Veterinarians worry if dogs are very hard to wake up, or if they can’t be motivated to do the things that they normally enjoy. Most dogs will wake up fairly quickly, and if there is enough motivation (such as a dangling leash or a snack), they will stretch, get up from the nap, and be ready to go. Some of the big reasons older dogs might sleep more than usual are hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid), heart disease, and arthritis.Īnother thing we tend to clue in on is a dog’s response to being awakened.
If your dog usually sleeps for 2-3 hours in the morning and then is up for the rest of the day, but then you suddenly notice they are sleeping for 5-6 hours in the morning and into the afternoon, it’s time to call the vet.Ĭonditions such as diabetes and kidney disease could be the reason for the change in your dog’s normal sleep patterns. Most important to veterinarians is when pet parents notice changes in a dog’s sleep patterns. Older dogs also need more sleep to help their bodies recover from daily activities. Then, they crash and sleep hard until their body has recovered and is ready for another bout of play. Young dogs race around, exploring everything and burning up all kinds of energy. Larger dogs simply need to work harder to move their bodies about, and it takes time to recover from that effort. Many experts also assume that lack of sleep may contribute to your dog being in a bad mood.Īnd it makes sense that large-breed dogs, puppies, and senior dogs need even more sleep. “Sleep-deprived animals and people are more prone to infections,” she says. Hendricks, VMD, PhD, Dip ACVIM, adds that sleep helps a dog’s brain development, memory, and learning capacity, as well as their immune system. It’s very therapeutic, and if you deny dogs that, they’ll kind of lose it.”ĭr. “We organize that in our sleep, and dogs do, too. Nicholas Dodman, professor emeritus at Tufts University. “All day long, electrical activity is happening in our brain, and random, disorganized data gets stored in various places,” says Dr. They sleep when their bodies say they need sleep-unlike people who have busy schedules and don’t always listen to the signals from their bodies. Why Do Dogs Sleep So Much?ĭogs sleep a lot more than people do. So, that comes out to a whopping 80% of the doggy day being spent not doing much of anything at all. Typically, loafing time is spent lying down, watching the world go by, and generally enjoying being lazy. In addition to the 50% of their day spent sleeping, dogs will then spend another 30% of their awake hours doing what I call “loafing.” Just like with humans, loafing is when a dog is awake but really not doing much of anything-just hanging out. Puppies, large-breed dogs, and older dogs may sleep more, while small-breed dogs and working dogs may sleep less. On average, most dogs spend about 50% of their day sleeping-about 12 hours in a 24-hour period. Here’s everything you need to know about your dog’s sleep patterns, from how much sleep they need to whether you should worry if your dog sleeps all day or can’t sleep at night.
While this may seem like a lot of time spent sleeping, it’s actually quite normal. Then wake up, go outside again, have dinner, and then go back to bed for another nap. Get out of bed, go outside to relieve yourself, come in, have a snack, and go back to bed. The life of a dog seems like such a leisurely experience.
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