Do puppies sleep differently at 16 weeks and 12 months?

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Sleep is a vital behaviour that can reflect an animal's adaptation to its environment and its welfare. Better understanding of normal sleep patterns at different ages is important.

The study aimed to provide population norms and descriptions of sleep-related behaviours for 16-week-old puppies and 12-month-old dogs living in domestic environments. Participants recruited to a longitudinal study answered surveys about their dogs' sleep behaviours when the dogs reached 16 weeks (n = 2,332) and 12 months (n = 1,091). The statistical analysis used subpopulations of dogs with sleep-duration data at both timepoints.

Owners perceived 16-week-old puppies to sleep longer during the day and over a 24-hour period, but less at night, than owners of 12-month-old dogs perceived their dogs to sleep. At both timepoints, dogs were most commonly settled to sleep by being left in a room or area without human company. However, among dogs that had access to people overnight, 86.7% at 16 weeks and 86.8% at 12 months chose to be around people. The most common sleeping place was a kennel or crate at 16 weeks (49.1%) and a dog bed at 12 months (31.7%).

Future research within the longitudinal study will investigate how sleep duration and behaviours change with age and affect dogs' health and behaviour.