How long do dogs sleep every day

The life of a dog looks incredibly carefree and simple. They eat, sleep, snack-out and sometimes chase their tail. There is nothing that a happy dog has to worry about other than when their next biscuit is coming and where to have their next nap. With a life so relaxing, have you ever stopped to wonder how long dogs sleep for every day?

How many hours do dogs sleep?

Sometimes it feels like all we ever see our dogs doing is sleep but you’d be surprised to know that dogs don’t sleep that much more than humans do.

The average sleep time that dogs get everyday is roughly between 9 and 14 hours. There are a few variables that can impact on whether or not sleeps less or more. Such variables include:

• Age of the dog (puppies and older dogs sleep more)
• Working dogs
• Breed of the dog
• Size of the dog

This doesn’t mean that the rest of their time is being spent running around. Just like humans, dogs tend to have ‘chill time’ where they are simply relaxing.

Light sleepers

Although dogs spend a good amount of time sleeping, they are pretty light sleepers and they only sleep for short periods of time, only going to REM sleep when they feel extremely safe. This comes down to the natural instincts of their ancestors that were always vigilant of danger.

With this in mind, dogs can also fall asleep as quick as they wake up.

How long do puppies sleep?

Compared to adult dogs, puppies tend to sleep a lot more throughout the day. If your puppy is new to your home, however, night time sleeping can become stressful.

As your puppy has been taken away from their mother, you will experience crying, whining, and yapping. It isn’t a very pleasant experience for either you or your puppy, but there are a few things you can do to help settle your puppy in for night time:

• Crate train your puppy. Contrary to what you may have thought, crates give dogs a sense of comfort and security.
• Give your puppy a blanket that has its mothers scent on it.
• Put a hot water bottle in the crate filled with warm water (not too hot to avoid burning the puppy). This will remind the puppy of its mothers warmth
• Place a ticking clock next to the crate. Alongside the blanket and hot water bottle, this will give your puppy the feeling that they are with their mother.

Making your dog comfortable

Dogs do quite often like to have their own space, their own bed and their own blankets. In a similar way to humans, dogs like a comfy place to sleep in both during the day and at night.

Although dogs can sometimes have a nap on harder and more cooler surface when they’re too hot, at night they appreciate a comfier and warmer bed to sleep in. As they’re spending more time in their bed than you will, it’s best to invest in a nice bed for your furry companions to sleep in.

If you’re looking for a quality bed that will fit in with the aesthetic of your home whilst providing the ultimate level of comfort for your dog, why not check out these personalised dog beds. If you’re on the road, memory foam travel pads are a great alternative.

What can stop your dog from getting sleep?

A drastic change in your dogs sleeping pattern and habits could be a result of a variety of different changes in your dogs life. Here are a few issues that might be having an impact on your dogs sleeping pattern:

Your dog could be in pain

If your dog isn’t sleeping or is showing any signs of restlessness, it could be an indicator that your dog is in pain.

This pain could be anything from an internal or external issue. If you think your dog is in pain, take them to a veterinary professional as soon as possible

Changes in their food

If you have changed your dogs food or if you dog has managed to eat something that they shouldn’t have, your dog might have a stomach irritation.

Keep an eye on their droppings to eliminate this as a possibility.

Underlying health conditions

There can be a variety of different health conditions that could be having a negative impact on your dogs sleep pattern. It’s not uncommon for dogs to suffer from diabetes, dementia or heart conditions which could have an impact on their health.

It’s important to spot any changes early on to eliminate any problems getting worse.