If you have puppies and they’re sleeping a lot you may wonder just how much do puppies need to sleep. Puppies normally sleep from 18 to 20 hours a day, while an adult dog may only sleep 14 hours. The reason for the huge difference is simply that puppies are still growing and they need their rest.

Puppies require more sleep than adult dogs because they are more active than older dogs and they are growing and physically developing very quickly. In addition, puppies are busy investigating their world while learning new things and getting used to being around humans.

Puppies will spend much of their waking hours eating. They’ll be learning when and where they can go to the toilet when you begin housebreaking lessons. It’s important that they also begin obedience training as soon as possible.

When puppies are awake they use a lot of energy. Some puppies don’t even know when they’re tired, and will play and play until they’re totally exhausted and eventually fall asleep wherever they happen to be.

If your puppy acts like it wants to sleep, let it sleep. It will get some of its needed sleep by taking naps during the day but you should establish a bedtime routine so when your puppy grows into an adult dog it learns that nighttime means sleepy-bye time. Teaching your puppy a nighttime sleep routine will enhance your own quality of sleep since your puppy will be less likely to cry and whine at night.

New puppies usually aren’t able to sleep through the night when you first bring them home, but by the time a puppy reaches four months of age it should be able to sleep all night long. In the beginning you may want to keep your new puppy in your bedroom at night.

Young puppies don’t have complete control over their bladders and bowels and on occasion you may need to make a trip outside at night. It’s a good idea not to give your puppy food or water for at least three hours before you put it to bed. It will then be less likely to feel the need for a midnight potty break. Treat nighttime potty breaks seriously by bringing it back to bed as soon as the potty break is over.

Try not to let your puppy sleep in the evening before bedtime or it won’t be able to sleep through the entire night. If necessary, keep your puppy awake by playing with it or by doing some additional obedience training.

Puppies will sleep as much as they can so don’t be alarmed if your puppy sleeps longer than 20 hours a day.