Dogs Can Dream Just Like Humans Do

In 2001, researchers at MIT conducted groundbreaking studies on animal dreaming by training rats to run a maze and measuring their brain activity. When the rats entered REM sleep, their brain activity matched the patterns observed during the maze running, indicating they were dreaming about the experience. Since dogs have more complex brains than rats, scientists conclude that dogs dream similarly. You can tell when your dog is dreaming by watching for eye movements behind their eyelids about 10 to 20 minutes after they fall asleep. Interestingly, small dogs like Chihuahuas dream more frequently than large dogs, with new dreams occurring about every ten minutes.