Winter sleeping routine

[bingohandjob]

Bingo pup (black lab) now about to turn 1 year old. Can't believe we've got through the teething, the nipping, some teenage strops (been told still more on the horizon!) but he's such a placid, gentle natured boy day to day pretty much 90% of the time - he's so lovely to be around other than the 10% lead pulling, pavement sitting, rabbit chasing time but just wondered if anyone else has noticed marked increase in sleep/chilled time with such shorter daylight hours. He's bright and bouncy when playing, off lead and walking etc and he's been seen by vet recently and all good and I'm not complaining but he's Mr Chilled in the evenings now, curled up on lap or sofa all evening. Is this a doggy thing? I'm a first time owner.

I would guess it’s partly due to the weather/ lack of light, and partly due to a level of maturity.
Also, are you maybe doing more exercise now he’s grown? That would help tire him out too.
I have 2 black labs and to be honest they get cuddlier every day . That a whole lot of cuddly for the 10 year old 😂

Tricky to say, but I do think my lab does calm down significantly later on in the day with the darker evenings (unfortunately the dark mornings have not stopped him though ). In the summer he’s out in the garden for hours!

We have a routine now of mix of off lead off physical exercise and mental exercise - lots of retrieve and sniffy stimulation that tires him out as much as a good run about. Getting my head around a pavement walk basically being to tire him mentally and to let him sniff, sniff, sniff was important. We might spend 40 minutes not covering much physical ground but sniffing everything and he loves it and it poops him out (literally, sometimes). He's still got his bursts of Labrador bounciness especially meeting new people and when friends come over but day to day he's a calm, placid boy who, thankfully, happily amuses himself with an ostrich bone or chew

Mine always sleeps more in winter, for sure :) he's nearly four now.

His routine is basically sleep until we get up, go back to sleep on the sofa (waking for toast) and then off out for a good walk/run. Then it's back home for a chew, then he sleeps/chills on the sofa until dinner (we feed him once a day around 1-2pm) then back to sleep again until we have our dinner

His evenings are spent napping, maybe playing or training, having a cuddle and more naps, lol.

Some days my dog - 10 years old - seems to sleep more now it's winter but I've put that down to her age. Other days she seems to be awake most of the day.

Tbh I think if she had her way she'd spend every evening out in the garden, just sitting or chewing random things and enjoying the wind in her fur, as long as I keep the back door open; as soon as I close the door she starts barking to come in again.

Some evenings it's like living with a cat: she stands by the door to go out, I open the door, out she goes and as soon as I close it she's barking to come in. This can go on for some time if I let it.

She's got a thick coat and doesn't like to be hot. I like the heating up high. I suspect we're not really compatible.

I did notice though, that when winter was approaching she seem to want to eat more, that's calmed down now though.

My loopy working Cocker definitely sleeps way more in the winter! He's nearly 18 months now.

In the summer, he usually settled nearer to 8pm then woke up around 5-6am.

In the winter, he's asleep by 7pm and stays in bed with me until 8am!

Basically he follows the light in the morning (I sleep with the blinds open as I like the streetlight/moonlight, so I guess he can see/feel it too). It's the same for humans I think! I wake up later in the winter.

@pigsDOfly

Some days my dog - 10 years old - seems to sleep more now it's winter but I've put that down to her age. Other days she seems to be awake most of the day.

Tbh I think if she had her way she'd spend every evening out in the garden, just sitting or chewing random things and enjoying the wind in her fur, as long as I keep the back door open; as soon as I close the door she starts barking to come in again.

Some evenings it's like living with a cat: she stands by the door to go out, I open the door, out she goes and as soon as I close it she's barking to come in. This can go on for some time if I let it.

She's got a thick coat and doesn't like to be hot. I like the heating up high. I suspect we're not really compatible.

I did notice though, that when winter was approaching she seem to want to eat more, that's calmed down now though.

"wind in the fur" our pup seems to love this, too - will ask to go out at night, sit on the patio step and survey his very, very tiny very, very muddy Kingdom looking incredibly regal, ready for his close up