What you should know about your dog's sleeping habits

The sight of your dog sleeping deeply relaxed in his basket - what could be better? Depending on their age, dogs sleep up to 20 hours a day. They can fall asleep in just a few minutes, but are also quick to wake up again as soon as something interesting happens around them. Sometimes they just doze, sleep soundly or even dream. And in a variety of positions and in a variety of places. Have you ever wondered what the different sleeping positions of your dog actually mean? Or what your dog is dreaming about when he makes woofing noises in his sleep or happily twitches his paws?

In this blog post we have summarized the most important facts about your dog's sleeping behavior.

The sleeping behavior of dogs

Dogs are pack animals and adapt to people's living situations. This also applies to sleep behavior. No other pet can coordinate its waking and sleeping times with humans as well as dogs.

Your dog prefers to sleep in places that are comfortable. Gladly increased and preferably with backing. He will try to avoid drafts and cold floors. Your dog instinctively knows that it is better for him to sleep in an elevated position. This makes him feel safer and allows him to react better to sudden dangers. This gave the wolf a better overview and was able to defend its pack faster and better.

If your dog retreats to his sleeping place, he must be left alone there because he processes the events of the day while he sleeps.

Why do dogs turn before lying down?

This is also an instinctive trait of the dog that he retained from the wolves. Dogs use this to build a nest and create a protective hollow by turning.

The different sleep phases

If it is pleasantly quiet, your dog will fall into a light sleep, from which he can easily be woken up by external influences. In the light sleep phase, all senses are awake. When the eyes are closed, the ears and nose take over the control function.

If your dog feels completely safe and is not disturbed, he will fall into a deep sleep. During this phase his muscles relax and it is sometimes difficult to wake him up. Deep sleep only takes up 20 to 30% of the total sleep time in adult dogs.

Your dog also dreams at night. In the REM phase (rapid eye movement phase), when your dog makes strong body twitches, rapid eye movements and also barking and whining noises, strong dream activity occurs.

Well, and of course your dog can snore too...

The different sleeping positions

Your dog's sleeping position depends primarily on the outside temperature. In the warm season he tends to sleep stretched out and in the winter he curls up to stay comfortably warm.

#Side sleepers

Your dog often adopts this sleeping position in the summer to cool down on the cooling floor after a long walk or sunbathing.

#Donut

Curled up on the belly, the muzzle lies above or below the base of the tail. Your dog will adopt this sleeping position when he wants to be particularly cozy and when the environment is not so comfortably warm. When sleeping in this position, your dog naturally protects his body, face, neck and internal organs.

#stomachsleeper

A popular sleep behavior while dozing. Your dog just wants to rest briefly and doesn't want to sleep soundly. As a rule, he positions his legs to the sides of his body. He can then immediately jump up full of energy and is ready for fun and action.

#Back sleepers

Your dog lies relaxed on his back and stretches one or more legs in the air. This sleeping position is adopted when he is deeply relaxed and full of trust in his surroundings. This position is also often used for sleeping on hot days because, in contrast to the donut, for example, it offers cooling.

#Superman

In the Superman position, your dog lies on his stomach and stretches his front legs forward - it gets even funnier if he stretches out his back legs too. This position is often taken when he wants to snooze and relax.

#Cuddle Mode

No matter whether in your company, with his favorite toy or with another dog: Cuddle Mode sleepers never sleep alone and want to lie very close to their cuddly partners.

#NoName

There are many more indefinable sleeping positions in completely absurd, crazy places where your buddy can completely relax. This can be, for example, in the middle of the stairs, with the head hanging out of the basket or completely twisted on the couch.

We hope that you are now well informed about your dog's sleeping habits.

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