Animal dreams are more related to insects, much more related to fantastic beings, and more related to peers than dreams in general. They are less related to unnamed people, less related to strangers, and less related to family.

Dreams of animals are less related to happiness, less related to sadness, and less related to grief and sorrow.

Animal dreams are less related to work, less related to human-made places, and less related to transportation.

Animal dreams are more related to eating and drinking than dreams in general. They are less related to friendly acts, less related to sex, and less related to health events.

Animal dreams are less related to lucid dreams and less related to vivid dreams.

Dreams of animals are less related to hearing.

You can gain insight from thinking about any dream, no matter how strange. Only you, as the dreamer, have final say on what your dream may or may not mean. Each dream is unique.

The DreamWell dictionary provides information on how each dream symbol appears in dreams in general. Finding how experience animals in dreams can be a key to understanding its meaning.

Our emotions in dreams can help us understand its meaning. Pay attention to how you felt in the dream. Pay attention to how you feel about animals in dreams. See how you feel about animals now, in your waking life.

This interpretation is from ""The Dream Interpretation Dictionary: Symbols, Signs, and Meanings" and is provided by J.M. DeBord aka "RadOwl". He is the author of several acclaimed books about dreaming, the host of The Dreams That Shape Us podcast, and is a moderator of r/Dreams, one of the largest dream sharing communities on the internet. Language is full of sayings such as “proud as a lion,” “slippery as a fish,” and “free as a bird”—rich with symbolism for dreams to use. Dreams bring to life these sayings and use animals to tell stories about you and your life. For example, a dream about fish dying in a fishbowl symbolically warns of an oncoming urinary-tract infection. The fishbowl symbolizes this person’s bladder, and fish live in water, so the dying fish indicate something wrong with that part of her body. See: Fish In a dream about finding a white horse in a snowstorm, the horse symbolizes personal strength to move forward under treacherous personal conditions. White animals are commonly messengers of the unconscious mind, and a horse symbolizes strength. In a dream about three kittens drowned in a pool—but one still alive—kitten-like qualities in the young dreamer are symbolically “killed off,” but the one kitten left alive shows that he is trying to preserve part of himself from extinction—the playful, kitten-like side of himself succumbing to teenage peer pressure to toughen up. Other associations can be made with fish, horses, and kittens, though. For instance, if your only experience with a horse is when one kicked you, then you aren’t as likely to dream about it in a good context. What an animal in your dream means to you matters more than pat definitions like the kind found in typical dream dictionaries! Consider the characteristics and qualities of animals that appear in your dreams. A dog to one person is a loyal companion; to another it’s a noisy nuisance. Both are common perceptions—which one fits your dream? To find out what an animal in your dream means, associate the animal with your experiences, perceptions and feelings. Also consider figures of speech that might apply, and caricatures from books, movies, cartoons, and TV shows that imbue everything from ants to birds to elephants with human qualities and voices. Your experience with, and impressions of, the creatures that appear in your dreams help determine what they symbolize. Generally, the wilder the creature, the more instinctive or primitive your related emotions or behaviors. We all have instincts reminiscent of certain animals or creatures. For example, rabbits and bulls are notorious for the instinct to mate. Gazelles and deer are known for the instinct to run. Lions and dogs are known for the instinct to protect territory. People have those instincts too. People are compared to animals and creatures in figures of speech like “stealthy as a cat,” “friendly as a dog,” and “treacherous as a snake.” One image can sum up a person’s behavior or personality. Comparisons to animals can be highly accurate ways of describing what we observe in people—and in ourselves. Pay attention to the age of the animal. A puppy, cub, or other young animal can represent something new or young in you, or something that needs to mature. An old dog might be a play on the phrase “you old dog,” meaning crafty or clever. It could symbolize an elder figure in your life, or something nearing its end. Parents of young children are known to dream about baby animals, because comparisons between young children and young animals are easy to make—and in fact are made frequently in media and everyday conversation. For example, a mother might call her child “my little tiger,” then dream about a baby tiger and not realize the relationship between it and her child. Recurring dreams about abuse of young animals such as puppies and kittens is known as a sign of early childhood abuse. White animals are an auspicious dream sign when they represent harmony among the conscious mind, the unconscious, and your instincts. Black animals, on the other hand, can be a sign of lacking harmony, or an adversarial relationship with your instincts. However, some animals are naturally white or black—the symbolism applies in situations when the color sticks out as deliberate. Because the possibilities are so numerous, throughout this dream dictionary are listed specific creatures and what they can symbolize. And keep in mind, the symbolism of animals in your dreams is given in the context of the dream-story. In other words, the white rabbit you chase down a hole might relate to something rabbit-like about you, like the desire to hide or protect yourself. Or it might be a prop in a story about finding out how deep the rabbit hole really goes. To explore the symbolism of groups of animals, see: Group. See also: Alligators, Ambushing, Baboons, Birds, Bulls, Cats, Camels, Caves, Chasing, Chicken, Cows, Creatures, Crowds, Deer, Dogs, Eagles, Eating, Fish, Flying, Foxes, Frogs, Goats, Giraffes, Geese, Gorillas, Groups, Guiding, Kittens, Leopards, Lions, Octopus, Owls, Pets, Pigs, Puppies, Rabbits, Raccoons, Rats, Roosters, Sharks, Stags, Tigers, Turtles, Vultures, Weasels, Whales, Wolves, Youth, Zebras