Sweet Dreams

I was having a nice quiet sleep when all of a sudden DixieLee yipped really loud. She scared me awake and I jumped off of the bed. I guess while I was having a good dream about lying on the bed, watching the birds, she was have a bad dream.

I ended up sleeping on the sofa because she was whimpering and shaking. She was moving around so much that she even woke Mom up. It’s a really good idea not to wake up DixieLee (or any dog) when she is whimpering and shaking cuz she just might think you are the bad person and snap at you.

Mom talked whispery to her. She said things like “DixieLee is a good girl” and “It’s okay now” and “Mom is right here” until she settled down and slept quiet.

When I asked her the next morning what she was dreaming about, she said she was sorry she woke me up but she didn’t remember any dream. Dogs are like people like that. Sometimes we remember or dreams and sometimes we don’t.

Scientists did tests so they know that dogs dream because of something called REM (rapid-eye-movement). They said that when a dog’s breathing gets irregular and their legs start to move, they are dreaming.

Puppies and older dogs are more likely to have running legs because of something called pons in their brains. Pons in adult dogs are strong and keep the leg muscles from acting like they are running. All this science stuff is complicated but it is important to know.

The scientists also say that dogs dream the same way that people do. They could even have nightmares. I think DixieLee was having a scary nightmare when she woke me up. They say dogs probably dream about things that happen when they are awake. Like a Black Lab might dream about chasing birds and a German Sheppard might dream about chasing bad guys.

All this talk about dreaming is making me tired. I think I’ll take a nap and maybe dream about sitting in the sunshine.

Sweet Dreams,

Zeva

P.S. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, check out pawpalsboutique.com