The sight of a frankfurter batting its tiny paws around while sleeping is irrefutably endearing , and it ’s not hard to imagine that your beloved favorite is dreaming of swimming , bring a Frisbee , or bounding around the yard in pursuit of a scampering squirrel .
In the true , that ’s pretty much exactly what ’s move on . Dogs , like humans , dream during the REM Hz of nap , and their twitches are responses to whatever ’s occur in those dreams . Though all dogs can exhibit muscle bm while dreaming , PetMDreportsthat it most often impact untested and previous dogs . This is because of thepons , a part of the brainstem with two “ off ” substitution that regulate cause during thesleepcycle .
“ If either or both of these ‘ off ’ switching is not amply develop or has grown weak due to the age process , then the brawn are not totally wrick off and during dreaming , theanimalwill begin to move , ” Stanley Coren , a neuropsychological researcher and former psychology professor at the University of British Columbia , tell PetMD . “ How much move occurs depends upon how effective or unable these ‘ off ’ switches are . ”

As long as your dog look like it ’s get a august old time in its dreams , you’re able to sit back and love the show . If you believe your hound might be having a nightmare , be careful about wake it up . As the American Kennel Club ( AKC)explains , a dog woken dead from a bad dream might bite you before it realise its distress was n’t real .
You should , however , learn to recognize the remainder between a normal dream and a raptus .
“ Some [ dogs ] attest dreaming with twitching , paddling , or kicks of the pegleg . These movements are often abbreviated ( less than 30 seconds ) and intermittent , ” Jerry Klein , the AKC ’s chief veterinary police officer , described on the AKCwebsite . “ conquer dogs ’ limbs , on the other hired man , tend to be rigid and stiffer , with more crimson movement . ”
The capture can also be accompanied by loss of bowel control . If that verbal description sound familiar , you should talk to your veterinary .
[ h / tPetMD ]