Did you know, that - just like us - if dogs don’t get enough sleep it shows in everything they do?
You may be familiar with managing a toddler - in which case you KNOW exactly how important sleep is! An underslept baby is a cranky, crying, cantankerous, mess! You can do nothing with them till they’ve had the proper amount of sleep.
We know this.
And if you’re starting off with a new puppy, you need to make sure that sleep is right up there in importance, along with what and how often to feed, and enriching your puppy’s life.
Everything else can wait!
Until you manage sleep, you will have that cranky, cantankerous toddler for a puppy - and this usually manifests itself in manic behaviour and especially puppy biting.
If you’re struggling with your new puppy’s behaviour, read these two posts, and follow the steps exactly!
https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/new-puppy-will-i-ever-sleep-again
https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/10-ways-to-stop-puppy-biting
Things will change for you very fast, once you put these methods in place.
Grown-up dogs
But many people don’t realise that this need for sleep continues for ALL their dog’s life!
Dogs, like many animals, need much more sleep than we do.
And like all of us, they suffer if they’re not getting it.
Know how much a healthy dog needs to sleep every day?
It’s 17 hours!
17 hours!
I spoke about this at length in this post:
https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/my-dog-is-busybusy-all-day-long-and-never-stops
And if your dog is always on the go - hop over there right now and read the story about Tim and learn how to help your dog just as fast!
There’s more help for you in this post too:
https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/i-love-my-dog-and-i-love-my-sleep
A bee in my bonnet?
Now you’re thinking I’ve just got a bee in my bonnet about all this!
But the reason I feel the need to revisit this subject is because it seems to be such a secret for so many people!
Especially first-time dog-owners and puppy-owners.
They think that the puppy will take care of his own sleep needs.
Nope.
Like everything else we want to happen in our home with our companion dog, we have to manage it, and teach strong foundations from the start.
Quite a few folk arrive in the Brilliant Family Dog Academy, pulling their hair out in frustration at their new dog’s behaviour!
And before we can teach the dog anything new to “fix the problem” we have to sort out the household management.
Only then is the dog in a state where he can learn.
And, you know what?
There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your dogs flat out sleeping peacefully, the house calm and quiet, while you get on with what you have to do, knowing your dog will be in a friendly, obliging, malleable, mood when he eventually stretches, yawns and starts his tail wagging again!
Want a bit more help after you’ve read all these valuable articles? Get our free email course here, which will show you how to deal with lots of those little daily annoyances your dog may be passing your way!
And comment below on how changing your dog’s sleep patterns has transformed your life together! 💤 💤 💤