Dreams of pets are much more related to animals and much more related to peers than dreams in general. They are much less related to unnamed people, less related to fantastic beings, and much less related to strangers.

Pet dreams are more related to love than dreams in general. They are less related to embarrassment, less related to confusion, and less related to hatred.

Dreams of pets are much more related to home than dreams in general. They are less related to work, much less related to human-made places, and less related to transportation.

Dreams of pets are more related to death than dreams in general. They are less related to aggressive acts, less related to friendly acts, and less related to sex.

Pet dreams are more related to bad dreams and more related to sad dreams than dreams in general. They are less related to lucid dreams and less related to vivid dreams.

Dreams of pets are less related to hearing, less related to smelling, and less related to taste.

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 pets 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 pets in dreams. See how you feel about pets 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. In this entry we will discuss “pet” in the senses of “family pet” and “petting.” Pets are associated with friendship and companionship, and qualities such as loyalty and trust. But the possibilities expand far and wide when you consider the characteristics and traits of your pet, what the animal means to you, and ways it can be used to tell a story. Your pets can be used 10,000 ways to create symbolism, so covering all of them isn’t possible. However, the interpretation process begins the same way as with any dream character. What are your associations with the pet? What do you observe about its personality and character? Does the dream show any obvious discrepancies with reality, such as an animal presented as your pet when in reality you don’t recognize it? How does the character fit the story? For example, a woman dreams that she’s told by her mother to poison her pet dog. It dramatizes a situation where her mom is actually pressuring her to marry her best friend. It’s going to poison the relationship with her friend, she fears. Her pet symbolizes her friend. You can dream about your pets in relation to their care and well-being. In this way, it’s a lot like a parent dreaming about his or her children. A pet can symbolize something you tend, something close to you, something you invest yourself into, something important that’s like a pet to you, such as a responsibility, long-term project, or endeavor. That’s a good possibility for symbolism when the pet in the dream isn’t one you own. Parents with young children, in particular, are known to dream about caring for young pets. A pet can symbolize the feeling of being loved, wanted, and appreciated unconditionally. Pets don’t judge or play head games—unless, of course, it’s to get a treat! A pet can symbolize something you look forward to, such as when the best part of your day is taking your dog for a walk after work. It can symbolize something that you train, that obeys, that loves you unconditionally, that can be expensive. To be attacked hard by a pet can symbolize a dispute with a friend or damage to the relationship. It can symbolize betrayal or misplaced trust, or vulnerability to people close to you. For example, criticism from a friend can bite a lot harder than criticism from someone outside your inner circle. Because of the closeness you can have with pets, they’re great as symbols for close relationships such as friends. Dogs, in particular, are “man’s best friend.” Pets can symbolize something you invest your energy into. See the entries for Cat and Dog to get more ideas. It’s common to dream about pets after they die, a normal part of grieving and healing. Our pets can be as close to us as family, and the death of a pet can be a hard loss. Two themes predominate in this sort of dream. One, you get a chance to reunite and enjoy time with your pet, like the good old days. It shows that the healing process is progressing as it should, and the memory of your beloved pet is alive inside you. Or two, something’s seriously wrong, like in a scene in the movie Pet Sematary. It shows that something is stuck in the healing process. You aren’t handling the grief, or you feel guilty because you think you didn’t do enough to save your pet. See: Seeing a dead relative Petting a cat has associations with sexuality because cats are “felines,” which dreams can use to mean “female.” Further, they’re known as “pussies.” Cats are soft and generally responsive to being petted. It can symbolize giving pleasure. On the other hand, petting a cat is associated with indulging thoughts of revenge. Petting is another word for “foreplay,” and dreams can depict it as petting an animal—especially when the animal responds by getting aroused, or the dream setting is sexually suggestive, such as a bedroom. Other associations with petting involve calming someone down, making a personal connection, and showing care and concern. Petting a wolf, for example, can symbolize coming to terms with someone’s wild side, including your own, especially in regard to sexuality. Petting a wild animal like a wolf or gorilla can symbolize playing nice with someone who is potentially dangerous. Petting a whale can symbolize coming to terms with something overwhelming or too big to handle. To explore this subject further, begin with the entry for Animals and branch out to look up the specific type of pet animal in your dream. See also: Adoptions, Animals, Cats, Seeing a dead relative, Dogs