DD is 9 months and daytime naps have always been short and a struggle. We managed to stop feeding to sleep for naps and worked hard to get her to take them in her cot (using darkened room, lullaby, gentle ssh-pat) - it hasn't always worked but I did feel we had made progress.
More recently though, when I put her down in her cot she immediately gets totally wound up and over-excited - she's not upset or crying, but giggles, laughs, thrashes her arms and legs around, like she's having the best time ever, and gets further and further away from ever being able to drop off. No matter how I try to calm her she just carries on - eventually becoming grizzly through frustration. If I try to put her down really early she sometimes goes off, but can equally get bored in her cot and remain awake.
She is actually really funny when she does it as she looks like she is having a great time 
but it's beginning to drive me mad as I can't get anything done (and if I just leave her to it she doesn't eventually wind down and drop off unfortunately - I won't leave her to properly cry).
I really don't think she needs as much sleep as some, as even by 3.30pm today she was only beginning to get a wee bit grizzly (and after a 6am wake-up), but this can't be right, surely?? She has had the odd day in her life when she has gone the whole day with no sleep at all, despite my best endeavours with shh-pat, pram, sling etc., but this totally freaks me out when it happens.
I am willing to follow any advice, but also intrigued to see if anyone else has had similar nap crises and survived?!