How many hours does a dog sleep?

⏰ How many hours does a dog sleep?

We could say, at a glance, that the average sleep time of dogs is between 12 and 14 hours a day, although they do not necessarily sleep continuously.

Our dog does not sleep often, neither does yours. He takes naps that more than one of us would like to.

With today's article of our blog, we are going to help you to make him rest better, so he can be happier and have more energy, the one that kills us all.

There are breeds that are prone to sleep more than others, as they do not accumulate or expend energy in the same way. Similarly, age is a very important factor in determining how many hours a dog sleeps.

Indeed, some breeds are lazier than others. The basset hound, the greyhound, the English bulldog or the Great Dane are some examples of breeds that need to sleep for more hours than the average of all dogs (up to 18 or 20 hours a day).

On the other hand, dogs also sleep for longer or shorter periods depending on their age.Puppies sleep much longer than the standard sleeping time of adult dogs. The same is true for elderly dogs, but they have more irregular patterns (they sleep for many hours, but more intermittently).

Both realities can be explained from the point of view of energy expenditure. Puppies are pure energy and usually need to spend it during the day with physical exercise and play. Consequently, they fall down like a real blessing at the drop of a hat! Similarly, elderly dogs have much less energy and tend to be prostrated for much longer. While they do not sleep continuously, they do sleep in short naps throughout the day.

So what happens if your dog sleeps a lot? There can be two different situations: that your dog expends a lot of energy during the day (and needs a lot of time to recover it), or that your dog is not able to recover the energy during his rest. This last case is typical of dogs whose sleep is not restful; they do not sleep many hours continuously and do not tend to reach deep phases easily.

💤 Tips to improve your dog's quality of rest

🏋️‍♂️ Exercise regularly

It will seem obvious, but if a dog has not tired before, he will hardly rest afterwards. Do not forget that sleep is a restorative process and, if your dog has not spent enough energy, its own organism will not demand that rest. Therefore, as long as your dog's health allows it, try to give him some physical exercise every day.

Your dog will not only benefit from a subsequent restful rest, but will be able to spend his accumulated energy with the consequent well-being caused by the release of endorphins. Something as trivial as taking him out to run or throw him the ball for a while will make your dog take his bed with much more pleasure.

🍏 Taking care of his food

A dog's diet is a determining factor for sleep, both in terms of quality and schedule. It is not advisable to feed your dog just before bedtime, as its digestive process will interfere with sleep. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense: it happens to people too!

The best thing you can do for your dog in this regard is to give him sufficient, but not excessive, portions of food, so as to facilitate his digestion. Also avoid including heavy foods in their diet (milk, cheese, nuts, leftover bones), as they will slow down their digestions.

🦮 Reinforce their routines.

Dogs are more routine-friendly than we all think. Their bodies are very sensitive to changes in schedule and changes in the environment, which not only alters their sleep patterns, but impacts their behavior and eating patterns.

Try to establish some protocols to let your dog know that it is time to go to sleep: the same hours, the same events, the same spaces...

🛌 Provide a place conducive to rest

Finally, your dog will not sleep well if he is not comfortable on the surface on which he rests, which should be soft and of suitable dimensions. If your dog perceives this place as pleasant, you can be sure that he will fall asleep more easily.

How many of us don't try to get into bed? In my particular case, I don't let him climb on the bed, for that he has his viscoelastic balukaDREAM mattress, but of course... looking for our warmth and contact is the most important thing for them. He comes to the room, approaches my side of the bed and observes if I'm asleep or not. If I'm not, he waits, but if he thinks I am, up he goes! But, my friend, it only takes one "sssh" for him to get back down and go back to sleep on his own. Take the opportunity to read our article on whether or not it is good for them to sleep in your bed.

All these factors, we have taken into account to develop the viscoelastic mattress balukaDREAM by Baluka. Ergonomic, adaptable, antibacterial and anti-mite... and similar to ours 😁.

Are you surprised how many hours a dog sleeps? As you have seen, each breed and each age range has its own peculiarities and its own rest needs. With good routine feeding and exercise habits and a comfortable bed, your dog will make much better use of his sleeping hours.