Because I work from home, my four dogs spend a lot of time with me. From a canine perspective, they have an ideal existence. The pack is always together and they don’t have to spend much time alone. Dogs hate pack separation, after all.
Of course, the converse of this means I also spend a lot of time with the all-canine team. I know all their little schedules and idiosyncrasies, just as they know mine. For example, right now they are in the post-walk afternoon sleep phase of the day. Which, of course, is not to be confused with the morning post-breakfast digestion sleep time. Or the mid-afternoon nap in the living room. (So much sleeping, so little time.)
All this napping nearby means that I’m also extremely familiar with the various snoring noises the hounds make. Dogs don’t always sleep soundlessly. Sure, right now they are silent rugs, but sometimes it can get downright noisy.
For example, Leto is a veteran of a huge Los Angeles animal shelter and I think he must have flashbacks or something. When he dreams, he often whimpers. This morning, I think he must have had a case of doggie bad dreams because there was a lot of crying and tiny woofs from the corner of my office where he likes to sleep.
On the other hand, Tika, the golden retriever, clearly dreams of catching an elusive grouse or rabbit. I can tell from her motions and noises that there is a lot of running and woofing and cavorting in her dreams. She’s an exuberantly happy animal, so it’s probably no surprise she has fun in her dreams too.
They say that dreams can tell you a lot about someone. Dreams probably tell you something about your dog too.