How much sleep does your adult dog need?
So every where you see advice that puppies need 18 or more hours of sleep, and that if your puppy is being insane and biting you no matter how much training or exercise you give them, that are probably actually over tired and you need to do enforced naps. Got it, we made it through that phase and have a solid kennel nap time routine. Pupper is now 8 months old. But he still gets bitey when tired or overstimulated. So as we move closer to adulthood (I know he wont be fully mature until 18-24 months) does this advice change any? Is there an age where he wont need enforced naps? Or is he always going to need enforced naps to not be a bitey menace?
Right now we can do about an hour in a public setting before he gets bitey and uncooperative. Then usually 2 hours chill time at home, some spent sleeping some quietly chewing his toys etc. Then at home play time for 1 hrs, repeat. He is in kennel from 9 or 10 pm to 7 or 8 am (just depends on when he tells me he needs to potty, I take him whenever he needs to go so sometimes bedtime is later or morning is earlier he's not locked in a kennel for 11 hrs) he very rarely needs to go between those hours only if he has an upset stomach or found water he shouldn't have right before bedtime.
For those of you with adult dogs what is their sleep schedule like? How many naps do they take during the day and how long, how many hours do they spend actively working, and how many hours do they have free time to chill or play with toys or whatever else they want to do unstructured, and how much sleep does they get at night? Does your dog naturally take naps as needed when they are older or do you still need enforced naps? For those of you who's dog naps on their own, did you have to train this behavior aka the off switch? Or did your dog just settle as they got older and comfortable with a routine?
For us rn at 8 months old he will not sleep at home on his own unless he is in kennel. Left out he will play until he turns bitey. Once or twice ive gotten him to take a nap out of kennel on the couch with me by laying down with a leash and keeping him there and trying to calm him as he bites at my clothes and pillows etc because he's tired and fighting sleep, but I managed to get him to take a 2 hr nap. Or in the car. If we are out and about running errands, after an hour or two depending on what activity we are doing and how much excitement he gets, he will choose to nap in the car pretty happily. Sometimes ill stay parked with the ac on for a while just because he's sleeping and I dont want him to wake up and get tired zoomed when we get inside.
Any advice about sleep schedules as my dog gets close to one year old welcome!
Here he is passed out in the car with us parked at home as im writing this. We've been out since 9 am running errands its now 2 pm. He's out. Gonna go right back to sleep when we get inside.