Dreaming about dogs: what that dream usually reflects

Dreaming about dogs: the short answer

Dream interpretation is not prediction and not diagnosis. This article separates what sleep research observes from what popular interpretation associates with the theme.

Dreaming about a dog is not a sign of a loyal friend or of betrayal. Animals are among the most frequent characters in human dreams, and the dog is the animal we live with most.

Read also: Dreams about flying: what happens in the brain and Dreaming about death: why it happens and what it does not mean.

Dreaming about dogs in the light of research

The continuity hypothesis explains much of it: people who have a dog at home, who lost one recently or who had a scare with an animal in the street are more likely to dream about it.

Source: Schredl and Hofmann, Continuity between waking activities and dream activities, Consciousness and Cognition, 2003.

When the dog appears attacking, the dream joins the threat group that Revonsuo links to a safe rehearsal of danger.

Source: Revonsuo, The reinterpretation of dreams, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2000.

Do dogs dream too?

We cannot ask a dog, but there is strong indirect evidence that mammal brains replay the day during sleep. In a classic study published in Science, researchers recorded hippocampal neurons in rats running a maze and then while the animals slept. The same firing patterns came back during sleep.

So the twitching paws and quiet whimpers while your dog sleeps are not nothing: it is the brain at work.

Source: Wilson and McNaughton, Reactivation of Hippocampal Ensemble Memories During Sleep, Science, 1994.

See also: Dreaming about spiders and Dreaming about bees.

When grief is in the dream

Dreaming of a dog that died is one of the most frequent reports from people who lost a pet. It usually comes with longing, relief and sometimes guilt. Grief over an animal is real grief, even though few people talk about it.

See also dream meanings.

What dream dictionaries record

Livro do Sonho, a popular Brazilian dream dictionary, sees the dog as a sign of loyal, selfless friendships: a friend would help solve a big problem, or someone dear who is far away would pay a visit. It is one of the most positive readings in dream books, tied to the loyalty the animal represents. L. P. Baçan, in the Brazilian dream book O Livro dos Sonhos, agrees only halfway: the dog would bring new friendships in life but infidelity in love.

Freud described dream books as a kind of dictionary that translates each image into another with a fixed meaning. Artemidorus of Daldis, author of the oldest complete Greek dream book that has survived, advised looking at the dreamer's life before interpreting. If you see the dream as a message, both paths suggest the same thing: ask what this image brings to mind in your life right now. See dream meanings according to science and culture.

Source: Livro do Sonho, Brazilian dream dictionary; Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; L. P. Baçan, O Livro dos Sonhos, 2014.

Freud, Jung and faith on this dream

In Freud's psychoanalysis. One of the mechanisms Freud described is condensation, in which the dream fuses several people or ideas into a single image. With dogs it is easy to spot: the dream dog may have the size of a childhood pet, the color of the neighbor's dog and the habits of the one now sleeping at the foot of your bed. In a Freudian reading, each trait deserves its own question: whose is this, and what memory comes with it?

In Jung's psychology. The Self, the organizing center of the psyche, is often represented as a helpful animal, Marie-Louise von Franz shows in Man and His Symbols; one example is Rin Tin Tin, the canine hero of American movies and TV. Since Jungian psychology sees the animal as instinctive nature, a gentle dog walking beside the dreamer may suggest a friendly relationship with that side.

In symbols and faith. In A Dictionary of Symbols, Chevalier and Gheerbrant name the dog's first mythical role as guide of the soul: a companion in the daylight of life, it leads people through the night of death, from Anubis to Cerberus. In ancient Mexico, a sun-colored dog was buried with the dead, just as the dog god Xolotl had escorted the Sun beneath the earth. In Luke 16:20-21, it is the dogs that come to lick the sores of Lazarus, the beggar.

Bringing both views together. Companion, guardian, guide: traditions give the dog the same roles it already plays in the lives of people who live with one, and research explains why that bond returns at night. Before looking for meaning, notice where the dog stood in the dream: leading the way, by your side, protecting you or attacking? The answer usually speaks to your current moment, under either reading.

Sources: Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; Jung (ed.), Man and His Symbols; Chevalier and Gheerbrant, A Dictionary of Symbols; L. P. Baçan, O Livro dos Sonhos, 2014.

Read also: dreaming about cats; dreaming about horses; dreaming about wolves; Dreaming about a mountain.