I have a stupid question!

[changedmyname2022]

Currently dog sitting for my friends 5 year old Shitzu who is doing ok now after spending the first couple of hours crying and sitting by the front door 🙁

So my stupid question is should he be sleeping now if we want him to sleep well tonight?! He's passed out on the sofa and I'm sitting here thinking does this mean he will be up in night wide awake like a child?!

Fully appreciate tonight and other nights maybe unsettled as it's all strange to him, although he knows me and my 10 year old very well.

Also is there anything I can do to help him settle? We have him until Saturday so would hate for him to be miserable.

Thanks for humouring me!!

Aw this made me chuckle.

Dogs can sleep up to 17 or so hours a day so I wouldn’t worry too much.

Some dogs do get up and bother their owners in the night.

Make sure the dog has a wee and a good drink before bed and hopefully you’ll be alright!

Good luck

Oh and to help him settle, I would stick firmly to a routine, even say the same things when you greet or leave him and feed him etc.

Dogs like to know what to expect, so try and walk and feed him at the same time

I have a Lhasa apso and he sleeps from about 7pm, with a wee at 9pm and bedtime biscuit. He's then last up in the morning!

Just to add he doesn't drink before bed

Thank you I'll stop worrying now and my husband will stop looking at me like I've lost the plot when I suggested he take him for a long walk to wear him out! Seriously I have 3 children but no clue what to do with a tiny dog 😂

He's looking very comfy now so I really hope he's feeling more at home, I'll definitely stick to a routine if that's going to help. My 10 year old is the most excited ever to have a dog in the house for a week, I think she may be up earlier than him!!

If you need to wake him for any reason, I would speak to him rather than touch him. He's more likely to sleep startle (bite when woken) because he's a bit anxious and in an unfamiliar place.

A long walk will tire them out but I'd follow the owners routine as far as is practical.

When staying with family mine somehow persuaded him that he definitely needed to be taken out for a walk at 5am, and was waking people up to tell them so. I never walk him at 5am, ever. This act of deception resulted in DF walking around the village in his pyjamas every morning while DDog had a great time sniffing and weeing. The little git is back with me now and hasn't bothered to get out of bed before 9am 😒

Haha your post was so sweet it made me laugh. Dogs don't really have a bed time, they just sleep when they want. It's funny because I imagined you trying to keep the dog awake with treats, talking to it etc, so it sleeps through the night 🤣

All ours go to bed around 9pm and sleep until 7am. Dogs can sleep up to 20 hours in a day.
Make sure you pop him out for a wee before you go to bed. Less chance of being woken up. X

Calm dogs stay calm, you try and tire him out and you’ll get the adrenaline flowing and he’ll become like a Mexican jumping bean. You’re doing fine

how you getting on @changedmyname2022

Hi, thanks for asking! He is being an absolute angel and even my not so animal friendly teen has been seen giving him a little stroke! I don’t think the 10 year old is going to be happy when he goes home on Saturday. Daughter and my husband have been taking him out every night about 8pm for a walk then when he comes back he dozes on and off until bedtime when he goes upstairs and sleep on the landing until about 7am when he scratches on one of the doors to wake us up for a wee! We felt bad leaving him out there but he doesn’t want to come into a bedroom and seems really happy.

Oh and just to make you laugh a bit more he isn’t a Shitzu he’s a Bichon Frise 😂 My friend came over at the weekend and the first thing she said was “he’s not a Shitzu”! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Oh that's a very sweet post OP! Glad he's doing fine. You'll be getting pestered for a pup now, dogs are ace.

Dogs sleep a lot!
My dog will have a good nap of a couple of hours after his long morning walk, a quick nap in the afternoon after lunchtime wee, always has a snooze after teatime and evening walk and takes himself off to bed by 10 until DH gets up around 7am.
I reckon he sleeps around 14-15 hours a day!