Top tips to help your dog gets a good night’s sleep

17th December 2022

Top tips to ensure your dog gets a good night’s sleep

A good night’s sleep can do wonders for your dog’s overall health and wellbeing, while several nights of poor-quality sleep may be a sign of stress, discomfort or illness.

If your dog isn’t sleeping well, there are steps you can take to try to improve their sleep.

Firstly, you need to identify if their sleep is poor, do this by giving your dog an Animo Behaviour and Activity monitor and placing this onto their collar. Animo will then track your dog’s sleep and the Animo App will provide you with a sleep quality score (out of 100) each night.

Once you’ve identified there is a problem with their sleep, try following the steps below to improve it, contact your vet for advice if you are worried or if their sleep doesn’t improve.

Your dog’s bed

Your dog needs a comfortable bed that’s warm enough for the temperature of the room they are sleeping in. This might mean that you add an extra blanket during the winter if you don’t have the heating on in the house throughout the night, or ensure the bed is in a well ventilated, cool room if the temperature rises. If you have more than one pet, it is a good idea to give them each their own bed as they might not want to share and this will give them room to stretch out.

Sleeping environment

Noises can affect your dog’s sleep so choose a quiet area of the house for your dog’s bed and an area where they feel safe. You might like your dog sleeping in the same room as you, but you could be disturbing them, perhaps try giving them their own room and see if their sleep quality score improves.

Exercise

If your dog gets enough exercise during the day, it should help them to sleep. Conversely, too much exercise can lead to poor quality sleep in older dogs with arthritis, as it can cause joint pain.

Find a level of exercise that is well suited to your dog’s size, breed and age and then use Animo to set your dog’s activity goals so that you can monitor their activity levels to help them get the right amount of exercise. If you are unsure of how much exercise your dog should be getting or if you notice your dog slowing down, speak to your vet for their advice.

Check for illness

Illnesses, allergies and fleas can all have a negative impact on your dog’s sleep. If you suspect your dog is unwell or requires treatment for a condition, take them to the vet as soon as possible for a check-up. If your dog is wearing their Animo, it can alert you to any significant changes in your dog’s sleep, scratching and shaking. If this is down to illness, then early treatment could be key in getting them back to good health quickly.

It can be difficult to accurately monitor your dog’s night-time sleep as we are usually asleep ourselves, however with Animo keeping track of your dog’s sleep quality has never been easier. Find out more about Animo and the full range of features it offers to you and your best friend.