Let Sleeping Dogs Lie: How Important Is Sleep?

While  it often seems like greyhounds take sleep as seriously as if it were an  Olympic sport, just like us humans, dogs need adequate rest (be it deep  sleep or napping) to maintain both their physical and mental health.

So, in a nutshell, sleep is incredibly important!

The  amount of sleep an individual hound needs can vary depending on their  age, health, and breed, but to generalise, dogs need to sleep for at  least half of their normal day.  Greyhounds specifically appreciate  quite a bit more than, sitting around 18 hours a day…if not more!

Sleep  is one of the basic biological needs, and it is essential that your  hound get its daily quota of rest in!  In addition to all this sleep, a  great deal of their day will seemly consist of dozing or otherwise  resting, which may seem less important, but it is.  Their 18+ hours of  rest is the equivalent to our recommended 7-9 hours of sleep as humans.

And  just like us humans, if dogs don’t get enough sleep, particularly if it  is an ongoing or recurring issue, behavioural issues will start to  surface.

When we are sleep  deprived, we have trouble focusing, taking things in and learning, our  reaction times slow down and we can often feel frustrated, cranky,  anxious and find it difficult to do our normal day to day tasks.

The  exact same happens in dogs.  Sleep deprivation affects a dog’s  emotional state, inhibiting their ability to concentrate, take in or  retain training, information, or form memories.  Their cognitive  function slows down, leading to irritability, lower tolerance and  patience level, and depression.  
In humans, we can  communicate.  We can verbalise our tired state, ask to be left alone or  otherwise get on with our day…but dogs don’t have that option, because  their communication is different to ours and as is typical of a lot of  people, when their dogs aren’t acting how they should, aren’t listening  to ques or otherwise engaging, they get treated differently…and not  always positively, which can lead to them getting cranky and displaying  unexpected defensive behaviors.

Think  of dogs and sleep the same way you would kids and sleep, they need  their naps, or they get cranky.  No one wants a cranky dog.  Maintaining  your dog’s mental wellbeing is essential for a healthy, happy, and  well-rounded hound that can cope with just about anything!   Theoretically anyway!

Extended  periods of poor sleep can lead to changes in your hound’s physical  health such as a suppressed immune system and diabetes, and that is just  the start.

Though we would like  to think that a person wouldn’t intentionally deprive a hound of their  beauty sleep to get to the point of becoming physically ill, there are a  number of reasons why your hound may not be getting the rest they need.

Some  of these may seem contradictory, but reasons include ongoing stress,  overstimulation and too much exercise, under stimulation and not enough  exercise, regularly changing routines or environments, constant  disturbances, poor diet, medical conditions, and age.

If  you’re a human that struggles with sleep, this is probably feeling all a  bit familiar!  Dogs experience anxiety, frustration, boredom, pain, and  every other emotion just like humans do…they just communicate it  differently than us.  Which is a given since they don’t speak English!

One  of the biggest influencing factors on a hound’s sleep is stress.  This  can be linked to most of the reasons for poor sleep, and just like in  people, stress heavily impacts on a dog’s ability to achieve a restful,  deep sleep.
This is often evident in the early  settling in stages of having your new hound home.  The constant exposure  to new or stressful triggers, lots of new environments, people,  socialising, and all round just a lot of overstimulation both out on  walks and in the house, can have a big impact on their hormone levels  and ability to relax.

Eventually  they’ll crash out, because greyhounds are just like overly emotional  toddlers at times and their battery will eventually run out.  But  sometimes it can take a little while to get to that point, as stress  keeps them awake and restless, unable to feel safe enough to sleep.

Ironically,  under stimulation can have the same effect and the same behavioural  consequences!  It all comes down to understanding your hound and being  able to pick up on their subtle body language and cues to suggest that  they need to rest.

Honestly, if  people with children can bow out of social interactions because the kids  are tired and need a nap, you can 100% do the same as a hound parent!

Overstimulation  is, in essence, sensory overload, too much going on or they are being  exercised too much for what they need (or want).  Under stimulation is  the opposite.  They are not being exercised enough, either physically or  mentally, to feel tired enough to sleep.  

Living  in a constant and heightened state of stress, and from the lack of  quality sleep, impacts on a dog’s tolerance to external stimuli which is  why a dog may suddenly become reactive or defensive, or more commonly,  growl at children in the home.

In all instances, the signs of a hound lacking sleep can include:
- Hypervigilance (in the home and on walks)
- Excessive vocalising (barking or growling)
- Overgrooming
- Panting and pacing
- Hyperactive behaviour (over playful and boisterous)
- Irritability
- Difficulty calming down
- Reactivity on walks
- Humping toys or cushions
- Defensive or resource guarding behaviours

The  complication with these signs is they can also be accounted for several  other situations, emotional or behavioural challenges.  

As  such, they can often be misinterpreted leading owners to believe their  hound is being ‘naughty’, lacking training or being ‘dominant’.

As  we’ve discussed in previous posts, there is no such thing as a bad dog,  dominance has long been debunked and while it’s easy to refer to  unwanted behaviours as ‘naughty’, all dog behaviours have a root cause  and emotional motivation behind them.  Dogs don’t do anything without  reason.

Many unwanted behaviours  are carried out to expel nervous, anxious, or excessive energy as they  don’t know what to do with it and need to ‘do’ something.  Have you ever  gotten so frustrated, stressed, or anxious that you’ve had to just get  up and walk away, go do something else, go for a run or scream into a  pillow?  Or just act out, starting a fight with your partner for no  apparent reason because you’re feeling testy?

It's  the same with dogs.  Unfortunately, this is why most people consider  such behaviours as unwanted, negative, or irritating, choosing to tell  them off or discipline them…which never actually resolves the problem!

This  is why we have long advocated for allowing the dog to choose what it  needs, or in providing them breaks from triggers or stressful events  such as not walking them every day, limiting visitors to the house  during the settling in period, minimising routine changes and keeping  things simple and gradually building a hound’s tolerance and  understanding of new things.  

So, what is the best way to ensure your hound gets enough sleep?

Most  importantly, it’s by advocating for our hound and taking things at  their pace.  While it is exciting to adopt a hound, most behavioural  issues that present in the early weeks of adoption are from doing ‘too  much too soon.  So, rather than assuming they’re going to be game for a  weekend adventure to the beach one their first week settling into their  new home, take things slow and broaden their horizons slowly as they  grow and learn.

If you have a  busy home, particularly if you have children, the constant activity,  noise, and interruptions can prevent a dog from entering a deep stable  sleep. This is particularly true if their bed is in a central area.   Make sure to provide your dog a safe space away from any busy  thoroughfares so they can rest in peace…and make sure their bed is  comfortable!

You wouldn’t get a  good night’s rest on a lumpy mattress, so the quality of your hound’s  bed can really influence their sleep.  We would definitely recommend  memory foam-based beds as they provide a lot of support for our bony,  bag of elbows, hounds.  But all hounds are different in their  preferences, and some like really deep sided beds, or those fluffy donut  beds!   Heck, get both.  Are you even a hound parent if they haven’t  got a bed in every room?

Make  sure their preferred sleeping area is quiet and darkened, so away from  windows or doors where people are regularly walking past.  This will  really help!

Lastly, while they  are so painfully adorable when they’re sleeping, particularly when  they’re roaching or dreaming or otherwise being all floopy and  cute…don’t touch them!  While it is endlessly temping to rub their belly  or give them a big hug or otherwise squish them, please don’t.  We’re  quite certain if someone did that to one of us while we were sleeping  that we’d punch or kick the offending person, really hard!

It's  really important to communicate this to the children of the house as  well, as they have less self-restraint than us adults and the last thing  you want is a child getting hurt because the hound sleep-startles awake  and accidentally nips them!

On a  side note, if you cannot find behavioural or situational causes for  your hound’s lack of sleep, or you think they are sleeping an excessive  amount (which is fairly normal for a greyhound anyway!), we would  recommend discussing it with your vet or seeking an assessment with a  qualified veterinary physiotherapist as it might be something physical  or medical.

Waking up several  times in the night to wee could be a UTI, or if they are struggling with  arthritis, it may find laying down painful.  If they are getting into  their golden years, a certain amount of canine cognitive dysfunction  (doggy dementia!) could also be to blame.