate a dream about a tasty treat. Growling may indicate a nightmare. Barking could indicate either a happy dream or a nightmare, depending on the dog. Snorting may indicate the dog is dreaming about sniffing something.
In addition to the sounds dogs may make while they’re dreaming, they also may make many different body movements. Some of those may include:
- Tail wagging
- Moving their legs
- Eye twitching
- Leg twitching or movements
- Ear twitching
- Head movements
All of these sounds and movements are normal during REM sleep and simply indicate that your dog is dreaming.
How Often Do Dogs Dream?
Some dogs may dream more than others. How much a dog dreams may depend on his age and size. Puppies and younger dogs may dream more because their brain is taking in much more information during the day. Older dogs have already learned about the daily facts of life, so their brain doesn’t need to process the information as intently during the night.
Research suggests that the frequency of dreams may also be dependent on the dog’s size. Smaller dreams may dream more frequently, but alternatively, their dreams may not last as long as a larger dog’s. Dream length and frequency may also be related to the intensity of sleep. Larger, more active dogs may sleep more soundly and experience more REM sleep, causing them to dream more.
Studies show that dogs spend 44% of their time alert, 21% of their time drowsy, and 12% of their time in REM sleep. 23% of their time is spent in the deepest stage of non-REM sleep, called slow-wave sleep. This is a stage of deep sleep that isn’t associated with rapid eye movement. This is considered the stage of sleep where the body is at its most restful.
Do Dogs Have Nightmares?
Just like in people, it is suspected that dogs can have nightmares. A dog growling in their sleep may indicate that he is having a nightmare. While it can be startling to watch and may even wake you up, it is best to let your sleeping dog continue sleeping.
Most of your dog’s dreams are likely happy dreams! It’s important that your dog gets his uninterrupted sleep to be well-rested and for the health of his mind and body. Dreaming is a normal occurrence.
Sleep Startle Reflex in Dogs
You should never disturb your dog or wake him up while he’s sleeping. If your dog is startled or woken up abruptly out of his sleep, he may initially be disoriented and confused. Approximately 60% of dog bites occur when children wake up a sleeping dog.
When dogs are dreaming and then suddenly woken, they may experience what is called the sleep startle reflex. This is a natural and instinctive reflex in dogs. It is their brain and body’s way of protecting them from danger. Since a dog’s natural instinct is for survival, they will immediately react to defend themself when they are disturbed.
Any dog can experience the sleep startle reflex. It’s important to note that this is a natural behaviour and if your dog experiences this, it doesn’t make him a bad dog!
How to Stop the Sleep Startle Reflex
While this is a natural instinctive behaviour, there are ways to set your dog and the environment up so that he experiences this less frequently.
- Give your dog his own comfortable bed in a quiet part of the house. It will be more restful for your dog to sleep in peace where they’re not being woken up by busier areas, like the kitchen.
- Consider crate training your dog and having them sleep in their crate. When properly trained, dogs actually enjoy their crates. They are quiet, comfortable, dark, and private areas to fully relax. The crate serves as a physical barrier and keeps both you and your dog safe.
- Avoid your dog entirely when he’s sleeping, and let him sleep undisturbed. If you need to wake your dog up while he’s sleeping, it’s best to call his name softly from a distance. You could also drop smelly dog treats a few feet away so that he can wake up naturally by smelling them.
- “Let sleeping dogs lie” is a popular saying for a good reason! If your dog is sleeping, always let him continue to sleep. Only interact with your dog once he is fully awake and aware of your presence.
Conclusion
We know that our dogs dream, but it’s difficult to know exactly what they dream about since they can’t tell us. When dreamings, dogs may growl in their sleep, make other noises, or even have physical movements. All of these are completely normal occurrences and nothing to worry about! Finally, it’s always best to let your sleeping dog lie. Never wake your dog up from his sleep because a deep, and undisturbed sleep is important for his health!
