With any health concerns around your dog’s sleeping patterns, please always take your pet to the vet’s office to make sure he or she is ok.
Older dogs are such lovely creatures, but they do often need special care.
For example, senior dogs often need specific dog beds to help them get a good night’s sleep.
Do Older Dogs Need More Sleep?
Should you be worried if your senior dogs sleeps a lot? Can an old dog sleep too much?
The first thing to mention is that there is no set age for when a dog becomes “senior” or “old.” This is dependent on the breed and the individual dog.
As a general rule of thumb, large dogs tend to age earlier than little dogs. But with all dogs, as they get older, they will need more sleep.
This is very normal and healthy and nothing to worry about unless other potential ill-health signs are also present.
So the simple advice for your older dog is if it wants to sleep, let it.
If you can create a warm, safe, cozy environment for your dog, with a good dog bed for older dogs, his will help keep your pooch happy.
The only time you should be concerned about your senior dog sleeping too much is if it is an unusual pattern, and there are other signs of ill health.
So keep an eye out for warning signs such as loss of appetite, incontinence, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, drinking lots of water, not drinking water.
Any signs like this combined with a lot of sleeping, and you should take your dog for a check-up at the vets.
Note – You might also want to read this post if your older dog pants a lot, or this one about dog chattering teeth issues.
Older Dog Breathing Fast While Sleeping?
If you notice your older pet dog is breathing faster when it is asleep, you might be concerned that there an underlying health issue.
The chances are it is fine. Dogs breathing changes when they are asleep, often due to them having a dream about chasing squirrels!
So if it only happens now and then, it is most likely fine. But if your dog has persistent fast breathing while sleeping, you should get it checked out by the vet.
Your senior pet pooch may have some respiratory issues, so it’s always worth getting the vet to take a look if you are at all worried.
Older Dog Pees While Sleeping?
Dogs leaking urine is known as canine urinary incontinence. It mostly affects older dogs, and often only occurs when they are sleeping.
This leaking can be due to losing some bladder control due to old age, but it can also be a sign of a more serious condition.
So the first thing to do is to get your dog to the vets for a check-up.
Also, you should find a good quality, waterproof, washable dog bed for older dogs. This will help your senior pet to get a comfortable night’s sleep.
And to finish this post about older dogs and sleeping, this video has some great advice: