Is my 5 year old lab too sleepy - how much does yours sleep?

[CantFindTheBeat]

Hi all,

My lab will be 5 in March. I'm a bit worried that he's bored as he sleeps so much.

He has an hour to hour and a half off lead walk each morning, without fail. We go in the fields and forest with lots of ball and sniffing,

He's about 32kg - I would say about 2kg overweight. He has a good, defined waist and the vet says he fine but I think he's filled out a bit over the last couple of months.

He has some of his kibble in a giant Kong each day and likes to play with that.

He's been the ideal dog over Christmas when we've had (a lot) of guests as he's pretty much slept all day, every day, except for his food.

Should he be doing anything else?

Some days he had an evening walk but he'd be fine without it.

What's your lab's typical day look like?

My younger labs day was around 30 mins- 1 Hr first thing, 30/40 mins at lunch and 1hr 30mins in the evening.
Do you have a big garden for him?

If you do a lot first thing, sniffing etc he may well just be worn out. Some dogs don’t need as much exercise as others- you can have a lazy dog.

Does he seem depressed? Is he happy? I wouldn’t worry to be honest.

Thanks @Suzi888

We do have a reasonable sized garden - he likes the futility of trying to catch squirrels - but in general he's happy sleeping on his bed under my desk while I work from home, or downstairs on the sofa.

I wouldn't know how to tell if he was depressed - I'm just off to Google.

I'd love another dog as a friend for him but he won't have any other dog in our house. He's happy enough with most dogs when out, but he never ever 'plays' with other dogs, he's just happy chasing his ball.

I having been wondering the same about ours! It's really noticeable how calm and sleepy she is

How old is she, @bumpytrumpy ?

2yo lab bitch here. 30 mins to an hour off lead at the woods and she sleeps all morning on a work day. Short lead walk at lunch and sleeps until I finish work and then another short walk after work. Generally she then has dinner and is awake for a bit before going to sleep for the night between 6 and 7pm.

Maybe it’s just winter? Our LabX has loved having everyone home and someone to sleep on all day as she thinks she’s a lap dog… she has a total of 2hrs a day walks split depending on the weather. She may have 1.5hrs in morning if it’s dry and half hour in eve if rain due. Sounds ok to me if they seem happy enough. In summer she spends more time out in garden.

I think/hope it could be that, @Winter645Mermaid

Definitely seems to be more of a lapdog in the winter.

My boy is a lab cross and is over two. Neutered.

he is very happy to doze most of the day on and off. Glad to see he isn't alone.

He is more active in summer. Maybe it's a survival evolutionary thing.

To be honest OP, if you work from home and you have a garden to enjoy, your Lab is living the dream. Some Labs are just more chilled than others. He doesn’t sound depressed to me, he’s eating well and loving life. You’re on hand if he needs you.

Mine was a lunatic back in the day! My only advice would be watch the weight and give a joint supplement, it’s really hard to get weight off once it’s on.

Thanks @Suzi888

I am going to be super-careful with his food and get these 2kg off.

He knows it's me who will cave if he wants a chew stick - he doesn't pester anyone else for them because he knows they'll say no!

He's so lovely. Sleeps on our bed, mews at the top of the stairs when we get up and bounces around when I pick up his harness.

Scouts round for a sock to bring and give to guests when they arrive!

I guess these last few weeks have thrown me because he's slept so much more but I think the cold & winter maybe has something to do with as a pp has said.

I will look out for joint supplements too and definitely get the extra off him.

I think just one walk a day might be on the lazy side. I have two lab sized dogs and they get 3-4 walks a day totalling three hours. If you want a fit dog you need to exercise them regularly, and it’s better to do two 45 minute walks than one 1.5h walk and then letting them be sedentary for the next 23 hours.

it’s possible that the dog is comfortable and lazy, but the more you exercise him the fitter he will be for longer. Labs (like most bigger dogs) are prone to get arthritis and him being overweight will increase that risk.

I think you might be right, @Snoken

It's just me walking him at the moment so I do an early long walk.

I think I will definitely try and build in another one each day.

Mine are larger than average labs - as in taller they weight 25-27 kg each - all of them - don’t know why even though they all look different and they are thinner in the summer. They sleep for 95% of the day. When they aren’t scrounging food, nosing round the garden and the occasional rough play or chase - they are aged between 5 and 10 years.
It was raining heavily here earlier and windy and said walkies and they literally turned their backs on me and went back to sleep. One had a look like ‘not a cats in hell chance my friend’

I think dogs do sleep a lot, a similar amount to cats in theory.

We've just got back from a few days a way this morning and my dog has slept the entire day!

I don't have a lab, but my beagle will happily sleep the day away - he'll be five in February.

He was at the vet two months ago for his jabs and they said he's the picture of health - perfect weight (rare for a beagle), muscular, excellent teeth and no concerns whatsoever.

He gets one walk a day of about an hour. He can happily go for longer and doesn't struggle when he does, but he loves his bed and his blankets, especially at this time of year.

Most dogs don't need multiple walks or super long walks everyday.