These may be anger, the need to survive, parental urges, sex or procreation, desire for recognition in the social group, maternal or paternal love, home building and spontaneous feelings of affection.
Animals represent these drives free of social convention and expectations. Dream pets also represent your basic nature but, because they are domesticated and integrated into home and social life, they carry a slightly different interpretation. They particularly indicate the desire to be loved or petted, and they are most often associated with feelings of responsibility or caring.
Your dream will indicate whether you have indeed cared for and ‘house- trained’ these feelings, or whether they have been caged and aren’t being cared for. The action in the dream will suggest what you are doing with this aspect of your nature. According to Jung, if images of starving, out of control, violent or destructive pets and animals appear in your dreams, this indicates that you have become estranged from your instincts and closed the door to your inner nature. It may also reflect your feelings about becoming pet-like and whether or not you have become overly dependent on the demands or attentions of someone else in your waking life.
See also: ANIMALS; BIRDS; REPTILES, FISH AND AMPHIBIANS; INSECTS AND ARACHNIDS. [1]
• Iso look at your emotional reactions; are you feeling guilty or sad about something you’ve “known” but haven’t acted upon? In dreams pets, due to their domestication, often relate to feelings of responsibility or caring and a desire to be needed and loved. [2]
The tension between the animal and civilized nature. [3]