Ask Toto #41

Dear Toto,

When my dog is sleeping, she woofs and twitches in her sleep, like she’s dreaming.  What do dogs dream about?  What did you dream about last night?

-       Curious and Dreaming

Hi Curious!  Great question!

Absolutely, dogs dream.  Can’t you tell by watching us?

We’re not exercising in our sleep, you know.  That’s what daytime hours are about.

But you ask any smartypants doctor, he will explain that yes, dogs experience the same type of REM sleep that humans do when they’re dreaming.  It’s just that most dogs can’t tell you that they dreamed or what they dreamed, because most dogs can’t talk.

BUT I CAN!

Most of the time, I dream pretty normal stuff.  You know, the usual.  Chasing rabbits, chasing the cows, chasing the chickens and the pigs and the horses. 

On the few occasions I find myself in Oz with Dorothy, WOO BUDDY! Those dreams are like Technicolor nightmares, filled with Nome Kings, rolling eggs, lavender bears, vengeful cinnamon buns, and all sorts of things.  Which is why I prefer to spend as little time in Oz as possible. 

But last night, I had a pretty good dream.  Dorothy had taken me to the lake, and we were on a sailboat.  I sniffed at the fish in the water, and stood at the bow of the ship and pretended I was captain as Dorothy steered us around.

Then when we docked, a giant army of evil cats showed up!  I grew ten feet tall and battled the cats to protect Dorothy.  I chased all the evil cats into the water where the fish ate them.  And Dorothy and I were safe again.

Those are the best kind of dreams for me.  Not the cat part, though I shed no tears over cats.  But the parts where it’s me and Dorothy together forever, those are the dreams I like the best.  Because they’re the ones that are the closest to reality.

Thanks for the question!

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