Dear Romeo #3

Dear Romeo,

Do dogs wag their tails when they sleep?

Nathaniel

Dear Nathaniel,

That's a great question and since I am sleeping at the time that any tail wagging might take place, it is not a question that I can answer on my own. So I asked my guy what he thought, and he told me that I have, in fact, "wagged my tail a lot" when I am sleeping! Gosh, I had no idea that I did that.

So the short answer is, "yes". But my guy told me that I did all sorts of things when I was asleep like "fake run," "huff and puff"--he called that fake barking, and sometimes I kind of "cry". When I do that, and he is nearby, he always hugs me and speaks kind words to me. Dogs are like people in this way, we dream.

Now, you might want to know what we dream about, right? Well, that's more difficult for me to describe, because I don't remember my dreams very well. But they are usually connected to things that I have experienced in my waking time. Like I know I dream about squirrels. I definitely dream about squirrels! I remember how I loved to bark at them even when I lived in Costa Rica. Some people don' t know that squirrels live in Costa Rica, too, but they do! And I barked at them there.

I also remember sometimes in my dreams, a time when I was chased by a person with a hose who sprayed me hard with water. It was angry water, and they scared me with their words and actions. I didn't mean to hurt them, I just wanted to eat something that was nearby, but they tried to hurt me.... It's just a little bit of a "dream," still I do not like hoses with water of any kind!

Once, when my guy was in the front yard with me on my leash, and I was wearing my very special harness (my guy sewed my name on it!), I got all freaked out. He was just trying to put more water in the bird bath, but I couldn't understand that, and I pulled away from him so hard that I came out of my harness! Then I ran all the way across the street to Takako's house and my guy was so freaked out, too, that he dropped the hose and ran after me. I wasn't afraid of him, so when he called my name, I stopped and then ran to him and we made up really quickly. I know that whenever I'm scared, I can count on him to make me feel safe--he just didn't understand how bad hoses are.

We dogs can remember things in very real and powerful ways. But we can also learn new things. This is just how dogs are made. And the best people understand this, too.

Romeo,
Pura Vida