Short answer: most healthy adult dogs need 12 to 14 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. Puppies, senior dogs, and giant breeds often need closer to 18. If your dog falls in that range, sleeps through the night, and wakes up alert and ready to move, they're almost certainly fine. What matters more than the raw hour count is whether that number has changed — a dog who suddenly sleeps four hours more or four hours less than usual is telling you something.
I'm Preston, co-founder of Bully Sticks Central. We hear from a lot of dog owners who are worried their dog sleeps too much, and in most cases the dog is doing exactly what dogs do. Here's how to think about it.
How much sleep do dogs need by age and size?
The American Kennel Club puts the typical adult dog somewhere between 12 and 14 hours a day, and there's real variation inside that:
- Puppies: roughly 18 to 20 hours. They're growing fast, processing a flood of new information, and burning through energy in short violent bursts. Long naps are normal and necessary.
- Adult dogs: roughly 12 to 14 hours, most of it overnight with naps scattered through the day.
- Giant breeds: often 16 to 18 hours. Great Danes, Newfoundlands, and Mastiffs are famous couch occupants, and that's breed-typical, not laziness.
- Senior dogs: back up toward 16 to 18 hours as recovery takes longer and joints ache more.
Working dogs and high-drive breeds with a real job frequently sleep less than the average simply because they're awake and busy more of the day.
Why do dogs sleep so much more than people?
Because their sleep is structured differently. A human sleep cycle runs 70 to 120 minutes; a dog's runs about 45. Dogs move through the same stages we do — non-REM, slow-wave sleep, and REM — but they cycle through them far faster and wake more easily between cycles. That fragmentation means a dog has to spend more total hours asleep to get the same restorative benefit.
It also explains the dozing. A dog lying in a sunbeam with one ear up isn't in deep sleep — they're in a light stage they can snap out of instantly. Dogs are opportunistic sleepers by design.
Does sleep actually affect a dog's behavior?
Yes, and it's well documented. Research published in Scientific Reports found measurable links between dogs' sleep patterns and their daytime behavior. Under-slept dogs are more reactive, less able to settle, and slower to learn.
If you're dealing with a dog who can't seem to switch off, sleep is worth looking at before you look at training. Our guide on how to calm your dog down covers the other half of that equation.
How do I improve my dog's sleep?
Give them a bed that's actually theirs
Roughly three-quarters of dog owners share a bed with their dog. That's fine for the dog's sense of security, but it's often bad for their sleep quality — you shift, they wake, and their 45-minute cycle restarts. A supportive bed of their own, in a quiet spot, usually improves things within a week. Watch their sleeping position too: a dog flat on their back with belly exposed is a dog who feels safe.
Keep a boring, predictable schedule
Dogs sleep best on a routine. Same walk times, same feeding times, same lights-out. Sudden schedule changes show up as restless nights.
Tire out the brain, not just the body
A physically exercised dog who's mentally bored will still be restless at 10pm. Long-lasting chews do real work here — sustained chewing is self-soothing and genuinely tiring in a way a second walk isn't. That's a big part of why we make what we make.
Does diet affect how a dog sleeps?
It does, in two directions. Low-quality food loaded with fillers leaves some dogs sluggish and oversleeping. Sugary table scraps and junk treats swing the other way and make settling harder.
The fix is unglamorous: a quality diet and treats that are food, not candy. Every chew we sell at Bully Sticks Central is 100% natural and single-ingredient — 100% real meat, fully digestible, and no rawhide, ever. Everything is ethically sourced from grass-fed American and Argentinean farms and 100% high-quality guaranteed.
A few that work well as part of an evening wind-down:
- Single-ingredient chews — nothing added, nothing to react to.
- Bully sticks for puppies — for the crowd that needs the most sleep and fights it hardest.
- Trachea chews — softer, good for seniors and dogs with worn teeth.
When should I worry about my dog's sleep?
Call your vet if you notice any of the following, since sleep changes are often the first visible sign of something else:
- A sudden, sustained increase or decrease in sleep with no change in routine
- Grogginess or disorientation on waking, especially in older dogs
- Loud snoring, gasping, or pauses in breathing during sleep
- Pacing or restlessness at night in a dog who used to settle fine
- Sleep changes alongside appetite, thirst, or weight changes
VCA Animal Hospitals has a good overview of canine sleep disorders if you want to read further. None of this replaces a conversation with your own vet — they know your dog.
The bottom line
A dog sleeping 14 hours a day isn't lazy or sick. That's the design. Your job is to give them a comfortable place to do it, a steady routine, real food, and enough mental work during the day that they're ready to shut down at night. Pay attention to changes, not to the number itself.
This post was last updated at August 6, 2026 22:32
