How important is sleep for a puppy? Get Your Pet Thinking

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How much do puppies sleep?

Newborn puppies come into their world totally dependent on their mothers. They’re basically blind, deaf, and have very little control over their muscle movement. They spend about 90% of their time sleeping and the other 10% nursing, amounting to about 22 hours per day of sleep. Lucky pups!

As they grow, puppies sleep less and explore their world more. Your dog’s breed, age, diet, and activity level will also play roles in their sleep needs, but here’s a typical overview:

8 weeks – A puppy will sleep about 20 hours per day.

10-12 weeks – A puppy will sleep about 18-20 hours per day.

14-16 weeks – A puppy will sleep about 18 hours per day.

16-18 weeks – This is a critical time in your pup’s development. It’s a critical time for them to learn their feeding schedule, socialization, and basic training to name a few. To get their new routines and behaviors to stick, they require a lot of sleep.

Older dogs and puppies will settle into 12-14 hours of sleep per day. Here’s a helpful dog age chart, if you’re curious where your dog lands.

Puppies spread their naps out throughout the day and night into 30-minute to two-hour naps. Very young pups will nap at a higher frequency, often every hour. As they grow, frequency of nap time will dwindle.

Dogs are polyphasic sleepers, which means they nap or sleep for short periods throughout the day and night. As dogs age, they become diurnal sleepers, which means they sleep for longer periods during the darker parts of the day, with naps and activity happening during daylight hours.

Humans are monophasic sleepers, meaning we sleep during the night, and night alone.

Large dog breeds will tire quickly because they grow much faster than small dog breeds and require more sleep to build those bones and muscles properly. They also require dog food specifically made for large breeds to nourish those fast-growing bodies.

How important is sleep for a puppy?

Sample puppy sleep schedule

Here’s a simple sleep schedule to get you started. Keep in mind, every puppy is different, so keeping a sleep diary of when your puppy’s sleeping cycles happen will help you adjust to their needs.

Morning:

  • Wake up and take a potty break
  • 15 minutes of play
  • Breakfast time!
  • Allow 30 minutes for their food to process
  • Take them out for another bathroom break

    • Naptime

  • Wake up
  • Take a potty break
  • No meal during this time. Just provide 15 minutes of healthy play or a brief training session for basic commands

    • Afternoon

  • Potty break upon waking up
  • A longer walk or activity/play to tucker them out for their afternoon nap

    • Lunch

  • 30 minutes to process food
  • Potty break

    • Naptime

  • Your pup will snooze in the late afternoon
  • After all naps, immediately take your puppy out to potty and play for a while afterward
  • Do some short training sessions

    • Evening

  • Potty break every time your puppy wakes up
  • Dinner time with a 30 minute food processing time
  • Play or a take long walk to tire your pup out in time for bed

    • Quiet time

  • Give your puppy cuddles galore to relax them before bedtime
  • Potty break right before bedtime

    • Bedtime

  • When it’s bedtime, place your puppy in the crate, offer them a treat, and say goodnight

    • During the early weeks with your puppy, have patience. There is so much to learn about you and their new world. As time passes, your puppy will sleep through the night. We promise!

    How important is sleep for a puppy?

    These are the typical sleeping habits of a healthy puppy

    Your new puppy is a real ball of energy. He can sometimes seem like a never-ending source of energetic excitement, but then it happens: Your pup gets all tuckered out and can sleep for what seems like hours, even in the middle of the day. What’s a healthy sleep schedule for a growing pup anyway?

  • Your growing baby dog needs sleep. A lot of it. Puppies sleep a lot during the daytime and typically require about 6 to 10 hours in the evening, too. Your pup will likely pass out quite hard after getting a lot of activity in. A walk around the block, some kisses, and play might be all it takes. Then your pup will lay wherever he is and quickly be in dreamland.
  • Daytime napping is perfectly healthy for your new pup. They will know when and how much sleep they need. Thirty minutes to two hours is a typical time span for a healthy pup nap. Puppies, like babies, will often fall asleep right where they are. Do not disturb or wake up your sleeping puppy — just let him rest.
  • When your puppy is very young, he might want to go for a walk in the middle of the night. By 16 weeks or so, it should be easy for your puppy to sleep soundly through the night for about 6 to 10 hours. Sleep is very important for the healthy development of your pup. It might take some getting used to for everyone in your new family, but in time, you will get the bedtime thing down easily.

    • How Many Hours a Day Do Dogs Sleep? – Puppies, Adults & Seniors