How Much Time Should Canine Animals Sleep Each Day?

Canine animals get to sleep about 13 hrs per day, though some breeds may sleep as much as 18 hours per day. It is essential to note that dogs wake up more often than we do. Therefore even though it appears your dog is sleeping excessively, there are far more interruptions to their slumber than you know.

Dogs experience sleep states very similar to humans with slow wave sleep and rapid eye motion (REM) sleep. The first sleep phase is the slow wave sleep that occurs for the first 10 or so minutes of sleep. Throughout this time your dog's breathing reduces and blood pressure and heart rate decreases. Immediately after this beginning stage your dog enters the REM stage of sleep. During REM you may become aware of your dog quietly barking or whimpering and jerking their legs. Your dog's brain activity at this point is akin to the activity observed when humans dream. Perhaps this why we instinctively say that our dogs do dream.

More than one criteria affect the amount of time your dog sleeps.

1. Your dog's breed - Various breeds prefer different quantities of slumber

2. Physical activity levels - highly active dogs such as a working dog will nap less than a dog who resides as the pet at home.

3. Boredom - If a dog is uninterested it is more likely to sleep than one who is very interested in something going on. Interestingly they know when to be attentive and be conscious of their environment. They seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to this but also act in response to certain auditory motivation such as the family car arriving home.

4. Age - Senior pooches will sleep more that younger dogs.

5. Medication/Bad Health - If a dog is ill, depressed or on medication, they will have a tendency to sleep far more.

6. Environment - noisy and uncomfortable atmospheres will as a consequence result in the dog sleeping less than if the environment is undisturbed and soothing

The most important thing pertaining to your dog's sleep habits, is to recognize what is normal for your dog. Once you are mindful of what comprises typical, you can become mindful of any variations to length of sleep, time of sleep and lack of response to stimulation that typically wakes your dog. If you become conscious of any changes it may be advisable to make a consultation with your local vet, to get rid of the probability of any underlying health conditions that may need dealing with.

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