Dogs Dream on their Dog Beds

Dogs dream just like humans. Most dog owners have witnessed their dogs dreaming as dogs of course often sleep while we are awake. It can be hilarious to watch them twitch their noses and mouths and even growl at some dreamt up danger in their dog minds. We have all seen our pet dogs or working dogs gallop on their dog beds and the eyes moving under the eyelids. Often the eyes are eerily open making the performance a bit scary to look at.

Even Rats Dream.

Most people would say that a rat is not as sophisticated an animal as a dog, but even rats have been seen to express behaviour that is just like dreams. Researchers found that when a rat learned a maze during the day, they could measure the same brain activity the following night, showing that the rat was going through the experience of the day. From our own dreaming, most of us know that we seem to have dreams that are connected to our day’s experience or perhaps about what we are planning for the following day.

It is tempting to assume that your dog, sleeping on his comfortable waterproof dog bed, is having similar dreams related to what happened during the day that passed.

Dogs use smells to a large extend in their lives. It would be an interesting experiment to test that out. If you had a dog that enjoyed his ball a lot, you could try and wait till he falls asleep on his cosy dog bed and then quietly lay the ball in front of his nose. Dreams start to happen on average around 20 minutes in to the sleep. You might find that during his dream-cycle he snaps at it and becomes keener in his dream-running. Or maybe lay out some clothing that smells like the postman, haha. I haven’t tried this, but it would be interesting and I shall try.

I have, in the past, put a titbit in front of the nose of a sleeping dog and sometimes he smells it straight away, sometimes it takes longer. I wasn’t taking the dream cycle in to account, but I will have a go at that at some point.

It is an easy thing to do as the sticky, smelly titbit can easily be cleaned off the easy to wash dog beds.

Fascinating facts about dream activities.

There is a special structure in the brain stem (pons) that stops animals from enacting the dreams they have. When you see those twitches while your dog “runs” in his sleep on the dog bed, the pons is stopping him from actually getting up and run. With the pons removed it was shown that dogs got up and did all the stuff they were dreaming of. As pointers are close to the hearts of Tuffies dog beds it was fascinating to read that pointers would get up and actually go on point in their dreams when the pons was removed. Spaniels would flush out imaginary birds etc.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to be “inside” the dog’s brain and “see” what he dreams. Surely he also dreams about other dogs and food and perhaps fears (such as said postman).

What dog beds are best for a good night’s sleep?

Like humans, dogs need a good nights sleep in order to function well. Furthermore dogs sleep a lot more than humans, so given they spend so much time on their beds, a good dog bed that suits the dog and the place you have picked for him to sleep, is essential.

Be clear about the purpose of the dog bed you buy.

If your dog is to have good sleep and pleasant dreams, he needs to be dry and warm. In the hottest of summers you also need to make sure he does not get too warm. He needs a summer dog bed that can give him support and insulate him from any big chill coming from a tiled or concrete floor, but one that does not swamp and heat him up. We will suggest a Wipe Clean Tuffies mattress as an ideal cool bed. You can fit nice cool covers as well. We offer in particular the Twill covers for dog beds as they have no warming pile, they are just a twill weave. This makes them easy to wash and simple to keep clean.

If he sleeps in a draughty kennel, he will need something he can still be warm in during the cool nights. Our Tuffies nest beds are ideal for this. The high sides secures a draught free place for him to be comfortable. The rule of thumb has to be that it is better to have a bed that is too warm than one where he is chilled in cooler conditions. The ideal is to have a mattress bed in the outdoor part of the kennel so he can lie on that when he wants to be outside in the summer days.

In the house you also have to consider draught at night, but in general it is best to have a simple mattress bed in the hottest of summers so your dog can cool off. It will be evident what he wants as he will simply lie on the floor if he is too hot.

The mattress beds are good for outdoors too.

Our mattress dog beds are also great for the outdoors. Although they are waterproof dog beds, they can’t stay outside during prolonged rain as the seams would slowly allow water in. They can withstand the odd shower and they are super for your dog to lie on when he wants to enjoy the sunshine. All dogs, like cats, will find a sunny spot and utterly enjoy the warm sun.

The mattress dog beds are so easy to lift compared to our substantial nest beds and a lot easier to wash too, so using them outside is just perfect. At night, you can even just take them in and lean them against the wall ready for the next day.