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Mommy always tells me–usually when she is trying to comb a knot out of my coat or give me a bath–that there is a price to be paid for being so beautiful. There are a lot of perks too, and one of them is that I can normally fall asleep nearly anytime, and anywhere I want to. often I even fall asleep when I don’t want to and I try to stay awake so I won’t miss anything. So how much do dogs sleep? You might be surprised!
The sleep requirements for any pet dog will depend a lot on its age and its size. small dogs like me tend to sleep fewer hours than big dogs, and puppies and seniors will sleep a lot more than adult dogs. We have higher metabolisms than humans do, which requires a lot more sleepy time. The difference, however, is that dogs will sleep for multiple short periods and then be awake for multiple short periods while humans will be awake for a long period of 12-15 hours straight then sleep for the balance.
Because dogs spend shorter intervals in sleep, they don’t get to stay in that deep REM stage as long. It is presumed that dogs get as little as 10% of their sleepy time in REM. Humans, on the other paw, spend as much as 20-25% of their sleepy time in REM. Dogs do dream, and will twitch, growl, whine, and make movements with their legs as though running.
Nutrition plays a big role in your dog’s sleep routines too. A poor quality diet will not give your pet dog the fuel for the energy he needs to be active. I lead a very busy life as Pombassador of southern California Pomeranian Rescue; I do a lot of volunteering for charity, make pawsonal appearances for fundraising, attend an occasional pawty, and I get to travel to a lot of different places. My busy schedule can be demanding so mommy has to make sure that I get a balanced diet with vitamins and plenty of appeal sleep so I can always bring my A-Game with me anywhere I go.
At the end of every day there is nothing better than being able to curl up in my beloved Sock Monkey Bed for a good night’s sleepy time!
Love,
Bella
pet dog Behavior