ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Terri

I'm curious as to how much sleep others maltese get in a 24 hour period. Ours will go to bed at around 11pm at night and gets up at around 8ish. During the day he takes 2 or 3 half-hour naps. Is this the norm? He is 3 years old. He has lots of energy otherwise.

DISCUSSION:

My dogs go to bed around 10 or 11 each night and get up with my husband at 5am. They go back to bed and get up when I do. They run and play, and then go to a nap at around 10:30am, get up around an hour later and romp. They take an afternoon nap at around 3pm, and get up when my husband returns at 5:30pm. They always nap twice per day. They play so hard in the daytime, they just poop out.
-Marsha A.

Mine is just plain lazy! She goes to bed at 10:00 whether I do or not, and when I get up she goes to her bed, gets up a couple times to see if she's missing anything, but basically sleeps all day--moving from place to place to sleep. But by 5 or 6:00 LOOK OUT! She puts the energizer bunny to shame for 4 or 5 hours! She's 4 yrs old & seems to be getting lazier but I know she's still healthy by her energy level in the evenings.
-Debbie

It helps to remember that dogs are carnivores--before we made them pets they hunted, ate and then rested to conserve energy to be able to hunt again. Now they don't have to hunt--not that Maltese have for the last few thousand years. But, anyway, most dogs, unless working or following one from room to room, sleep 18-20 hours a day. They are awake when they want to be companionable, eat or eliminate--otherwise they sleep.
-Linda (Snow Angel)

Linda, Thanks so much for your insight. I, too, worried that Lucy slept too much--even though she's quite the buzzer when she' up. She crashes by 8 PM and is up at 5, but after a walk and breakfast, goes right back to sleep, usually in my lap. During the day she catches even more zzzzzs. Between about 5 and 8, she's a maniac. Good to know this is one of those leftovers from the "wolf genes." Thanks.
-cathy brown

I had to laugh when I saw this bunch of messages, I've thought the same thing many times, my little one sleeps so much, but has tons of energy when she's awake, right now she's flat out snoozing under my desk! (and we've only been up for an hour) what I find the funniest is if I'm trying to clean up the apt. at night & she will follow me around, but she'll flop down & look at me with these pitiful eyes trying to convince me it's time to stop in one place (preferably the couch) so she can get in a proper nap!
-patty