Sleeping Dogs
Even though it can be difficult for many people to fit sleep into their busy schedules, getting enough sleep each night is important for both short-term vitality and long-term health. For dogs it’s the same story: getting enough sleep every day is important.
As you observe your dog, you may feel like the dog sleeps the majority of the day away. This is normal, as dogs need on average 14 hours per day of sleep, although different breeds have different needs.
A dog doesn’t sleep in quite the same way as a human does. For example, a dog only spends about 10% of its sleep time in REM sleep, which is the deepest type of sleep that results in the greatest rejuvenation of the body. Humans spend 250% more sleep time in REM sleep than dogs. This difference means that the average dog needs several more hours of sleep per day than an average human.
Just like some humans need less sleep than other people, some dogs need less (or more) sleep than other dogs. The differences in sleep patterns among individual dogs within your household can be a bit frustrating – especially if one of your dogs likes to wake up an hour before sunrise every day – but the following reasons can explain these differences.
Sometimes a dog may sleep less or more than usual because of an illness or physical ailment. A sudden change in the amount of sleep a dog needs or in the times at which it sleeps may be the first sign of a serious illness. So if you’re worried about your dog’s sleep patterns changing, you may want to visit your veterinarian. Onset of one of the three following sleep disorders also may cause a change in a dog’s sleep pattern.
The best way to determine whether your pet is suffering from some sort of sleep-related problem is to have a good understanding of the dog’s normal sleeping habits. Watch for changes in that sleep pattern as a clue to something more serious occurring with your dog’s well-being. After all, sleep patterns can give you information about the dog’s health that the animal cannot verbalize to you.
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