Sleep is something that is incredibly important for each and every one of us.
Scientists still aren’t exactly sure what happens when we are sleeping, but the effects of a lack of sleep are incredibly visible.
Just stay up late for one night, then wake up early the next morning to experience those effects for yourself!
As is easily observable in nature, many other creatures require sleep too.
It seems to be some kind of need that is just naturally hardwired into all of us, and is crucial for healthy cognitive and physical functioning.
There are plenty of studies out there that show that sleep deprivation can have very adverse effects on any creature that needs sleep, regardless of species.
And as it turns out, if you sleep, you dream!
We have always wondered if animals like dogs and cats dream just as we do.
It is apparently a question that scientists have been asking as well, and now they have the answer – after performing several studies, it turns out that yes, dogs dream just like humans do.
Of course, to any dog owner, this revelation is old news – just watch a dog sleeping and you will see them twitching and moving about in their sleep like they are trying to chase something.
How could you mistake this for anything other than dreaming, especially since we humans have similar equivalents?
And thanks to the wonders of modern technology, the internet is now full of video evidence of dogs twitching about in their sleep in a way that clearly suggests they are dreaming.
Alas, as we all know, not every dream is a sweet one.
Sometimes, we can get nightmares as well – and unfortunately, our beloved canine friends are not immune to this fact.
Just like how our sleep can be plagued by all sorts of intense and scary nightmares, dogs can find themselves on the receiving end of some unpleasant dream as well.
Obviously, this is something we would like to end that nightmare quickly and safely.
Nobody likes knowing or watching their dog suffer in their sleep, just like nobody likes seeing their partner thrash about in bed due to a nightmare.
So when this little Golden Retriever puppy gets awakened by its older sibling, it is naturally very worried.
It is easy to figure out why this puppy woke up – wouldn’t you be easily awakened as well, if your sleeping partner started moving about a lot in bed?
It takes this puppy a moment to figure out what to do since this is the first time it’s ever experienced something like this.
In the end, it decides to try comforting the older dog, in hopes of soothing those bad dreams. What a heartwarming sight!
In the event that you, as a dog owner, want to help your dog out when they are having a nightmare, the key thing is to not touch them or wake them up quickly.
You might otherwise panic them and make things worse.
Instead, just speak gently, and try to wake them up that way instead.
