# I know pups sleep a lot, but...



## Annichka (May 14, 2009)

...Sigrid seems to be sleeping more than usual. She'll be 15 weeks on Thursday, and I wonder if it isn't a growth spurt or something. It just seems like she always wants to sleep! She still does her puppy zooms when she gets very tired, though, and we get plenty of exercise (walks and off-lead). She eats fine. But her schedule:

5 am - wakeup, breakfast
5:30 - off-lead play in a big field, or walk
7 am - 12 pm - sleep (and as for today, it's 12 pm now, and she's sleeping still)
12 pm - 5 pm - lunch/nap/play/train/nap/play/nap...
5 pm - dinner
6 pm - 9 pm - crazy hours - more off-lead play in the big field, training, playing with our older dog for an hour
9 pm - 5 am - sleep

Is this an unusual amount of sleep?


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Is she used to being crated from 7 -12 in the morning because everyone is at work school?

It doesn't sound abnormal to me. At that age, Otto couldn't be up for more than 2 hours without getting exhausted. Then he'd get up from his nap and I'd swear he was bigger.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

I read that pups usuall sleep at leat 18 hours


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## Lem (May 30, 2009)

Keanu is pretty laid back too. He'll lay down at my feet while i'm at the computer, playing the Wii or watching TV. Occassionally, he'll bring his tennis ball for me to toss across the room, but mostly he'll just relax. Chew a bone or sleep.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Wow! Sleepy puppy








No real advice but! it certainly sounds like your pup gets a good amount of exercise, so that could explain it.
Denali is just gogogogogogogo allll day!


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## darga19 (Mar 4, 2009)

The warm weather may have something to do with it too if it's a rather new development.

I wouldn't worry about it to be honest...


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Seems like a normal day for a puppy to me.


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## Annichka (May 14, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: SunCzarina
> It doesn't sound abnormal to me. At that age, Otto couldn't be up for more than 2 hours without getting exhausted. Then he'd get up from his nap and I'd swear he was bigger.


YES! She seems to be growing like crazy. No, I'm mostly with her all day - she really only gets crated at random times when I have to go somewhere she can't accompany me. But the weather has turned warm, and she does get a lot of exercise as well as training time, so maybe she's just legitimately worn out.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

In the book "Chill Out Fido," Nan Arthur says that the average stable-tempered adult dog (not breed specific) spends about 17 hours a day lounging around/snoozing/sleeping, which in my experience, is about right for active pet dogs. 

(My working GSD snoozed less because he worked and played hard for more hours, but he SLEPT hard for more time)

Puppies require a lot of sleep. If you think about it, it takes humans YEARS (often up to 18 years in males) to reach their full adult size. Dogs do almost of their upward growth in one year, and complete their growth in 2-3 years. That's a massive amount of growth within a short period of time. 

With puppies (until they're about 14 months old), I have set nap times. I don't wait for them to settle down to sleep because puppies, like children, often lack the capacity to walk away from "fun" even though they're very tired. (Ever notice how punchy puppies get at about 9pm?







) 

We have a routine, and that includes two 2-hour nap time in their crates in relative peace (there is no such thing as total quiet in my house). If they're still sleeping at the end of the 2 hours (they often are), I leave them alone til I hear them stirring. Once they hit about 14 months old, then I let them settle down to nap when they feel the need, which I've found, is quite often!


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## Annichka (May 14, 2009)

That makes sense. What kind of schedule do you have their naps take? Sigrid is tired after breakfast and around mid-afternoon. You are so right about the punchiness, though! She's like a two-year-old. Puppy zoomies, stealing, nipping, then...crash! Out like a light.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Our nap schedule follows what Sigrid's natural pattern does. 

After breakfast, we take a nice little walk; then it's naptime. Then we have another nap from about 2 to 4pm (some days, it starts at 1pm if puppy is getting punchy -- mouthy and kind of wild -- or just seems really tired). Obviously, this varies some depending on my schedule as well. 

I usually tether my young pups while we eat dinner and I find that they often sleep during that time too. I don't consider it an official nap time, but the tether is set up so that he's away from the older dogs, on a nice soft bed, where we can see pup. He has a chew and some toys, but usually it's boom! he's out like a light. When we get up from the table, he's ready to go again.


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

Lulu sleeps a lot as well, when she plays, she plays hard at the soccer field or at home with me but then she sleeps a lot after 7pm or so, she is almost 5 months. She is also unusual as she likes to sleep in in the morning!!! Every morning I get up at 6am ready to start the day, first thing I do is take her out and take her potty and I start to play with her outside and she just turns around and runs back inside and right back in her crate to sleep until about 9am  every single morning! Then she is up for half the day then rests mostly in the evenings after 7pm, it's so weird, I've never heard of a dog that likes to sleep in in the morning!


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