[Ricky Ricardo]

Post your experience in this poll.

 

[krandall]

Pretty much whenever we aren't doing something "interesting". They have a "wild play time" for about an hour in the morning, and again in early evening. Otherwise, they hang out and sleep if we aren't doing something with them. then they have PLENTY of energy!

 

[Jackie from Concrete WA]

I checked 2-4 on the pole, but I'm only guessing. She gets up with my husband and goes outside for potty, then goes back to sleep. Then she gets up again when I get up and we go for a walk. She'll be up for a bit after that and then naps again. Gets up around late morning for another walk. She'll usually stay alert until late afternoon than she naps. Up again for dinner and another walk and more play. Then naps a little more then gets up for more play before her last potty. Maybe she sleeps more than 4 hours!

 

[Sassy's Mom]

If it's gray and raining Sassy sleeps all day. She'll play for about 10 minutes then she wants to curl up and go back to sleep.

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

I checked 2-4 on the pole, but I'm only guessing. She gets up with my husband and goes outside for potty, then goes back to sleep. Then she gets up again when I get up and we go for a walk. She'll be up for a bit after that and then naps again. Gets up around late morning for another walk. She'll usually stay alert until late afternoon than she naps. Up again for dinner and another walk and more play. Then naps a little more then gets up for more play before her last potty. Maybe she sleeps more than 4 hours!

This is pretty much Ricky's schedule too. Sometimes it is hard to tell if he is sleeping. Sometimes he just hangs out quietly, curled up with one eye open, watching us work on the computer, read, watch TV. However, if one of us gets up to do something, Ricky is at our side, ready for any activity!

Ricky's Popi

 

[krandall]

This is pretty much Ricky's schedule too. Sometimes it is hard to tell if he is sleeping. Sometimes he just hangs out quietly, curled up with one eye open, watching us work on the computer, read, watch TV. However, if one of us gets up to do something, Ricky is at our side, ready for any activity!

Ricky's Popi

Interestingly, I've just been reading a book about stress in dogs. It turns out that dogs who sleep and/or rest less than 17 hours per day have much higher stress levels than those who get at least this much down time.

 

[Karen Collins]

Interestingly, I've just been reading a book about stress in dogs. It turns out that dogs who sleep and/or rest less than 17 hours per day have much higher stress levels than those who get at least this much down time.

I an attest to the truth of that study. My dogs love extra activity, but they totally crash after all settles down. They get visibly stressed if it goes on too long. That's one reason I usually crate them in a quiet place when we have all the kids and grands here.

 

[Ollie"s Mom]

Ollie sleeps whenever play or training stops. He will follow me from room to room as I work, but he cat naps while I am cleaning in each room. He has a dedicated nap time when I crate him in the afternoon. I do this so that when I have things to do outside of the home I can crate him when I am gone and he just goes down for a nap which feels normal to him. He gets up at eight and goes to bed at eleven. He naps for two hours and sleeps a lot during the rest of the day and evening. I would guess he sleeps six plus hours.

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

It turns out that dogs who sleep and/or rest less than 17 hours per day have much higher stress levels than those who get at least this much down time.

That is interesting! I wonder how "rest" is defined. Certainly Ricky is at "rest" more than he is active. His vigorous playtimes with his Momi and Popi last for 10 minutes or less during the day and total less than an hour per day. He goes on his two walkies a day that total about an hour. Then we train in 10 minute sessions for about 30 minutes per day. The rest of the time he is quietly resting or quietly entertaining himself with a toy. He usually shuts down and sleeps around 8 pm in his bed while we watch TV, read, or work on the computer. We put him in his crate around 9:30 pm and we get him up to potty around 6:30 am. He will then hop on the bed and nap some more until about 8am when we go for our morning walkies. So I would say Ricky gets about 17hours of sleep and rest, depending on how rest is defined.

This was a BIG birthday weekend at our house, celebrating three people and dog birthdays, with family and their dogs staying Saturday and Sunday. Ricky and the other dogs were going constantly to the point of over-stimulation. The party is now over and everyone has left. It is 6pm and Ricky is not sleeping yet, but he is resting quietly at my side. He will be sleeping shortly, as well as Momi and Popi.

Ricky's Popi

 

[krandall]

I think that that "quiet time" counts as "rest". They don't have to be knocked out, sleeping. It's also not a bad thing to have a busy day here and there. I think it's just important to keep in mind how much "down time" they need, in general, to keep stress levels down.

 

[Jeanniek]

Interestingly, I've just been reading a book about stress in dogs. It turns out that dogs who sleep and/or rest less than 17 hours per day have much higher stress levels than those who get at least this much down time.

This is good to know. I was feeling guilty when I'd see that Zumba was curling herself up to go to sleep. As if she was bored, and there was nothing else to do. Now I know this is something she NEEDS. Let her have it. Good thread!

 

[Jeanniek]

I checked 2-4 on the pole, but I'm only guessing. She gets up with my husband and goes outside for potty, then goes back to sleep. Then she gets up again when I get up and we go for a walk. She'll be up for a bit after that and then naps again. Gets up around late morning for another walk. She'll usually stay alert until late afternoon than she naps. Up again for dinner and another walk and more play. Then naps a little more then gets up for more play before her last potty. Maybe she sleeps more than 4 hours!

hmmm. . your post made me think.

Now that we are back in Florida, I have had Zumba in a more established routine where she sleeps in the crate by my bed, so she no longer has full access to everything all night like she did while we were in North Carolina and we had her in the Zampa. That worked rather well - -poop and pee in the litter box. No problem whatsoever, but I thought I needed to establish a routine where she needs to hold in her excrement to get correctly potty trained. I wake up super-early, usually by 3:30am. When Zumba hears my toothbrush, she starts whining. The first morning, I did put her in the ex-pen area, she didn't seem interested in pooping, just eating, and then I put her back in her crate by my bed. This morning, I just placed my fingers in her crate but left her there when I went to make coffee and get on the computer. Both mornings, I go back to check on her at 5:00 and there has been poop in the crate. (and I do put everything in the washer to wash again, and wipe down the cage.)

Now I am thinking I should be taking her to the ex-pen for a poop first thing. If so, how long do I wait before putting her back in her crate if she doesn't poop? Should I offer her food that early in the morning? (last meal is 6:00pm). That early in the morning, do I put her back in the crate by my bed, and close and cover it, or do I leave her in the ex-pen area, where she has access to litter box, food, and crate, whatever she wants? (I do leave a cover over the crate, but I leave the door open when I place the crate back with the ex-pen.) Thanks for your thoughts. I feel the weight that if I get this wrong, I am going to be very sorry down the road. . . .

 

[krandall]

It’s really REALLY important to respond to a puppy’s request to potty. It is all about establishing good habits. They are more than capable of “holding it” when they get older. That’s not something that needs to be explicitly “taught”. Right now, she absolutely does not have the sphincter control needed to “hold it”. All you will teach her is that it’s OK to potty in the crate, something you REALLY don’t want!

With a litter box trained puppy, another option rather than just trying to figure out whether they really need to go or whether they just want attention is to set them up with their crate in an ex-pen, with a litter box. Then they can go when they need to without you having to be involved.

 

[RIstream]

Interestingly, I've just been reading a book about stress in dogs. It turns out that dogs who sleep and/or rest less than 17 hours per day have much higher stress levels than those who get at least this much down time.

Wow. As cooper was getting a bit older he slept more and I wondered if he was sleeping too much. I guess not

 

[Jeanniek]

With a litter box trained puppy, another option rather than just trying to figure out whether they really need to go or whether they just want attention is to set them up with their crate in an ex-pen, with a litter box. Then they can go when they need to without you having to be involved.

OK - - so that is acceptable to do! I thought I had to close them in the crate for some reason. Thank you!

 

[Heather's]

My husband takes Scout and Truffles for a walk at 5AM before going to work. They sleep pretty much all day. I find it amazing that they will jump up if there are deer in the yard or someone is walking their dog across the street. Around 4-5 PM they are awake lying next to the door to the garage sniffing. When the garage door opens they both go wild. Truffles starts howling and barking. Scout runs to get a toy and starts throwing it around. My DH is their favorite.

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

When the garage door opens they both go wild. Truffles starts howling and barking. Scout runs to get a toy and starts throwing it around. My DH is their favorite.

Ha, ha, ha! Ricky does that too. I usually take him everywhere I go in the car. Sometimes I can't take him, like yesterday to a business meeting. Ricky is attuned to the garage door opening and when I drive in, the first thing I hear is Ricky barking loudly at the back door. It is his "scolding Popi, you were supposed to take me with you bark." Inside the house, he goes nuts - pick me up, put me down, pick me up, put me down. He runs to get his favorite toy (usually a nylabone) and wants me to throw it for him to fetch.

Hey, SOMEBODY in the family has to be their favorite! :laugh2:

Ricky's Popi

 

[Henry&Kate]

Around 4-5 PM they are awake lying next to the door to the garage sniffing.

I don't remember if I posted this before. I recently watched a tv program on dogs. They talked about how most people note that their dogs seem to anticipate when they will be coming home from work or school, assuming they have a regular routine. My childhood dog used to go out right before my schoolbus was due and sit and wait for it.

The researchers studying dogs said their anticipation is based on scent. When we leave the house our scent is the strongest and it continues to decline during the day. Once the dogs get used to our routine, they learn that when our scent has declined to a certain level, we will be coming home. I found that pretty amazing.

 

[EvaE1izabeth]

It is so cute how our Hav will zoom off to the back door when he hears the garage door! He loves to lay on an air vent right by the door when he’s waiting or when I’m doing DD’s hair in the downstairs bathroom. When we’re getting ready to walk out the door he scoots over and lays in front of the door and just looks at us - it’s hard to tell if he wants us to stay or take him with us, but he definitely wants our attention!

Our dog sleeps a lot, definitely more sleep time than awake. He NEVER sleeps at daycare, though. He’s still much better at daycare than home alone, because without the distraction of other dogs he gets worked up in a different way. I can tell a huge difference when he has to go two days in a row, even though he loves it. He gets back to that overstimulated place more quickly. They give him quiet time but as far as I know he never sleeps.

 

[HavaCoco]

I love this thread! Have folks found that their adult dogs are sleeping more than their pups? Coco spent much of the rainy day napping and resting. Will that affect her ability to sleep all night or is it like babies - the more you sleep, the more you sleep?