Could Your Puppy Be Overtired?

Any new dog guardian will know that heart-warming feeling of bringing a puppy home for the first time. For some people it is a planned-out process or not their first time doing so. For others it may be spur of the moment and all very new to them. Whichever the case the feeling is the same, you just want the cuddle them the whole way home and make their start to life as enjoyable as possible. A new puppy is likely to take up a major part of your life as you are now responsible to care and provide for another living being. Many people think about providing and caring for a puppy in the aspects of enough food, water, and the correct vaccinations. However, have you ever thought about providing your puppy with enough sleep?

You might be thinking how can I make a puppy sleep? Luckily it is quite simple, puppies must be provided with enough opportunities to sleep in a safe place without any stimulation during the day as well as at night. This can sometimes come across as counterintuitive to owners who think that puppies have endless amounts of energy and try to tire them out. Yet puppies are baby animals and need LOTS of sleep during both the day and night to allow for normal brain and joint development. Research shows that puppies should sleep for 18 hours a day up to the age of 4 months and 16 hours a day between 4 months and 6 months of age. If this is not achieved, then puppies can become overtired.

What does an overtired puppy look like?

Interestingly an overtired puppy looks the opposite of a tired puppy! An overtired puppy can be very alert and awake and often owners think they have ‘too much energy’. Usually this is not the case, and the puppy needs a safe place to be able to go asleep. The last thing they want to do is go on a walk or play with dogs, but if you offer it to them, they will take it!

Sound strange? Imagine you got home from work after a long day, and you are feeling tired and then you decide to have a double espresso. You will still be tired but won’t feel like sleeping. This may be similar to how a puppy feels when they get back from a short walk and then you want to play with them for an hour. Of course, puppies will always want to play because it is exciting and stimulating, they will forget they are tired and carry on. Now imagine this continues for days or even weeks, eventually your puppy will be very tired but not know how to relax and sleep. This is an overtired puppy.

Common symptoms of overtired puppies:

Hyperactivity
Inability to settle/sleep
Biting and nipping
Excessive thirst
Not listening to you
Chewing
Excessive barking
Panting
Excessive lip licking

What can happen to an overtired puppy?

Puppies develop at an incredible rate up to the age of around 18 months and it is not only just physical size they are developing. Puppies develop their immune system and brain as they grow up too. This development happens in their sleep. Therefore, it is no surprise that overtired puppies can develop several problems later in life.

Puppies have very weak and flexible joints and ligaments therefore too much exercise in their younger days can cause them to go on to have joint problems in later life.

If your puppy does not get enough sleep, it is highly likely that their immune system will not develop as best it can and therefore your dog could be more susceptible to contagious disease throughout their whole life. This can make less-threatening diseases like kennel cough more problematic.

If your puppy’s brain development is disrupted through lack of sleep it may become more difficult to implement training with them as they are not able to remember and focus on any training that you do with them.

Finally, and probably the most worrying of all, overtired puppies are more likely to develop aggressive tendencies than other dogs. This may be due to frustration and not being given enough sleep. We know humans can become more aggressive when very tired and dogs are no different.

3 common mistakes owners make that can lead to an overtired puppy

Overwalking their puppy – some owners may think their new puppy has endless amounts of energy and if they take them out for a long walk then this should tire them out. In fact it is quite the contrary, as a long walk can be overstimulating for a puppy. There will be lots of new sights, sounds and possibly dogs and people to interact with. It will then be a lot harder for the puppy to relax once they get home after. Also long walks can be very bad for the development of your puppy’s joints and ligaments.
Allowing their puppy to play with other dogs for too long or too often – socialisation is very important for your puppy, and they need the opportunity to interact and play with other dogs. However, it is best to keep these interactions short at first as again this can be overstimulating for a puppy. We recommend 20 minutes play time followed by 60 mins rest. On walks it is good to approach other dogs and allow your puppy to interact with them, however, do not make it every dog as your puppy will soon learn to think every dog they see is there to play with them.
Not providing your puppy with a safe spot without stimuli that encourages them to sleep – some owners may think that crates are cruel or putting your puppy in a different room is harsh. However, it is actually very important to create a safe spot for your puppy to sleep in. Crates do not have to be cages; they can be safe little dens that your puppy enjoys.

3 tips to prevent your puppy from becoming overtired

Keep walks to a maximum of 5 minutes for every month that your puppy has been born (once or twice a day) – most vets recommend this regime when it comes to walking puppies. Do not be tempted to increase the time walking your puppy to ‘tire them out’, as we have covered above, it will have the opposite effect.
Get your dog socialised in a day-care or boarding setting – One great way to get your dog correctly socialised is at a day-care or boarding establishment. Usually, the owners of these places will have the appropriate training and know what to look out for when your puppy is interacting with other dogs. Check out our other post on ‘What is dog boarding?’ to find out more about what we do at Lola’s House. If you decide day-care or boarding is not for you then it is good to use a friends’ dog to socialise your puppy but make sure play is only allowed for 20 minutes maximum and enforce time outs for your puppy.
Crate training – The best way to provide a safe and dark place for your puppy to relax and sleep in is by making their crate a safe and secure den for them to enjoy. There are plenty of articles out there that explain the correct way to crate train your pup but the basics are as follows:

Make sure to never use the crate as punishment
Remove all stimulation by covering the crate with a blanket
Provide treats or even feed your puppy in their crate so they develop a positive association

Written by Jack Fairclough

Published on 29th November 2022

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Could Your Puppy Be Overtired?