You have probably seen your pet twitch, kick, or make noises in his or her sleep. When your animal seems to be thinking up or imagining a very vivid scenario, you may assume that the animal is dreaming. Researchers at the Daily Vet have looked at this pressing question and come up with a very intriguing answer. A professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Stanley Coren, says that at the structural level, the brains of dogs are quite similar to the brains of humans. He notes that during sleep, a dog's brain wave patterns are not very different for people. Because the electrical stages of activity seem to be similar to a human's, it is possible that dogs, like humans, can dream.

Some pet owners who have rescued their animals from sad or devastating situations say that they have heard their dog whimpering or shaking in the night. Pet owners are often concerned that their animals are having nightmares about the past and reliving traumatic scenes that occurred before they were rescued. Abused animals have also been rumored to suffer from nightmares.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, scholars used machines and evidence to prove that sleeping rats often dream, Rats that were subjected to a complex maze then had the same electrical brain recordings when they were asleep, presumably showing that they were dreaming of the maze all over again. The dream waves were so specific that researchers said they could even identify the exact point in the maze that the rat was dreaming about when they monitored the animal's brain waves.

Dog brains are increasingly more complicated than a rat's brain is which means that it is possible that dogs dream as well. Studies show that dogs only exhibit body movement during sleep at brain wave stages that are commonly associated with driving. Veterinarians say that a dog normally starts dreaming about 20 minutes into deep sleep. A dog will normally enter deep sleep when his or her breathing becomes more regular. When the first dream starts, the dog's breathing may become shallow and irregular and the animal may have odd muscle twitches.

Sometimes an animal's eyes will even move underneath the closed lids. This is because the dog is moving his eyes around as if he was looking at real images while awake. These eye movements are characteristic of dreaming sleep in humans as well. In fact, psychologists have determined that if a human is awakened during this rapid eye movement phase the normally always remember that they were dreaming when they wake up. In addition to dogs, cats have also been reported to dream, Researchers say that they have seen cats sleepwalk, pounce on imaginary prey in their sleep, or swat at imaginary prey with their forepaws while still asleep.

Some veterinarians differ on the concept of pets and dreaming, and research on this subject is ongoing. More important than whether or not your pet dreams, is whether or not your pet gets adequate sleep. Animal insomnia is a real concept that can prevent animals from getting the rest that they need to be healthy. If your pet is always exhausted but not able to get deep restful sleep, then you will want to take pains to help him or her sleep better at night. Take your dog on a walk at night to help tire him or her out. In some cases, your pet may have a cognitive dysfunction, so you may want to discuss your situation with a local vet. Your animal may need medication for pet dementia or another mental disability. If you want more information, hire a local vet to assist you with your animal today!