Dream interpreting - dogs and their symbolic meaning

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BASIC SYMBOLISM - DREAM SYMBOLS : Basements - Your boss - Best friend - Babies/pregnant - Brothers - Cafes - Cars - Castles - Children - Creative dreams - Clothes - Churches and cathedrals - Deaths - Demons,witches and goblins - Dogs - Drink and drugs - Farms, gardens and plants - Factories - Fathers - Faucets/taps/pipes - Food - Earthquakes and volcanos - Foreign Countries - Grandparents - Guards - Guns and knives - Horses and animals - Hauntings - Hospitals - Hotels + huge buildings - Houses - Locks - Men(unknown) - Military - Money - Mothers - Monster - Mountains - Movies - Music - People - Police - Phone - Politics - Planes and flying - Prison - Rivers - Rapists and intruders - Railways - Roads - Schools - Sea - Sex - Shops - Sisters - Skies in dreams - Skyscrapers and tall buildings - Snakes and spiders - Space - Sports - Street - Teeth - Tidal waves - Time - Toilets in dreams - Towns and streets - Trees - Water - Weddings and engagements - Windows - Work
OTHER SUBJECTS: external causes of dreams : Music in dreams : Premonitions : Telepathy : Specific dreams : Synonyms in dreams : Children's dreams and dreams about your child : Recurring dreams CASE STUDIES : 1 2 3 4 5
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DOGS : Dogs in dreams will tend to symbolise some specific aspect of their behavior. Dogs are pack animals and maybe can link to your wish for others to follow and copy your behavior. They may symbolise a dogs ability to sense danger(especially if the dog barks). Dogs are territorial so look for some issue in your life involving control of territory. Dogs can symbolise good friends and devoted family. In a negative sense dogs may link to stale ideas which just follow the pack and have no imagination.

KEY WORDS(Pick a quote which captures your feelings right now. Think especially of the day before the dream) :
- "he is devoted to me and does everything I say"
- "a close bond of trust and ability to stick by each other during difficult times"
- "I was expecting more from you"
- "I thought he was a trusted friend"
- "I expected more loyalty"
- "follow my lead"
- "very devoted to his ideas"
- "faithfully follow that style"
- "sensing danger"
- "its my office!"
- "he is on my patch"

HOW TO USE THESE SYMBOLS : CLICK HERE
FULL DREAM DICTIONARY : CLICK HERE

ESSAYS
DOGS in dreams : What do dogs mean in practical dream interpretation?
Dream Dictionary : An A to Z of symbolic meanings with every meaning for each symbol
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DREAM STUDIES : Real dreams about dogs
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THE DREAM I Dreamt that an adult was feeding the bears at a river. There are numerous types of bears, polar bears, brown bears, black bears. I see 10 bears in river maybe fishing, but I'm throwing some sort of meat, maybe fish but not sure. The bears are large, medium and small. I only saw me feeding them. But I must have been there maybe picnicking with family because my dog was with me. The only thing is the dog is an old dog that I had. I owned a German shepherd when I was young. Silver gray in Color. This dog must have been playing in the background cause all of a sudden she howls and we find that one of the smaller bears have bitten her. Then a vet or some sort of medical person appears and calms the dog down and give her a sedative because she starts convulsing because the bear had bitten the dog. The dog settles down and I go back feeding the bears. Time passes as the dog had puppies.

THE REALITY In real life the dreamer was about to move from Massachusetts to Texas with her sixteen year old deaf child.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I know that this move is going to be difficult in the short term. Its such a long way. Yet I do know that its for the best. I am a little moody and stressed out at the moment. I have not got time to devote much attention to my daughter right now and she really has to do as she is told right now. It won't do her any harm and its all for the best."

THE INTERPRETATION This dreamer was about to make a major move to a new state. Thats enough to generate a dream. In some way this dream captures her feelings about this move.

Rivers tend to be symbols of energies. In this case they could link to the enourmous energy involved in moving. Its obviously a huge move.

Bears are huge and aggressive creatures. They can obviously link to aggression and pushiness. Thats not so much in a physical sense but more emotional. We are all trapped in aggressive and trying circumstances. The dreamer is feeding the bears and so maybe is aware of the need to act assertively. She is maybe willing to show a touch of moodiness towards her daughter in order to get things done. Such a move needs organization and effort. Things have to be done and often it will involve a need for discipline. She may even allow herself to show moods when normally she would not.

But the puppies are symbols of the long term nature of the move. They symbolise new growth and fresh new circumstances which will shortly be born into her life.

Symbolic Meanings
BEARS : "trying times and difficult challenging circumstances - the immediate difficulties in moving"
BEAR BITES : "the dreamer maybe shouts or snaps at her daughter due to the pressure of the move"
DOGS : "family members"
PUPPIES : "new energy in your life - in this case the move to Texas will give birth to new circumstances which will be for the best"
RIVER : "your efforts and energies devoted towards some task - in this case the enourmous efforts in moving"
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THE DREAM I dreamt I was with this other woman, who I didn't know very well. We decided to leave all our rings with this jeweler (for safe keeping) while we went to all the jewelry shops on the street. He was hesitant on holding them for us. He gave me a business card with his name on it, so we would trust him. So we go walking down the street, and in the distance I see the man driving away. Anyway, we continue to shop. I bump into this guy who I used to see at the gym. I had the hots for this guy (but would never pursue because I am married). He is truly gorgeous and there was an unsaid chemistry between us (in real life). So we go to this shop, and he is there, waiting for me at the top of the stairs with his hand out to assist me. I am holding his hand and I am in true passionate love with this guy. Later, we realize we must get going. We go to the jeweler who has left. I see a bag of rings that have been dissected and cut. Mine is one of them. It's in at least 5 pieces. I am devastated. The woman I was with also saw her rings cut up. We demand to see the jeweler. Suddenly the jeweler and his father pull our a gun and point it at us. Then the jeweler says to his father "are you ready?" I scream." Please, I would rather keep my life than have my ring! Please don't shoot" We run off and get away. My dog is also there and she has held us up because I couldn't find her.

THE REALITY The night before this dream the dreamer had been concerned about her husband. She could tell by the look on his face that he was troubled. She asked him what was wrong but he said "nothing!"She went to sleep worrying if there was something wrong between them.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I feel left out by my husband. I cannot get him to talk. There is obviously something wrong. If we cannot talk through problems then I cannot see the point of us being married. Thats the whole purpose of marriage to be able to share problems."

THE INTERPRETATION Dreams do capture our immediate emotions and they home in on the day before the dream. In this case there is little doubt what triggered this dream. There is little doubt about the fact that the dream reflects the immediate emotions linked to this late night chat. Its just a matter of trying to understand the symbols.

Dogs are pack animals. They stick together and they can link to our faith in our marriage and close family. If you lose your dog in a dream its symbolic of a lack of faith in her marriage. She expects a close and devoted relationship with her husband and right now thats just not happening.

Dreams do not capture the details of our current problems instead they represent these in symbolic form. Here the dreamer has reliquished her engagement ring. Thats symbolic of her marriage itself. It captures that sense that something is wrong and that the close relationship is just not there in the way that it should be in a marriage. In the dream she dabbles with another man but is devasted to lose her ring. That shows she is devoted to her marriage yet there is something wrong(or more accurately she feels like there is something wrong).

Its interesting that the dreamer says that the ring broke into five pieces. Thats something that does not happen by chance. Perhaps the five pieces link to our five senses. In that way the dream links to how the dreamer senses that there is something wrong.

In the dream the dreamer meets up with a man she is attracted to. This perhaps shows she is questioning her marriage right now. It does not mean she is about to cheat. She just wishes for the closeness that she experiences with this man. That is lacking in her life right now.

In the end the dreamer says " I would rather keep my life than have my ring!". So in the draem she is willing to give up her ring meaning that she is prepared to give up her marriage. But dreams tend to link to complicated emotions. Here it captured a feeling that the dreamer wishes to save her marriage but not at any cost. That shows that she is realistic about things and expects certain standards from her husband and expects him to at least try to share problems .

Symbolic Meanings
DOG : "faithfulness and trust - if you lose your dog you are unable to feel the trust and devotion in a relationship"
CHEMISTRY : "the dreamer is thinking about the unsaid chemistry and connection between her and this man - something she would like in her relationship"
LEAVE RING: "the dreamer is leaving behind the very symbol of her marriage"
SHOP : "your options and what you want from life - the dreamers options concerning her marriage"
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DREAM TIP : Dreams will focus on things that are important to you right now. In many cases they will be symbolic representations of the very issues you wake up thinking about. Those issues maybe small conversations from the previous day. It depends what your mind is focusing on. If you think a lot about work then it could be about that. Try to isolate the issues you are thinking about and interpret a dream in that way. Look for evidence in the symbols of the things dominating your mind.
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THE DREAM My dad was buying me a dog but I didn't want it.

THE REALITY The day before the dream the dreamers father was trying to encourage him to meet up with some new contacts. The dreamer did not want to do this.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "My father keeps trying to set me up with people whom he sees as a good influence. I want to make my own friends"

THE INTERPRETATION Dogs are often symbolic of loyal and trusted friends. So the dream has an obvious connection with the day before. The dream also connects with the dreamers father which also suggests that the two issues are connected.

Quite what the dream means precisely is difficult to say. It may show that the son realises that his father has his own best interests at heart.

Perhaps the dream is about how the father sees the issue. Maybe the dreamer is thinking through the issue of friends and reliable contacts. Is that important to the dreamer? These questions can only be answered by the dreamer. In this case once the two issues are connected then you can start to suggest further and more complex answers to dreams. Dreams reflect your feelings so just compare your feelings to the dream symbols. Try to find a consistent match between your feelings and the symbols.

In real life the dreamer may not attach the same importance to making friends and influencing people. That is probably the crux of the dream.

Symbolic Meanings
BUY : "trying to convince - the dreamers father is trying to convince him to meet some new contacts"
DOG : "being expected to faithfully follow his fathers path"
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THE DREAM - There was this tiny dog was on a leash and got snagged underneath his porch while his family didn't notice. I tried pulling him out, and ended up snapping his neck, killing the poor little dog instantly. The family realized their dog was missing and pulled on the leash, only to find the dead body of their poor dog. I ran away from the scene feeling like the worst person in the world. I was only trying to help!

THE REALITY The dreamers boyfriend had just broken up with her. However, it was a real big surprise and in some ways she could not understand how the relationship broke up. There were issues but nothing that she didn't feel could be sorted out.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "Maybe I should not have broken up with my boyfriend. There seemed to be good reasons at the time but I have a feeling I have made a mistake"

THE INTERPRETATION The dream came just after the dreamers break up with her boyfriend so it was obvious she was going to dream about this. The dream above all captured the immediacies of the event. It was such a surprise and at the time seemed so unnecessary. It also captured the sense that this break up happened very quickly and was in some ways an accident - just like the death of the dog. The leash is a sign of an emotional connection. The dreamer felt that she was helping her boyfriend with the issues that were in his life. The dream features a dog - they symbolise things which are good for you. For the dreamer the break up was necessary and seemed to lack any sense. It was obviously against her own best interest. The dog may even have symbolised her ex boyfriend - dogs often signify trusted relationships.

Symbolic Meanings
DOG(killed) : "death symbolises an ending - the dreamer realises she has ended a relationship"
DOG : "the dreamer realises her ex was loyal and devoted - just like a dog"
INSTANT : "it all happened very quickly"
MISSING : "something is lacking in your life - in this case she realises she is missing her ex"
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DREAM TIP : The first vital task with a dream is to understand the subject of the dream. Try to know what it links to - an issue from work, your health or some relationship. Once you can establish that link then its made easier. Look for associations. If the dream features someone think if they link to some specific issue on your mind right now. A person in a dream could also simply represent the kind of way they act - if they are very confident then look for an issue where confidence was important. People in dreams may also simply represent their name so look for names with meaning such as Mr. Smart.
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THE DREAM So I was getting ready to go out with my boyfriend in my dream, and I had two dogs. Both were big, and one was black and the other one was white. Right before I left the house as I was saying bye to my dogs, I remembered that I forgot something. As I was about to walk down the stairs, my white dog stood in front of me and looked me in my eyes, while my black dog ran out the door. Then I got a vision of some girl beating me. So I followed my instinct and walked out, after I walked my white dog out as well. My boyfriend and I went to the event and came back and as I walked in my house I saw a cop there just one, and my house was a mess. Pretty much he said I had gotten robbed, she took every thing of value including half my months rent which I distinctly remember the number 500 stood out. Then the cop gave me a description of the robber and it was my sister. And to top it off my black dog ran away and my white dog was wounded. I started crying and crying and then I woke up.

THE REALITY A couple of days before the dreamer got her computer back and her sister erased years years of her writing. This was one of the latest ways she hurt me. She is filled with hate for the world and likes to blame everyone else for her problems except herself.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following emotions within the dreamer - "I cannot believe what my sister has recently done. Its eating away at my mind as she has erased seven years of my writing. I feel so robbed!"

THE INTERPRETATION Dreams use metaphors to real life situations in our life. In this case its a very clear symbol as the dreamer feels robbed by her sister who has erased seven years of her writing.

Its difficult to see what precisely the dogs link to. Thats a difficult symbol here. Perhaps the dogs are symbols of the dreamers attitude towards her sister. Dogs often link to close family members and friends. Dogs are pack animals which sort of links to close family links and friendships.

Symbolic Meanings
BLACK DOG : "dogs symbolise trust but this dog deserts the pack leader and goes off - it symbolises the dreamers sister who is not a loyal and trusted member of the family"
DOGS : "close family and people who are supposed to be loyal and trusting to you "
HOUSE IN MESS : "the dreamer has had her computer messed up"
POLICE : "the dreamer has to restore order to the situation."
INSTINCT : "The dreamer is following her instincts in judging her sister"
ROBBED : "the dreamer has been robbed of seven years writing by her sister"
SISTER : "the dreamers own sister - the dream is about her relationship to her sister"
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DREAM TIP : If something special is happening on the actual day of the dream then its possible that the dream is about that. Say for instance you have an exam or some special meeting at work. Your mind is focusing on the day to come and so will your dreams. So look for evidence of those thoughts. Look for associations which link to the day to come. It may help you understand the dream more.
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THE DREAM - Well, in this dream, I am with my long time boyfriend (12 years) and our dogs in a house that looks kind of like my Mom's house, but kind of like a cabin (we like to go to the mountains, but recently had a not so fun trip). We were sort of "fussing" at each other - turn down the TV, turn off the radio, stuff like that, but no big deal. It was not clear if we were living together, married, or vacationing (we do not live together). Our dogs kept coming in an out of the room; and I kept looking for Critter, my dog who died about a year ago, who I still miss a lot, but Coco, my new dog kept coming in (she is a cool dog). All of a sudden, a giant, 300 pound cheetah appeared in the doorway/porch. We looked at each other, and we understood that my boyfriend would take care of the dogs not getting hurt/eaten, and I would take care of the cheetah. The cheetah came in and we were sitting by each other on the couch, and I had to do what he said, or else! (we'd get killed, I guess). So he said I had to roll an empty diet coke plastic bottle, so that it hit the opposing wall. So I did it, and I looked at the cheetah (who by the way, now looked like a walrus, but with cheetah spots). It seemed that it was O.K.

THE REALITY This dream was one month after the dreamers brother died of cancer (she was with him, as well as the rest of the family & his wife), and the dreamer was really upset that day. They had a dog Pebbles, who liked to chew the tops off of plastic water bottles (or diet coke). Since that day, the dreamer has had dreams almost every night. Help!

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "It has been a month since my brother died of cancer. I think I have been thinking about it all. Particularly the end."

THE INTERPRETATION This dream came after the death of the dreamers brother. So it is obvious that she is going to dream in some way of him. The dream features the diet coke bottle that the dreamer associated with the dog from the day of her brothers death. So this dream in some way represents her feelings about the death.

The early part of the dream deals with an unhappy vacation. When someone dies we cannot relax properly and the fussing in the dream is perfectly typical of the emotions we feel. When someone dies we fuss over the death but in some way we do not really think about the death. We do not really deal with how we feel. No matter what anyone does it will not make things better.

Often dogs symbolise relationships - and in this case the missing dog would symbolise the loss of her brother. Dogs also represent wider things such as your faith in human nature and even just your faith in the world. When someone dies our faith in the world can be tested and that is maybe why the dream features this threat to the dogs.

Often people do not know what to do when someone dies. A dog does not understand the situation and merely continues playing. The way the dog acted on the day of the death managed to break don barriers. This for the dreamer was a very special moment. The way that dog played with the coke bottle. The bottle is rolled against a wall. That wall symbolised a barrier that was breached - somehow that moment brought people together.

When someone dies we have to work through every moment of the death. It helps us make sense. Death is difficult to deal with because it seems so senseless. How do we react? No one knows.

The cheetah in this dream transforms into a walrus. There is an old saying - that a cheetah never changes its spots. Perhaps that captured another moment in the death of her brother. Her boyfriend looked after the dog whilst she cared for her brother. The cheetah changes into a walrus. Perhaps this symbolises the way that her brother did transform towards the end - he was not the proud and strong creature. His appearance and emotions maybe changed but for the dreamer he was still her brother - he never changed right to the end.

For this dreamer the moment of her brothers death was extremely important. She played through the moment and captured every last sense of meaning from it. This is perfectly natural in death.

Symbolic Meanings
CHEETAH : "her brother was like a cheetah - strong and courageous"
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DREAM TIP : Things on your mind before you go to sleep are important. In the following case the dreamer woke up very early and stayed awake for a couple of hours before going back to sleep. In that time he thought of one issue and the dream seems to have been about that issue.
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THE DREAM I am in some yard(it is possibly a school yard). There seems to be some sort of covered area. It is dark and I am not able to see. I know there is a dog there. Its all a bit confused and I either I do something illegal or something illegal takes place. The dog jumps out and runs towards me. But it just does it in an odd way running all along a section and then towards me. Then I am scared of being bitten or I am bitten on the hand.

THE REALITY The dreamer had not been very well. His eyesight was getting very bad. He woke up early in the morning and stayed awake for an hour and in that time was thinking very strongly about his eyes. He knew he had to get something done and was not happy with his doctor. He thought of going to see a different doctor in the practice. So far nothing had really been done but the problem was not going away.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following emotions within the dreamer - "I want to get my eyes sorted. I am not happy with the way that my doctor has been treating me. "

THE INTERPRETATION Very often dreams are related to thoughts on our mind before going to sleep. Here the dreamer woke up and stayed awake for an hour before going back to sleep. In that time period he thought of one issue alone. He was thinking how bad his eyes were. In the dream he could not see. He associated the dream with the issue of his site.

So in some ways we know what he was thinking during this time period and know roughly what the symbols mean. Its a matter of simply working through the symbols.

The dog is perhaps a symbol here of his loyalty and trust in his doctor. The dreamer was not happy with his doctor and thinking of going to see another doctor. Perhaps the dog linked to that. Dogs are symbols of loyalty to people around you.

In the dream there is a sense that something illegal is taking place. That too has a parallel in the dreamers situation. If he was to change doctors it would reflect on his doctor and maybe alienate him.

S ymbolic Meanings
GUARD DOG : "trust and loyalty - the dreamer was beginning to lose his trust in his doctor"
SCHOOL : "you are in some new situation which is very unfamiliar - you are learning how to behave"
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DREAM TIP : Think about the actual day of the dream. Have you been thinking about some important event that is happening then? Have you been thinking about how you are going to put some plans into action. Dreams may focus on the day to come and how you are relating to problems you wish to solve.
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CONTACT : This web site is attempting to build up a bank of hundreds of real dreams that are correctly interpreted. If you feel you can link a dream with something in your life then please e-mail me at hairybobby2000@yahoo.co.uk (please try to give as many details as possible. Explain each person in the dream and your feelings about them. Give background details about major issues affecting your life right now and especially any strong feelings you felt on the day before the dream).