01/01/2026
This is one of the very first questions I ask in an initial behavior consult:
“How much does your dog sleep during the day?”
And every time, people look surprised.
They were ready to tell me about the reactivity on walks, barking at the window, separation anxiety, pacing ...
Sleep feels unrelated.
But behavior is NEVER isolated.
What your dog does is not happening in a sterile bubble.
It’s shaped by everything they experience throughout the day.
That’s why I always ask about sleep.
Almost always, the answer is some version of:
“He’s actually awake most of the day.”
“She’s always on the go.”
“He doesn’t really nap.”
Often this gets framed as a personality trait.
Some people even see it as a badge of honor - a true working dog who’s always alert, always ready, always moving.
But that’s not how dogs are designed.
Dogs don’t have the same day–night rhythm that humans do.
We can be awake for 16 hours straight and still function reasonably well.
Dogs CANNOT.
Dogs need to sleep or nap every three to four hours.
When they don’t, we start to see the fallout:
Lower patience.
Reduced impulse control.
Shorter fuse.
More reactivity.
More stress.
And here’s the trap:
An overtired dog often can’t settle by themselves anymore.
They get wired, cranky, restless.
They react more.
They struggle to calm down.
Which means… they still don’t sleep.
That’s how dogs end up in a cycle of chronic stress and chronic sleep deprivation.
If a dog never naps, it’s not because they “don’t need sleep.”
It’s because they’re too dysregulated to get it on their own.
That’s why I don’t wait for dogs to figure this out themselves.
I actively "prescribe" naps.
That means:
- A quiet room away from household activity (eg a bedroom)
- A genuinely comfortable bed (not just a thin blanket! Think extra plush bed with walls they can snuggle up against)
- Toys put away
- Other pets separated
- No access to self-triggering, eg at the window
- Background sound like white noise, a fan, or soft music
Then we start with scheduled nap times.
Two naps a day, around two hours each.
And the shift can be remarkable!
Well-rested dogs are:
More patient
Less impulsive
Better learners
Less reactive
Sleep is also when learning consolidates.
So if you’re doing behavior modification or reactivity training, sleep isn’t optional. It’s part of the process.
If your dog doesn’t nap, that’s important information.
This is not "who your dog is".
It's not a sign of being extra energetic or driven.
It's a sign that they really need your help to get the restful sleep they need to live their happiest, least stressful lives and make progress in their training!!
