How many hours a day do Italian greyhounds sleep?

How many hours a day do Italian greyhounds sleep? 30% of Italian Greyhound will stay awake during activities, but 20% of Italian Greyhound will stay awake at all times. Older greyhounds need more sleep because they are more prone to fatigue. Generally speaking, older greyhounds also need more time to doze off. Italian Greyhound sleep schedule is mainly about when they need to relieve themselves. For a dog with a bathroom problem overnight, you may also need to rethink their mealtime.

The sleep pattern of Italian Greyhound is different from that of human

Italian Greyhound sleep patterns are very similar to ours but differ in key aspects. After going to sleep, they need about 10 minutes to transition from slow-wave to rapid eye movement (REM). During the slow-wave period, breathing slows down, blood pressure drops and heart rate slows down. During REM, their eyes roll under their closed eyelids, and their bodies may respond to dreams. Italian Greyhound sleep only 10% of the time is spent in rapid eye movement because their sleep pattern is irregular. Because they tend to doze off whenever they want, often out of boredom, they will soon wake up and become alert. As a result, dogs need more sleep to compensate for their lost rem.

Italian Greyhound sleep time depends on individual differences

In contrast, humans spend 25% of their sleep in rem, which reflects their more typical schedule of a day without sleep and a night off. But how much sleep a dog needs actually depends on each dog. You can’t put all the dogs in one bucket. It depends a lot on their age, health, and who they are. Italian Greyhound tends to be more or less energetic, which largely depends on the individual dog.