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Normal Amount Of Dog Sleep

By: jerrybrecken

Theories abound why we sleep -- from the concept which holds that sleeping consolidates memories to that which claims that sleeping is a way of conserving energy. Biological creatures sleep at varying length: humans sleep eight to 10 hours per day, bats and opossums for 18 to 20 hours, while elephants and giraffes for only three to four hours. But, you must have observed that your pet used to slumber twice longer than you. And probably, your observation worried you. In the end, you may end up thinking just why your dog is spending long hours sleeping on its crate ?

Take a quick look at these facts to help you understand your pooch's strange sleeping habits:

Since they are excellent predators, dogs conserve less energy, giving them the luxury of long sleep (approximately up to 16 hours) than humans. Canines have this huge gain over humans. Because they exert and use little energy, dogs are able to indulge in a long sleep quite unlike humans.

Dogs' sleeping hours are greatly affected by various orientations. The said factors are: pets' activities, health, age, and breed aside from environmental or weather conditions. Consider these:

-- Dogs treated as pets slumber longer than those treated as work or activity companions, and since they don't have much tasks compared to humans, they doze off longer than the latter.

-- Dogs that are suffering from illnesses, undergo medications, suffer from depression, hypothyroidism, and senility generally sleep longer than normal.

-- Middle-aged dogs require approximately 16 hours of sleep daily, while older ones slumber much longer. This can be attributed to the fact that canines belonging to these age brackets have lesser or slower mobility compared to younger ones. Hence, they can stay idle quite longer. And, as humans probably know, idleness is a good reason for sleeping.

-- Canines tend to doze off more on sunny days.

Determining the desirable sleeping hours that your pet should only have every day is a hard task. It is due to the effects of the factors listed above. Thus, there can't really be a standard regarding dogs' sleeping hours because it is dependent on the above-mentioned elements.

Worry not if your pet slumbers longer than you do. Just make sure that it immediately reacts to sudden bursts of noise or other activities. Older dogs' failure to react to such cases may be due to some hearing problems.

Experts advise that you immediately contact a veterinarian when your dog suddenly deviates from the activities that it normally does, as this is indicative of an unseen problem. Remember, though, that you should only subject your pet under an expert when prolonged changes in its sleeping habits take place. Take time to check if your pet showed signs such as sleeping at a higher or lower rate than the usual or is visibly lethargic-- shows signs of sadness, depression, aggressiveness, or a sudden change in weight.

Article Source: http://www.topicinfo.com

About the Author Jerry Brecken is a writer for dogbedsforyou.com, a website where you can choose among the popular varieties of dog furniture and pet beds such as the dog couch beds for your beloved pet.

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