How many times has it happened to see the funny vision of your four-legged friend, which fast asleep, begins to fidget and to emit strange noises or to smile smugly? Well ... this is what happens when it reaches Morpheus’ arms and begins to dream. Unlike humans, however, it can not remember its dreams, and the question now arises, what on earth will it dream?

Over the years, several studies have been conducted to try to explain what animals dream. What is certain is that also they go through a REM (Rapid Eyes Movement) phase, the time of deep sleep in which dreams are "made". In this dream factory pets repeat and memorize the things that they have learned during the day.
Could they dream about happy moments? Succulent foods? Enemies that attack them? May dogs dream of finding bones at will to be buried in secret places and enjoy them when the boss is at work? And the cats, may they dream of finding mountains of flavored croquettes with scent of sea bream in their backyard?

Most scientists agree on what was suggested by Aristotle, namely that dogs and cats, but probably all animals with a similar brain structure, are able to dream. According to several studies, the puppies would dream more frequently because the sensory stimulation is accentuated by the presence of young neuronal connections. In addition, large dogs dream longer than small or medium ones.
But science has not shed light on the content of dreams yet and the mystery persists. They certainly do not dream of Beyoncé or a plea to support with different partners or turn into something different as it happens in our dreams!

However, several hypotheses have been arised: there may be residual memory reported afloat during sleep or real experiences that might come in handy even during daily wakefulness. In particular, there are two current interpretive trends. The one, called functional, combines dream and memory and is based on interesting experiments that show how certain animals "review", by consolidating them, the information they have just learned. The small passerines, for example, while dreaming, memorize melodies that have ventured the day before; rats mentally retrace the route to get to the food they have viewed while awake.
The other hypothesis, called adaptive, considers dreams as simple residues, lacking functional meanings of mental activity performed during the awakeness, instead.
Therefore, dogs, cats, horses, mice and birds sleep and dream stirring in their dreams emotions and experiences. We will probably never know what they dream ...only Morfeo keeps their secrets!