Recently we got a ton of that wet white stuff snow.  So much snow that I couldn’t get out the door until the huMom shoveled the way & created a path to my business office ; if you know what I mean.  It’s taken her days to clear paths to the driveway, the bird feeders, the compost & I’m still waiting for her to clear the woods so we can go hiking. Since then I have been napping more; almost hibernating one could say.  When huMom thought about how much I have been sleeping she questioned, ‘How much sleep does a dog need?.’  CEO Olivia here to yap about just that.        

Turns out on average, most of us dogs spend about 50% of our day sleeping. That’s  12 hours in a 24-hour period. Puppies, large-breed dogs, & older dogs may sleep more, while small-breed dogs & working dogs may sleep less. On top of that 50% of our day spent sleeping, us dogs  spend another 30% of our awake hours doing what humans call loafing. I pawsonally like to rufffur to this state as ‘being in the moment’ or ‘pawsent’.  

Dogs listen to the signals from our bodies. We sleep when our bodies say we need sleep; unlike some humans.  Sleep is very important for dogs. Dr. Nicholas Dodman, professor emeritus at Tufts University stated,  “All day long, electrical activity is happening in our brain, & random, disorganized data gets stored in various places. We organize that in our sleep, & dogs do, too. It’s very therapeutic, & if you deny dogs that, they’ll kind of lose it.” There you have it straight from the mouth of a dogtor, don’t dogsturb a sleeping dog; unless there are treats.

Sleep helps our brain development, memory, & learning capacity, as well as our immune system. “Sleep-deprived animals and people are more prone to infections,” Dr. Joan C. Hendricks, VMD, PhD, Dip ACVIM says.

Large-breed dogs, puppies, & senior dogs need even more sleep. Big dogs need to work harder to move their big bodies about, & it takes time to recover that energy. Young dogs run around & burn up a lot of energy. Then, they crash & sleep hard until their furry body has recovered & is ready for more play. Older dogs also need more sleep to help their bodies recover from daily activities. Now we know how much a dog need to sleep I think I need a nap.

Have a pawsome week, CEO Olivia, Dot & Jerry Underfoot 💜  

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