If you’ve had small children, you’ll understand the concept of a sleepless night. Do parents of puppies experience the same bouts of insomnia? Much like human babies, puppies aren’t tied to a specific sleeping schedule immediately.
Pet parents may find themselves getting up many times throughout the night to tend to a whimpering and restless pup. Puppies may not sleep through the night for various reasons, for example, getting used to house training or getting on a feeding schedule.
However, this condition may also occur in older dogs. More commonly known as CCD (Canine Cognitive Dysfunction, a form of senility), many senior dogs suffer from this condition and may require special care.
How long do dogs sleep at a time? This depends on many things and what you can do as the human owner to help them. Let’s look at five possible reasons why your canine companion keeps waking up through the night.
5 Reasons why your dog can’t sleep
#1. Buster needs to go to the bathroom
When you bring a new puppy home, remember that your new furry buddy is still growing and developing all of their systems, especially their bladders.
Typically, puppies can only control their bladders for about an hour for every month of their age; then, it’s time to go. So if the puppy is about four months old, expect that they can hold it for about 4 hours and no more, so they’ll need to get up in the middle of the night!
With careful house training, your little puppy will gradually learn to control their bladder longer and longer until they can sleep the entire night before needing to get to that patch of grass outside.
#2. Tootsie’s just not tired!
It seems pretty straightforward, but it is also one of the most common reasons for a sleepless dog. If you leave a dog to it, chances are it will spend most of the day lounging around and napping.
With nothing else to do (except maybe get into trouble), a dog that sleeps throughout the day without getting exercise will have a ton of built-up energy.
#3. Odie is getting older
As your dog ages, many physical, mental, and emotional factors may come into play affecting their sleep patterns. One of the side effects of dementia is a disruption in their sleep cycle. All you can do is practice your patience and give him tons of love.
