DO DOGS DREAM ?

There's no doubt about it, Gordie the farm dog knows how to sleep, and sleeps a lot.
He doesn't like the sound of thunder and when a thunder storm passes though he wants to sit on my lap and drool all over me. He's not a lap dog, he's a hairy farm dog. The amount of time dogs spend napping varies from dog to dog and depends on the dog's age and personality. Counting little naps and longer snoozes, most dogs sleep about fourteen hours a day. Nobody is sure why dogs sleep so much. Horses sleep standing up which I never could understand why it's that way, do horses dream? Gordon the farm dog is getting old, I think he's ninety years old in doggie years. He was laying asleep at my feet, and suddenly his legs began to twitch and run. Was he dreaming? Or am I dreaming to think such a thing? Of course he's doggie dreaming. Why would you think otherwise? Although no one really knows the true function of dreaming it does seem to be necessary for normal data processing and memory storage. Dogs think and they have memory. And their memory banks need period purging and reorganization during sleep just as ours do. Dogs and humans are not as different as some scientists would have us believe. Scientists tend to dwell on the differences between the two species, whereas the sameness is positively compelling. Gordon is a big long haired 80 pound Collie. Barks at a car for five minutes after a certain car passes the house while is oblivious of others. Yesterday he was asleep on the living room carpet and I noticed he started to wag his tail. Making a thumping sound on the floor. Now more than once I've noticed his legs twitching while he was sleeping and even heard him mouth a muffeled bark a time or two. This was the first time I ever have seen him wag his tail. So dogs do dream just as humans do. He was fast asleep, wagging his tail. I think he dreams of shedding his hair.


.