Sleeping all of the time

[josephine]

I am a little concerned about how often my puppy is sleeping. She is 9 weeks old and we had company yesterday and she slept the entire time people were here. I let her out to go potty and she'll go and then find a spot to lay down and sleep. I have 2 skinkids and I know when they were babies they slept alot does that go for dogs too? I work during the day and when I get home at night she sleeps so much it doesn't leave too much time for play. She also hardly eats, please tell me this is just a phase she's going through.

[gmacleod]

I don't think you need to worry. Absolutely baby puppies are just like baby humans - they need to sleep a lot. Exactly how much rather varies with the individual, but pretty much all of them will be down for as many hours as they're up during the day. As long as she is happy, healthy and playful when she is awake, then I wouldn't be concerned about her.

As for the eating thing, most likely that is indeed a phase. Puppies can be notoriously picky eaters as they go through spurts of growth, followed by periods where their bodies don't need so much energy. Chances are, in a week or so, she'll be pretty keen on her food again - for a while until the end of the growth spurt. Very much like human kids really.

[Napoleon87]

Napoleon sleeps a lot too. He is 5 weeks old. But when he is awake he is very playful.