| It's important to understand your dog's sleeping | | | | Also, your dog may be a little unwilling to settle down |
| habits and how they influence its behavior, particularly | | | | again if woken at an unusual hour. |
| when your dog gets disturbed. | | | | This means it's important to establish a set routine |
| You see, Dogs will usually sleep for around 13 hours | | | | for a new dog from the outset. This includes things |
| every day. Although this can vary between different | | | | like exercising, feeding and sleeping times. |
| breeds, this still means your dog is going to be asleep | | | | A new puppy is likely to be distressed on its first |
| for almost half it's life! | | | | few nights in a new home, as this will be the first |
| Dream time. | | | | time that he will have been separated from its |
| Your dog will tend to circle before lying down to | | | | littermates. |
| sleep | | | | Within a pack, there is no visible hierarchy in the |
| As he would do in the wild, where he would trample | | | | order in which the dogs sleep, although they will |
| down vegetation to create a bed, typically in longer | | | | instinctively sleep close to their fellow members. |
| grass where his presence will be concealed. | | | | (Although the alpha dog will usually sleep apart). |
| Temperature also influences the way in which a dog | | | | If your new pup has been allowed to spend the night |
| sleeps. | | | | in the bedroom, it can become problematic to expect |
| If it's cold, your dog will curl up in a ball to conserve | | | | it to sleep elsewhere. |
| body heat. (just as puppies do by sleeping together | | | | Its instincts suggest that it has been driven away |
| instead of stretching out). | | | | from the pack. |
| It's not unusual for an adult dog to lie on his side | | | | By being firm right from the start and establishing |
| while he's sleeping, and start moving his legs as if he | | | | that your dog sleeps on his own, you can ensure |
| were running. | | | | that he doesn't experience this ‘rejection' once |
| The eyelids and whiskers may twitch too at this | | | | he gets a little older. |
| stage, which is usually a sign of what we humans call | | | | Dogs can get restless during the night if they're not |
| ‘deep sleep'. | | | | exercised regularly. Although he may also nap |
| Dogs generally spend most of their time sleeping | | | | continually if there isn't much happening. |
| lightly. | | | | While you are out, your dog may find its way to |
| Sleeping habits. | | | | your bed, just to be near your smell. An old item of |
| Seeing as dogs are descended from opportunistic | | | | clothing, which will carry your scent, will comfort your |
| hunters, dogs instinctively wake when there is an | | | | dog when you are not there. |
| increased amount of activity around them. | | | | Sleeping postures. |
| However, if a dog is deliberately woken, particularly if | | | | Puppies often appreciate contact with littermates |
| it is disturbed by a child, he may react aggressively | | | | when sleeping, just in the same way that many dogs |
| and bite without warning. | | | | prefer to lie against a wall or next to their owner's |
| The phrase ‘let sleeping dogs lie' should give you | | | | feet. |
| a clue! | | | | |