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Adolescence 6–24 months

Your 10 month old dog probably needs more uninterrupted sleep than the house is giving them

Broken rest shows up as mouthing, barking and a dog who cannot come down. Counting the interruptions is cheaper than counting the hours.

Your dog is 10 months old, they are in the middle of everything, and they have not properly switched off since breakfast.

Owners rarely arrive here first. They arrive after the mouthing, the evening barking and the zoomies, and sleep turns out to sit underneath all 3.

What we will and will not claim

You will find confident hour counts for adolescent sleep online. We do not have a source we trust for a number, so we will not hand you one.

Our reading is simpler. Most adolescent dogs in busy houses get plenty of hours and very little uninterrupted rest.

Why broken rest looks like a training problem

A tired adolescent dog has less to spend on the hard things. Leaving a sock, walking past another dog, or lying down while you cook all cost something.

Relaxation is trained as a behaviour in its own right, in short repeatable sets below your dog's threshold. It is a skill you build, not a mood you wait for.

Count the interruptions, not the hours

  1. Watch tomorrow and note every time your dog is woken: the door, the kettle, a child, you walking past. Count them.

  2. Move the bed out of the traffic. A corner of a quiet room beats the middle of the kitchen every time.

  3. Protect 2 blocks of 90 minutes a day where nobody talks to your dog, calls them, or offers a toy.

  4. Hand out a chew at the start of each block, so lying down has something to do.

Build the settle, so rest has a route in

  1. Feed your dog on a mat for lying down, in 2 minute sets, 3 times a day. Stop before they get restless.

  2. Run those sets when your dog is already tired rather than wired, for the first week.

  3. Move the evening walk earlier, so the last hour before bed is quiet rather than exciting.

  4. Close the curtains or cover one side of the crate if street movement keeps waking them.

Give this 2 weeks before you judge it. Rest changes show up gradually, and the daytime nuisances usually ease first.

Safety note

Sudden behaviour change warrants a veterinary examination. So does a dog who cannot rest, pants at night, or wakes in apparent discomfort. Pain frequently presents as a change in behaviour rather than as obvious lameness, so book the veterinary visit before you change training.

Get help now

Today's version, in one line: move the bed to a quiet corner, and protect 1 uninterrupted block this afternoon.

Where this comes from

  • Relaxation is trained as a behaviour in its own right, in short repeatable sets below the dog's threshold.

    Overall, K. L. (2013). Manual of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Dogs and Cats. Elsevier.

    Elsevier (textbook)

  • Behaviour change is built with management plus reinforcement, and sudden behaviour change warrants a veterinary examination.

    American Animal Hospital Association (2015). AAHA Canine and Feline Behavior Management Guidelines.

    aaha.org

  • Pain frequently presents as a change in behaviour rather than as obvious lameness.

    American Animal Hospital Association (2022). AAHA Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats.

    aaha.org

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