How much should my dog sleep? 23 June 2015 at 7:49PM in Pets & Pet Care 9 replies 1.3K views

longwalks1

our 5 year old cavalier king charles spaniel sleeps most of the day, is this normal? Shes a total lap dog, we walk her once a day for between 1-2 miles, and she has free run of the house (upstairs and downstairs) and a garden whenever we're home too. She obviously sleeps all night when we do, but anytime we're not playing with her or out walking (maybe 45 minutes a day) she seems to be stretched out on the sofa sleeping, do dogs sleep this much?

She always has done, just wondered how much your dogs sleep per day??

Thanks

trolleyrun

My dog sleeps a lot, unless there's something else exciting happening. Dogs go to sleep very quickly but also wake up quickly. If your dog seems happy and content and is healthy, then I wouldn't worry.

elsien

Gitdog (4ish) was awake all the time when I first got him because he was a rescue and very stressed and anxious. Now he's learned to relax he's a lazy little beggar. If we're out and about he'll stay awake, if we're at home he potters and snoozes. He alternates between comatose and manic - there's no inbetween there at all.
It does catch up on him if he doesn't do enough though as he does a Jekyll and Hyde, so I make a point of doing games and mental exercise for half an hour a day on top of his walks to keep him sociable.

GlasweJen

We're not convinced that our terrier sleeps enough. She lies down a lot and has lots of beds and blankets all around the house that she loves to cuddle into but the minute someone moves or speaks or a car pulls up outside she's up and wanting to make sure everything is ok.

She's the same at night as well.

oystercatcher

My three sleep loads. We have a fairly regular routine fo feeding and walks and they are always awake and alert when these things happen, inbetween they snooze unless there is an unexpected noise that needs woofing at !

If something happens ( like visitors or the groomer coming) and they miss their afternoon asleep then they are obviously shattered later on, you can see them struggling to keep their eyes open as they know it's nearly feeding time !

After our evening walk they seem to sleep much deeper than the daytime sleeps though. Only waking to stagger upstairs and go back to sleep there.

Katiehound

Mine 2 sleep loads- one is aged 3 , the other 8!
They are saving their energy for anything that needs canine attention such as postman at door, cats in the garden or the sound of food preparation! They sleep soundly at night for up to 10 hours (if I am being very lazy!)

Last week, first time ever I was woken by a full blown, full volume hound howl (think Hound of the Baskervilles!) I woke up in a shot , switched on the light and wouldn't you know it they were both fast asleep and I was wide awake... for quite some time!
And they are sleeping now...........

GBNI

Mine are like Gitdog. Either mad balls of energy or flat out. I can tell when they're in a deep sleep compared to a doze though. I work full time and I notice the days I'm off they end up exhausted quite early as they've been following me around. One of them takes herself to bed at 9pm every night as well, regardless of how much exercise/play she has. And that's the younger one! She's only 2 and a half

teddysmum

My two cavalier sleep for hours, but they are now 11 and 12. (They are snoring as I type.)


They sleep when I'm out ( I have actually walked in while both carried on sleeping),when I'm in bed and other times too. It's only worth waking for food, walkies, visitors, who may have food or interesting things like intruders on the tv screen.

lisa110rry

I work full time but my husband is retired. Apparently, after I go to work our dog settles herself down for a day of snoozing, unless of course there is something to be barked at like the postman, milkman, someone having the temerity to walk past our home, a leaf falling slightly heavier than normal...or THUNDER! (Help, the Rabbit God is angry!) She is always looking for me at the front window when I get home. She was 10 in March, so now she sleeps rather heavier than she used to. Needless to say, she's always alert for food, treats and her two walks a day.

The really odd thing about our dog is that though she knows how, she doesn't ask to go out to widdle during the day, or at night for that matter, just uses her two walks a day.

Rebel_Cause

Mine is like a cat, I walk him for two hours every other day, he it's adequate exercise for him because he is kn*ckered by the end of our hike and he just sleeps and lazes around for the rest of the day and the next day. He is dosile for about 90% of the day.

My dog is a similar age to yours, maybe it is a sign of them growing up.