CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => General Cocker Spaniel Discussion => Topic started by: SkyeSue on October 16, 2010, 04:44:14 PM
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Since we got up this morning, around 8.30, Chloe (2 and a half year old non-working worker), has been on the go the whole time. She followed me around helping (getting under my feet) >:( with the housework; we then went for a 6 mile walk, where she charged around at 100mph, in and out of the trees, tracking deer scent; she spent an hour and a half chewing a bone when we got home; then she finally dozed for an hour. She's awake again, perched on her viewing seat (the back of the sofa) and is having the odd bark or grumble at anything that is going on outside. This, so far, has varied from an escaped lamb, to a flock of hoodies, to a passing tractor, to a neighbour walking her dog! She will probably sleep (doze) for another couple of hours between now and bedtime. This is not an unusual day, so on average I reckon Chloe sleeps around 3-4 hours a day, sometimes much less.....she didn't asleep at ALL during the day, when the family were here last weekend!
So what's your dog(s) daytime sleeping habits? (Comments from owners of ALL breeds appreciated ;))
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Odie will awake me at 6.30am (to have a snuggle on our bed) :luv: He's out at 9.15am after the school run. He'll only chill if I'm sitting down, otherwise wherever I go, he goes >:( After play/training on the afternoon etc, he'll only really settle down properly after about 7.30pm when I put the 2 girls to bed. So basically, he'll be on the go constantly if I am :005: I can't wait till after Christmas (28th is his 1st birthday :luv:) when I can take him for unlimited walkies to tire him out more :banana: Lesley :D
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In all honesty it sounds like Chloe never relaxes and is constantly on edge.
I would actually not let her 'grumble' at all and sundry all day, I think she'd be better off having some time alone and quiet, maybe in her crate.
I'm trying to remember where I saw an article on dogs and sleeping - the crux of it was that those that were left for 2 or 3 hours and relaxed and slept were much more de-stressed and calmer than those who are awake and stimulated for the whole day.
FWIW Jarvis gets about 3 hours sleep during the day - sometimes he goes upstairs while I work downstairs or he sleeps in OH's van (his favourite place, won't sleep in his comfortable bed) when he goes to work with him. He very definitely has time to himself to do this ;)
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Helen - would you suggest that I put Odie in his crate for some quiet time too? As I'm in the house all day and he only goes in his crate for 30 mins (school run), do you think he'd benefit from more 'alone time'?
Lesley
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Helen - would you suggest that I put Odie in his crate for some quiet time too? As I'm in the house all day and he only goes in his crate for 30 mins (school run), do you think he'd benefit from more 'alone time'?
Lesley
Hi Lesley - yes, I would build some alone time into his day. Helps with any separation anxiety as well ;)
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My springers 6&2yr have slept pretty well all day in between 2x 1 mile walks. I clean the cottage next door on a Sat and they are happy to zizz away.... If I went on a 20mile walk they would be up for it and more, but are very chilled in the house :blink: all my friends springers are like this bar one who darent shut an eye in case he misses something :005:
(http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/joonnifer/TwigletDec09204.jpg)
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Helen - would you suggest that I put Odie in his crate for some quiet time too? As I'm in the house all day and he only goes in his crate for 30 mins (school run), do you think he'd benefit from more 'alone time'?
Lesley
Hi Lesley - yes, I would build some alone time into his day. Helps with any separation anxiety as well ;)
Cheers Helen, it'll help me get some housework done too ph34r :005:
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Well I have to admit that it is not something I keep tabs on, except when they were pups, they are quite happy to sleep anytime.
Katie on the whole is quicker to re-act to my actions, but Smudge is not far behind. If they are in a deep sleep I can get on with doing something with no probs. They are quite happy to go to their beds and stay there if I command and will settle till I give them the OK.
I think there is something, somewhere I either read or was told that dogs should not be 'on the go' 24/7 because they stay constantly wound up. I know if I am going out on my own I make sure they have had a run/play/wee/poo but for the half hour before I go, they are encouraged to be calm (maybe it is just what the Muddies are used to - but it works). Also on training nights they get half hour calm before working or they just don't listen to what I am telling them.
Have to say at this point tho that they never get a six-mile walk (or anything like it) my max is prob 1 - 1and a half thro wooded area/on the beach and they do get playtime during the day in the garden, and some training.
I know all dogs are different and have different needs - just like hoomans ::)
BTW Sue How is your training with the new lady going? are you still doing some?
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My two sleep quite a lot I think. In between walks they are very happy to crash, with some playtime thrown in between. I think they are remarkably chilled considering they are young and workers
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FWIW Jarvis gets about 3 hours sleep during the day -
Same as Chloe then...she just has hers in short bursts rather than all at once .... seems to suit her, I don't find her unmanageable or anything.
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and ok, before anyone refers to my comment about her getting under my feet, that was meant as a bit of joke, she likes to help with changing the bed linen, but apart from that she is either laying calmly in the room that I am cleaning, or even chilling out on the sofa or the bed. She isn't sleeping though.
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and ok, before anyone refers to my comment about her getting under my feet, that was meant as a bit of joke, she likes to help with changing the bed linen, but apart from that she is either laying calmly in the room that I am cleaning, or even chilling out on the sofa or the bed. She isn't sleeping though.
Katie likes to tell me when the bedclothes need changing - by jumping on the bed with wet, muddy feet.
As for getting in the way he he!! how come they always walk slower when you are behind them and want to get somewhere aye!! (like the loo in a hurry :o
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Meg and Alfie are left during the week for 3-4 hours a day. All they do is sleep when left, my mum's gone out to work a few times and left me in without them knowing and ive sneaked down and can see them both fast asleep in their beds. During the day when we're at home (i.e afternoons) they hardly sleep at all, they will be in the kitchen while mum does the housework but dont sleep, they either chew on bones/toys or mooch around, then they have their walk and its time to get tea ready when they get back so obviously better things to do than sleep then ;). After tea Meg usually finds a comfy spot to snooze for the night and Alfie grabs a toy and plays for a while. Then he'll kip by my feet for a couple of hours before bed at about 11ish. So yeah, ours have a fair bit of rest on an average day :D xxx
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BTW Sue How is your training with the new lady going? are you still doing some?
Going really well thanks ;) We've started doing a bit of agility....on Wednesday, we were doing weave poles, tunnel and little jumps. It's great fun, we both love it. I'm still getting nearly 3 hours for the price of one....as we spend an eternity talking about dog training!
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Diesel & Olli sleep alot during the day when Im at work, at least I think they do because my neighbours say they never hear a peep out of them. I walk them before work and then again at lunchtime and then when I come in from work.
On a weekend they follow me all over when im doing the housework, but after a walk are happy to rest, half sleep incase they miss something interest im doing. Like today when I washed the floors Olli was flat out until I started with the mop, then Olli joined in drying the floor with his ears :005: :005:
When i have people around they dont sleep as much, do rest but not proper sleep, frightened they miss anything :005:
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My lot sleep most of the morning after a 6.30 start for brekkie :-\ then they are up and around most of the afternoon,at night they are always snoozing on the sofa from around 5pm then its bed at 10ish.
My pup does have her own sleep pattern she will be popped in her crate upstairs away from the others listening to Radio 2 a couple times a day :luv:
Mine love their sleep just wish it could be extented in the morning until maybe 7.30 :005:
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BTW Sue How is your training with the new lady going? are you still doing some?
Going really well thanks ;) We've started doing a bit of agility....on Wednesday, we were doing weave poles, tunnel and little jumps. It's great fun, we both love it. I'm still getting nearly 3 hours for the price of one....as we spend an eternity talking about dog training!
That's great, glad to read it is going well, the lady is probably glad to have such enthusiastic trainees. :D
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My two will sleep to suit the day. In the week they're walked for an hour and a haf, then OH heads to work then they're alone for 5 hours which they spend asleep, followed by a training walk followed by a compulsary afternoon nap with me in bed (i get up for work at 4.30am as I need to work full time and make sure they're not left alone all day). We then head out for walk/training (and pub ph34r) in the evenings which is usually about 2 to 3 hours. So their weekday is very much bursts of energy followed by time out to sleep.
At weekends we can be on the go all day so they get the most sleep in the car. although now Clovers older she takes herself off for naps. For example shes started snoozing between flyball runs so we've been putting her in the car to get some piece. Dexter hates to not be involved so hes prob awake a bit too much. He does get cranky and really crashes in the evenings
I think they are very much glad when I go back to work on Mondays. :005: If its a week day and Im off they do put themselves to bed for their morning kip.
So Total weekday sleep: 5 hours in the morning, 2 in the afternoon
Weekend: hardy any but they do go to bed about 7pm
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I would say mine get around 3-4 hours during the day. I consciously give them quiet/down/sleep time during the day and early evening.
It's now 17 years since I had my first Spaniel (Springer). Energy wise; I know I could take them out walking/training for an hour or two and give them a very short break and they would do it all over again within minutes, several times a day if they were allowed ::) However, I think/feel it is beneficial for them not to be over stimulated and have a good rest period time during the day.
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My 2 are show cockers so don't know whether it counts but they are quite a lazy pair really, I don't need an alarm as they wake me with 'kisses' at 7 am ::) they are then fairly hyper until about 9.30am and from then on they are either sleeping, lazing , running around the garden or out on a walk. They settle about 7ish until bedtime so a fairly chilled out lazy pair ;)
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Went to a seminar on 'Stress in dogs' today & one thing learnt, was dogs should get approx 14-18 hours sleep a day :luv:
................think my 3 are trying to top that advice (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sleep025.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php) ................................... Oh & I want to come back as a dog next time :011:
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Thats Kali on track then!! :005:
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Thats Kali on track then!! :005:
lol yup think mine qualify there. When they are awake they are on the go, but they sure do like thier snoozes :005:
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Went to a seminar on 'Stress in dogs' today & one thing learnt, was dogs should get approx 14-18 hours sleep a day :luv:
................think my 3 are trying to top that advice (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sleep025.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php) ................................... Oh & I want to come back as a dog next time :011:
that's really interesting Lindsay - must find where I found that original article about the 3 hours down time during the day ;)
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that is very interesting indeed....so how does that equate with working dogs who are on the go all the time during the shooting season?
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Went to a seminar on 'Stress in dogs' today & one thing learnt, was dogs should get approx 14-18 hours sleep a day :luv:
................think my 3 are trying to top that advice (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sleep025.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php) ................................... Oh & I want to come back as a dog next time :011:
that's really interesting Lindsay - must find where I found that original article about the 3 hours down time during the day
Surely the 14-18 includes overnight so would still be plausible with 3 being in the daytime... ok maybe not 18, I know we don't sleep that long at night
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I think that dogs like humans are all different(thank goodness!) My friend is fresh as a daisy after 4hrs each night-I'd be like a half-shut knife! Some dogs zizz a lot,some don't- surely not a problem if they are happy ;)
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that is very interesting indeed....so how does that equate with working dogs who are on the go all the time during the shooting season?
they're not on the go all day every day Sue - usually only a couple of days max a week, and have a lot of rest between :dunno:
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just noticed how many are viewing this :o hot topic :005:
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that is very interesting indeed....so how does that equate with working dogs who are on the go all the time during the shooting season?
Sue I am so surprised at what I learnt today as it really was so very different to everything I've read or heard before & it applies to ALL breeds.....but makes perfect sense! If you could ever get to go to one of her (Winkie Spiers!) seminars or google her work - very interesting reading!! Controversial maybe as it is quite radical to conventional thinking but I'm going to research it some more - anything that benefits the girls & teaches me in the process is a good thing :luv:
Helen - I think you'd of liked it too - very much ;)
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that is very interesting indeed....so how does that equate with working dogs who are on the go all the time during the shooting season?
Sue I am so surprised at what I learnt today as it really was so very different to everything I've read or heard before & it applies to ALL breeds.....but makes perfect sense! If you could ever get to go to one of her (Winkie Spiers!) seminars or google her work - very interesting reading!! Controversial maybe as it is quite radical to conventional thinking but I'm going to research it some more - anything that benefits the girls & teaches me in the process is a good thing :luv:
Helen - I think you'd of liked it too - very much ;)
I was there too and it was a fantastic seminar, focussing on stress in dogs. Louis doesn't relax much, even at home where he's noise reactive to things in the house and outside, so he doesn't get enough downtime, which adds to his stress levels. William is much more relaxed and when he's at home spends a lot of time sleeping.
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When in the house Poppy is pretty much asleep or laying still resting!
We walk for about 2/3 hours a day and play/train for about an hour in the house, apart from that she sleeps/chills.
Weekends are different as we are out and about and she does what we do but even then she sleeps as soon as we stop for anything!
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Mine sleep a lot during the day.
I dont tend to do much with them in the house so the majority of the time they are lounging about with the odd play fight.
I make sure seth doesnt get overstimulated and he spends about 4 hrs a day crated, 4x30mins stints and in the afternoon for 2hrs, I think its important he learns to switch off and relax.
I think there is a fine line between over and under stimulating dogs.
Seth is still on 15-20min walks even though he could have longer but i dont think he needs longer at the moment and make sure he has a good balance between training, soicialising and play.
I also think all dogs are different and can handle different things. Brie could probably take anything I threw at her whereas Amber couldnt.
Amber I have to be very careful not to over stimulate her as she really cant handle it. Low key little and often is best for her and it really benifits her to be left completley alone for a few hours during the day.
I do think that too much training and stimulation is just as damaging to dogs as too little and its about finding the balance that works for you and your dog.
Training to me needs to be quality not quantity
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that is very interesting indeed....so how does that equate with working dogs who are on the go all the time during the shooting season?
The down time adds up Sue, Paddy will snooze in the car on the way to a shoot or training session, it's usually 45 mins to an hour drive. I always crate him at lunchtime or he'll never stop moving. He generally watches me eat my lunch, has a bite himself then rests, even if he's not sleeping at least he's resting and just watching the goings on instead of moving around. Then he'll snooze on the drive home.
I always make a point of crating him at lunchtime on full training days, I used to let him mooch around but he's like a toddler that'll keep moving but by late afternoon he'd lose his sparkle.
If we're home if I relax he will but if I move he follows me during the day, too scared of missing something. He has a bed in the dining room and often on an evening he'll dissapear on his own and we'll find he's gone into that bed for some quiet time, probably because the rooms dark and peaceful with no television on.
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Mine do a lot of sleeping when they are home. Sometimes I have to nudge them more than once to go out for a wee say just before bed and they must be really asleep because they look so startled when they finally come round that it makes me laugh, especially Penny and Phoebe. :luv:
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Mine have four modes - full-on mode, play mode, chill mode and sleep mode. I reckon they have about 2 hours full-on mode (involving their walks and a bit of running around the house/garden), two hours play mode (playing with us and each other), three-four hours chill mode (lazing around, watching TV, chewing etc) and the rest sleep. Obviously this varies as they tend to get more activity on weekends and holidays.
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Both mine are very chilled lazy wotsits at home - Normy could sleep 23 hours a day given the chance, Dave does the odd security check lap of the house (about once every 2 hours :005:) But other than that, apart from when we're out in the forest, they're snoozing - they start pacing and hinting at about 5pm which bugs me because that's also manic 2 hours with the kids.... but I know they're just worried I'll forget to give them their dinner in all the chaos :005:
I have to say that Trev was very different, he was only really settled in the evenings, during the day he was constantly on the go watching me all the time to see if I might be moving to another room and he'd jump out of his bed the second I moved just in case he was needed ::) :005:
I would definitely agree that the more rest they get, the calmer they are - when they've had a lot more on in a day they do find it harder to relax. I've mentioned lots that Dave was seriously horrid puppy and consequently, he did end up with quite a lot of time out in his prison enforced rest, but I wonder if this has actually helped him be more of a chilled out chappy long term????
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Mine sleep loads - in fact they're asleep now - 3 on the sofa and 1 on the floor. They pretty much do this all day while I'm working, usually getting up when I go and make a cup of tea which is when I let them out in the garden for a run about, and at lunch time I'll get plenty of reminders that its time for a walk. :lol2:
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really interesting thread this :D I've noticed Ben sleeps a lot more now than he used to and have been concerned as he used to be on the go a lot. He tends to curl up and sleep a lot of the day, just getting up every now and then to wander round, see whats happening then goes back to sleep. Harry is pretty much on the go all day on and off, while we move round he follows, and settles down when we do, but he is still young.
Do you think cockers sleep more as they get older (Ben is only 7 and a bit ;))
Ben being our first means we have no experience to compare with - my other worry is he is sleeping more becuase he is not being stimulated enough in the day or even worse because its the only peace he gets from mad Harry ph34r
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My two sleep quite a lot I think. In between walks they are very happy to crash, with some playtime thrown in between. I think they are remarkably chilled considering they are young and workers
Same to be honest :005:
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My two sleep quite a lot I think. In between walks they are very happy to crash, with some playtime thrown in between. I think they are remarkably chilled considering they are young and workers
Same to be honest :005:
same here also, as long as mia has regular varied off lead walks and training sessions, she relaxes very well at home, not always sleeping but chilled and happy. :luv: