Quicklinks:
- What’s Normal For Border Collies?
- Are Border Collies Nocturnal?
- Can My Border Collie Sleep Too much?
- Do Older Collies Sleep More?
If it seems like your border collie is sleeping a lot, you’re not crazy! Plus, it’s easy for your collie to just sprawl out and snooze anywhere, seemingly at any time of day. It’s completely normal for your border collie to spend so much of their time sleeping. Do you spend a lot of time away from home or for part of the day at work? They could be sleeping even more than you’re aware of.
What’s Normal For Border Collies?
Border collies, like all dogs, need a lot of sleep, but it turns out that the amount of time dogs spend sleeping depends on different factors like age. The average border collie can be said to spend up to half their day sleeping… so 12 to 14 hours of sleep a day is normal. Collies puppies and older dogs will sleep even more than that.
As pups grow so fast, their body responds by sleeping upwards of 20 hours a day. Larger collies tend to sleep more hours a day compared to other breeds. While it’s normal for larger dog breeds to sleep up to 18 hours a day, regardless of their age. Surprisingly, more active collies may sleep less than collies that are sedentary for most of the day.
Age
As previously mentioned, your dog’s age is a major factor in how much they sleep. Just as it is with people, a border collies sleeping pattern will change throughout their life cycle, with more or less sleep needed at different stages of their life. Healthy adult collies in their prime generally average around 14 hours of sleep each day.
Environment
Border collies who have a lot to do will generally sleep less. If a collie is cooped up in a crate or stuck inside a house or apartment for long hours, will need to sleep a lot more compared to a working dog, like a farm or police dog. It’s common for a border collie to sleep simply because they’re bored. Providing an environment that allows for plenty of activity, or places to explore, will cut down on the amount of time your collie spends sleeping during the day.
Health
If your border collie seems to sleep more than usual, it could be a sign of a potential health problem. After providing your collie with plenty of exercise to rule out boredom as a potential factor, you should take note of any other potential symptoms or unusual behavior and make sure to get them checked out by a veterinarian.
Sleeping patterns
In some ways, a collies sleeping patterns are similar to those of humans. That makes sense, as dogs and humans are both mammals, but there are some differences. As humans, we have trained ourselves to get nearly all of the sleep we need in a day all at once, by sleeping 8 hours or so at night. But before modern society made that sleeping schedule impractical, did you know that humans used to sleep for a few hours, wake up and do things, and then sleep again for a few more hours?
Dogs have maintained more of that type of schedule. Additionally, dog sleeping patterns include short-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid-eye-movement deep sleep (REM sleep), just like humans do. Dogs cycle into REM sleep more rapidly than humans do, however.
In humans, the cycle from SWS to REM sleep can take hours, but your collie can enter REM sleep in 20 minutes or less. It’s during this part of their sleeping pattern that you’ll notice your dog whimpering, twitching, or make other noises, or moving as if they were chasing something.
Even though dogs seem like they sleep all the time, they actually don’t sleep for long periods of time. That’s because your collie enters this REM sleep cycle much more quickly than humans do. It also explains why your dog’s overall sleep pattern is one of shorter chunks of sleep throughout the day. This also means that dogs will wake more easily than you would if you were in a deep slumber and dreaming, it also explains why your collie can go from crashing out on the couch to suddenly barking up a storm the second they hear the mail carrier.
Are Border Collies Nocturnal?
Your collies sleeping habits are very tied into how they interact with their human owners. As mentioned before, a working border collie that’s trained to watch over sheep in the fields is likely to be more nocturnal compared to a border collie who lives in a suburban home or city apartment. That’s because dogs can very easily able to adjust to the schedule of the humans they live with.
Dogs tend to sleep unless they are getting attention, so when you go to sleep, or if you’re having a Netflix night and you’re bonding with the couch, chances are your dog will too. If you have a job that keeps you up and active at night, your dog will probably adjust to that schedule and be active when you are. In general, dogs are not truly nocturnal and can be awake and asleep at any time of day, depending on what their normal routine is.
Can My Border Collie Sleep Too much?
It’s not likely that excess sleep will be a problem for your collie, but each dog is different. It’s totally normal for border collies to sleep a lot, but one thing to keep in mind is if you notice any change in your collies sleeping habits.
A change in sleep routines such as excessive lethargy or breathing problems could potentially be a sign of something that needs a vet’s attention. Your collie could be sleeping a lot because there’s nothing else to do, so consider some environmental enrichment like a new toy or going on an extra walk each day. Remember that dogs can also become depressed and withdraw, just like humans can.
Another thing that could cause a problem if your collie is sleeping too much could be down to bathroom issues. If your dog is sleeping so much that they’re missing bathroom breaks or waking up in the middle of the night for bathroom breaks, then consider slowly changing their sleep habits until the situation works better for you both.
Do Older Collies Sleep More?
As your border collie becomes older from around age the 7 onward, it’s normal for them to sleep more. Older collies need to sleep a lot more for a variety of reasons: they tire more easily from exertion, they could have arthritis and not want to move as much, or your collie could be sluggish from a slower metabolism that could be caused by something like hypothyroidism.
Conclusion
Those 12 to 14 hours a day that your border collie sleeps may seem like a lot, but the reality is that it’s completely normal! The amount of sleep that your individual collie needs will vary, as each dog is different. Your collies sleeping patterns are affected by a lot of different things, like having medical conditions, their age, and their general level of physical activity and the things that are going on within their environment.
Remember that older collies and pups need a lot more hours a day of sleep than adult dogs, so don’t worry unless you notice any change in their sleeping habits that may be related to a medical condition.
