Setting up a sleep routine may help your dog recognize the ideal time to go to bed every night. If you don’t have a routine, it will be difficult to force your dog to go to bed. You should also consider the sleeping environment around the dog too, and the dog’s medical conditions to ascertain the underlying cause of his restlessness. A night of good sleep is very important in keeping your dog healthy, just the way humans need regular sleep too. The following tips may help your dog sleep better at night;
Understand Your Dog’s Sleeping cycle
Perhaps the best possible way of getting ahead with the issue is to understand the poly-phasic sleep cycle of the dog. Dogs sleep multiple times around the clock, adult dogs, for instance, can sleep for between 12 and 14 hours a day, and for this reason, they may likely sleep very late into the night except you interrupt their sleeping cycles. You may be unable to control the dog’s napping while you are away at work, you should aim at disrupting their day time napping by taking them for a brief walk just before the time you want to go to bed. They may become so exhausted from the walk that they will just sleep off or at least relax.
Give the dog lots of exercises
Just the way exercises tire out little children, they can be used in tiring out your dog too. Depending on the breed and size of your dog, you should aim at a minimum of 1 hour of exercise on weekdays and even more exercise time on weekends. Generally, the bigger the size of the dog, the more the exercises they will need. You can read more about dog exercises at zooawesome.com.
Set up a Routine for the Dog
Making sure that you set up a regular routine that is easy to follow. Take them on a walk at the same time on a daily basis. This routine includes the time you feed your dog. You should aim at feeding your dog a few hours before bedtime to allow proper digestion and that can trigger sleep in the dog. It may be difficult in the beginning to get the timing right at weekends, but the more you stick closely to the routine, the more you will help your dog get used to the timing. Just like humans, dogs will quickly get used to a regular routine, especially those that affect their feeding and activities. You may give them some rewards occasionally for following your routine commands.
Don’t Share Your Bed with the Dog
It is important to let your dog go to bed around the same time you do. When you go to bed at the same time with the dog, he recognizes the time to sleep. It can be tempting to take your dog to your own bed but you should be aware that doing such can reduce your sleep quality every night. Studies have shown that more than 60% of pet owners who take their animals to bed with them experience poor sleep quality in the long term. There will likely disruption to your sleep through movements and negative behaviors like barking, if your dog sleeps in your bed.
In addition to disruption to your sleep, sharing your bed with your dog can increase your risks of skin infections and allergic reactions like asthma. If you are tossing and turning in your bed in the night, your dog may also become uncomfortable.
Improve their Sleep Environment
In addition to making sure, they don’t sleep in your bed; it is important to improve the sleeping conditions of your dog especially at night. You can improve the sleep environment in a number of ways, perhaps a warm blanket and a very low sound nearby can help in creating a calm environment to assist your dog to get a sound sleep. It is important to reduce or eliminate external noises and reduce excess lighting, just to keep the animal calm for a peaceful sleep. You may want to spray some calming natural herbs such as chamomile, lavender or any other soothing spray to stimulate the dog’s senses and induce sleep.
Deal with Underlying Medical Conditions
There are so many other steps you can take to help your dog sleep well at night. If your dog is still finding it difficult to sleep despite taking all necessary steps, perhaps it is time to check for underlying medical conditions. almost all underlying medical conditions can interrupt the dog’s sleep in one way or the other, and most especially when such conditions come with pain. A dog having a digestive issue, skin rashes, and joint pain, for instance, may constantly feel the symptoms of such disorders.
Conclusion
It is important that you take your dog for a regular veterinary checkup to ensure that medical conditions are dealt with before they disrupt the dog’s sleeping patterns. A regular medical checkup will help you discover minor problems that can transform into major issues with the dog.