THE ART OF SLEEPING

[Cathy C. Bennett]

THE ART OF SLEEPING…

August 2, 2012

Harleo's Adventures

AND THE WINNERS ARE….

HARLEY AND LEO – SLEEPING DOODLE CHAMPIONS               

Both Harley & Leo are “doodles” of energy providing I portray the role of “Ms. Entertainment.”

They are ready, willing and able participants “game” for any type of activity I can dream up. But you let me get involved in something they can’t play a part in like writing, reading, or cooking, and they are “out like a light!”

I have never before witnessed living creatures drop from 100 to zero so fast. When it comes to “instant sleep”, Harley can start snoring in less than 5 minutes, and Leo will quickly start twitching like a break dancer from the streets of NYC!

If they decide to pass out in the path of a doorway, and I’ve got to carry clean folded laundry into another room, I can “hang it up” – I am destined to loose a pile of towels….

Even if I’m able to stretch my gait to step over them – they still don’t move. A few times I’ve gotten down on my knees because their eyes were open – yet they continued to breath steady – “comatose style.”

When my DH comes home in the evening, he always asks the same question (and he asks the boys not me!) “what did you two do all day today?” He grills me about their listlessness as if I’ve tied them to a running treadmill and left them there since morning…

I give him a run down of a typically busy day, and he gives me the “Law and Order” stare down, as if he’s not quite sure whether to believe me or not. Feeling as if any day now I could be defending myself in a court of law (DH presiding as judge and jury), I decide to work on my defense strategy, and read about dogs and sleep….

I was amazed at the information I found about “why dogs sleep so much”:

Dogs love to sleep and they usually spend more that 50% of their life sleeping. Generally a dog will sleep from 14 to 16 hours, others sleep longer. It would be difficult to peg the normal sleeping hours for a dog for the reason that the amount of time spent sleeping would depend on the age, breed, and personality as well as the activities being done by the dog.

I learned there are also many different factors to take into consideration:

AGE – adult dogs sleep about 12 hours a day (approx. 1/2 of their life)

PERSONALITY AND BREED – boisterous and active dogs (small breeds who jump, clown and play) sleep 12-13 hrs. Large breeds (Newfoundland, Mastiff, St. Bernard) are content to lie down and sleep 16-18 hours a day

THE APARTMENT DOG – one who spends time home alone in an apartment naturally sleeps more that a working dog on say a “farm”

THE WORKING DOG – Search and rescue, therapy, farm, and police dogs have the ability to stay awake when there is a task to be done. These dogs sleep less than others but it doesn’t mean they do not get their full quota of sleep they need. They may be active – but they do take naps when the opportunity presents itself!

I also read:

Dogs wake easily even at the slightest sound but they sleep just as easily too.

This is applicable for my two on “occasion!” For the most part, during the day when they are ready for their frequent “siestas”, they are pretty much “out of it” for the long haul.

I will say though after dinner, my house is lit up with two adrenaline fueled doodles running through the house wrestling, and cutting up like a pair of “Tasmanian Devils.” This over charged energizer bunny behavior will last for well over an hour (including some human romper room activity) and afterwards they are done for the rest of the night!

They then fall asleep in the strangest places, with the most hilarious positions. I just had to share this two minute video with you – THE ART OF SLEEPING   - Enjoy!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Cute!