How Much Sleep Does My Dog Need? [Daylight Savings Edition]

Ever wondered what your dog does when you’re not around? While a rambunctious pup certainly might find time to get into trouble, more than likely your dog is snoozing away while waiting for you to get home. In fact, most dogs spend as much as half of their days asleep.

What a life, right?

Sleeping too much, on the other hand, might be cause for concern—and it can be easy to overlook. In this post, we’ll explore everything you need to know about your dog’s sleeping patterns, including what’s healthy, what’s not, and what the deal is with all that twitching.

Use these links to jump ahead, or keep reading to learn everything you need to know:

How Much Do Dogs Sleep?
My Dog Sleeps All the Time – Should I Be Worried?
(Not-So-)Strange Sleeping Behaviors to Know
Sleep & Your Dog’s Health

How Much Do Dogs Sleep?

So, how many hours a day should your dog sleep? It depends.

While humans need about six to eight hours of sleep each night to stay healthy, dogs need about twice that much. About 12-14 hours per day is average.

Of course, that doesn’t all happen at night in one solid chunk. Most dogs are pros at the art of “catnapping” throughout the day, with an enviable (and sometimes quite remarkable) ability to fall asleep pretty much anywhere. And even if they’re not fully asleep, some of that time might be spent relaxing (or staring at you lovingly), which is also completely normal.