Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Understanding you dog’s sleeping habits and how they influence behaviour can provide a lot of insight, especially when routines get disturbed. Dogs will usually sleep for approximately 13 hours every day! The specific amount of sleep that your dog needs will vary depending on breeds, age and activity level but this means, in general, that our dogs will be asleep for almost half their lives!

Preparation

Dogs often circle before lying down to sleep. This is an instinct leftover from the wild when they would trample down vegetation to create a bed, typically in longer grass where their presence will be concealed, increasing their safety from predators. The ambient temperature will also influence the way your dog sleeps. In cold temperatures, dogs will curl up in balls to conserve body heat just as puppies do by huddling together instead of stretching out.

Dreams

’Deep sleep” in adult dogs is marked by the dogs lying on their sides and moving their legs as if they’re running. Their eyelids, paws and whiskers may also begin to twitch at this stage, and they may start to yip, growl or bark which is usually a sign of what we humans call ‘dreaming.’

Let them lie

Dogs are descended from opportunistic hunters and instinctively wake-up when there is an increased amount of activity around them. If a dog is deliberately and/or suddenly woken, they may react aggressively and bite without warning thinking that they are defending themselves from a predator. The old adage ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ is true, if you need to wake-up your dog, give lots of warning by making noise and speaking loudly before touching them. Never allow your children to wake-up or disturb dogs while they are sleeping.

Dogs will often have difficulty getting back to sleep if they are woken up at unusual hours. This can be alleviated if your routine has a level of variance and unpredictability from early adolescence. In early puppy hood maintaining a consistent schedule of exercise, feeding and sleeping times while help your puppy learn the basics but once they have established good behaviour it’s time to add some flexibility. Lack of daytime exercise can also lead to restless dogs at night.

Puppies

New puppies can be distressed during the first few nights in a new home. This is typically the first time that they will sleep without the comfort and contact of their mother and littermates. Within a pack, there is no clear hierarchy in the order in which dogs sleep, although instinctively they do sleep close to each other. Allowing your puppy to sleep in your room is important for their sense of safety and pack solidarity. However, once they have slept in your room it will become problematic to expect them to sleep elsewhere as instinctively they will feel rejected and driven away from the pack. Be firm right from the first night with your puppy and establish the routine that your dog sleeps alone in a cozy crate in your room.