If you’ve just adopted a new puppy, you may have started to notice the importance of a sleep schedule for your pet.While puppies are well known for their excessively energetic behavior when awake, new pet owners can often be shocked by the number of hours that puppies sleep per day! You will be relieved to know that it is absolutely normal and healthy for your furry friend to be snoozing through most of the day!Such a sleeping schedule not only ensures that your puppy is growing well, but also helps the tiny baby to get the right amount of rest required for its next training session. However, if you want a breed of dog that will sleep less and spend more hours of the day playing with you, breeds such as Golden Retrievers and Australian terriers are the way to go!If you enjoy this article, then why not check out some more fun facts such as how many legs do spiders have and how many legs do ants have.How much sleep does a newborn puppy need?Becoming a first-time pet owner is always daunting. Puppies are extremely cute but, while they are full of energy when they are wake, their nap-times can be quite extensive and almost concerning. If you are wondering if it is fine for your puppy’s rest time to exceed its active periods, the simplest and most straightforward answer is yesIrrespective of the breed of dog that you welcome into your family, a puppy is likely to sleep through the majority of the day. Unlike adult humans, who only need to spend a third of the day sleeping to be healthy, a growing puppy sleeps for longer in order to compensate for the intense changes that it goes through in its early life. Like human babies that also sleep most of the time, a young dog or pup can require high levels of sleep. Going for a walk or an hour long play-time is likely to exhaust your pup and cause it to sleep for a couple of hours to regain some energy.In addition to the hours that a pup needs to spend sleeping in order to maintain its health, your little fur-baby is also likely to retreat into his crate if he has a nice bed to sleep in. Your dog’s interest in sleeping is likely to adjust according to the food you give it.How long should a puppy sleep?There is no set number of hours of sleep that puppies need. If you feel like your pet has been sleeping too much and find yourself complaining that it won’t play with you, it is important to understand that sleep is required if you want a healthy puppy.Typically, it is essential for a puppy to sleep for around 13-14 hours every day. While it may sound a little extreme for an animal to be snoozing around in its dog bed for so long, a new puppy is likely to fall asleep after just a few hours of play-time, training or even some light exercise such as a walk in the park. This is because your puppy is putting so much energy into exercise but also into its growth.Puppies are not too different from human babies in this regard because, just like human babies have an extensive sleep schedule, the same applies to pups as well! A puppy typically requires around 18-20 hours of sleep every day. This essentially means that your fur-baby is awake for considerably less time compared to the time that it spends sleeping in its crate or dog bed. A 3-month-old puppy sleeps for around 15 hours every day!In addition to the sleep that your puppy needs to develop and grow, these little bundles of joy are also likely to resort to more frequent naps because they don’t sleep in the same way as humans. Unlike humans, who can sleep for long stretches of time, a dog’s sleep schedule and brain activity are such that it cannot sleep for 8-10 hours at night. To make sure that the lack of REM is compensated for and that the health of the animal is maintained, their sleeping routine means that they nap throughout the day and not just during the night.Adult dogs also spend a considerably longer part of their day sleeping. While the specific sleeping routine, as well as the duration of sleep required every day, is typically different for different breeds of dogs, it is absolutely normal, and even beneficial, for adult dogs to sleep for around 8-14 hours. This makes sure that your dog is energized for a walk or for any training that you may have planned for the day. While humans may not realize it, the stage of life that a dog is in is a key part of understanding the number of hours of sleep that it requires. Since time moves much faster according to a dog’s calendar, it grows old much faster than any human being does. Hence, it is very important for pet owners to be aware of the stage of life that their furry friend is at before being concerned about bedtime or sleeping routines!Is it normal for puppies to sleep a lot?Sleeping for 18-20 hours a day might be unimaginable for many human beings, but it is in fact essential that your puppy gets this amount of rest!It seems a little extreme but puppies need to nap throughout the day and not just during the night. This is because of their young age and the amount of physical and mental changes that these animals go through. No wonder these tiny animals find life very tiring! Even everyday things, such as a car or a new smell, can send your puppy’s brain spiraling. All of these new experiences can make your dog need a few hours of rest!If you do notice that your puppy sleeps a lot and you are wondering if you should be concerned about its health, the best thing that to do is to observe your animal when it is awake. Instead of trying to wake the puppy up when it is asleep, try to make sure that it is active while it is awake. If you see that your puppy can easily be active and energetic for hours of potty training, game playing and walks, and sleeps only when it is exhausted, there is no need to worry. It is absolutely normal for a pup to go back to bed after it has been running around the house. A 10-week-old puppy is likely to start sleeping through the night, meaning that you might finally get some peaceful sleep too!However, if your puppy is lethargic or inactive even after bedtime is over, it would probably be best to consult a veterinarian. There are a number of diseases that may affect your pup at such a young age. While your dog is only a couple of weeks old, it is always best to be in close contact with a nice veterinarian in order to make sure that everything is smooth sailing!What To Do If A Puppy Is Sleeping A LotIt is not uncommon for an owner to want to adjust a puppy’s sleep schedule to better suit their lifestyle.Instead of trying to wake your pup up when it is already asleep, the best thing to is to make sure that the tiny animal is engaged and happy throughout the day, especially before you are about to retire for the night. Feed the puppy at fixed times and potty-train it to make sure that there are no accidents on its bed during the night.The trick is to make sure that your puppy is not sleeping too much right before it is bedtime. This will mean it goes to sleep at the same time as you and your family. In this way, both you and your canine best friend can get all the rest that you require!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how many hours a day do puppies sleep then why not take a look at how many teeth do sharks have, or how many teeth do snails have.
If you’ve just adopted a new puppy, you may have started to notice the importance of a sleep schedule for your pet.
