Most pug owners understand that pugs sleep a lot, so it can be concerning if they are having issues sleeping.
There are many reasons why your pug may be having trouble sleeping. They may be stressed out, maybe they’re trying to keep up with you if you’re moving around constantly, or there could be some underlying medical condition.
If your pug has been struggling to sleep lately, continue reading to find ways to help your furry friend sleep.
6 Ways to Help Your Pug Fall Asleep
As stated earlier, there could be a multitude of possibilities for why your pug may not be sleeping, and a lack of sleep can be detrimental to their health. Here, below, are some ways to get a pug to sleep through the night.
Give Your Pug a Massage
If your pug is losing sleep due to anxiety, try to give your little pup a nice massage, and this will help them relax and easily lull them off to sleep.
A massage could also help an older dog in pain due to arthritis or sore and tired muscles, and they may be having trouble getting comfortable because of muscle or joint pain. The same could be done for a younger dog who has more energy and is restless from a long, active day.
Create a Relaxing Environment
Make sure your dog has a comfortable place to sleep. Give him or her a good quality dog bed along with a soft, warm blanket. Also, don’t let your dog sleep in the bed with you because not only could this affect their sleep quality, but it could affect yours as well.
It also wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of background noise, like a white noise machine or a rhythmic ticking (such as a clock or a metronome). Keep the lights dim and not pointing directly towards your pug’s sleeping area. Your pug may also enjoy some aromatherapy with soothing scents like lavender, chamomile, or frankincense.
Take Your Pug on a Walk Before Bed
Getting your pug to exercise before bed will help tire them out and help them get to sleep easier. Since pugs like to mimic anything their owner is doing and be around their owner as much as possible, it won’t be hard to get them up and move around with you, even if it’s just getting them to walk around the house with you. At the same time, you finish up chores (make sure your pug doesn’t try to overwork themselves).
Taking your pug for a walk is the perfect form of exercise before bed, and this will help lessen the chances of your pug going potty in the middle of the night if that is also an issue.
Have a Bedtime Routine
Along with not letting your dog sleep in the bed with you, you should give him or her a routine before bed. If you keep things consistent each day, this will help your pug recognize when it is time for them to start getting ready to sleep.
For example, give them their meal at a certain time each day and then take them on a walk an hour or so after eating. If you keep this consistent, your pug will learn that it is time to lay down for bed after you both get home from the walk.
Check For Any Medical Conditions
There could be some underlying medical condition inhibiting your fur baby’s sleep. It would be a good idea to make an appointment with your vet to discuss any changes in behavior, appetite, or sleeping patterns. Perhaps some medication may be needed.
This may be more likely for older dogs than younger ones, but this may be the only option left if all else fails.
Block Out Any Outside Noises
Something as simple as a fan going all night can be used to drown out outside noises. Drowning out outside noises like passing cars, thunderstorms, or whatever noises may appear in the middle of the night will keep your pug from being disturbed in their sleep.
This tip could also help prevent late-night barking that will disrupt your sleep because your pug will no longer be able to hear these outside noises that catch their attention. Having a fan going during a thunderstorm may also be able to calm your pup down if they are afraid of thunder.
You don’t have to do this with just pugs. This may work for other types of dogs who get disrupted or spooked by loud outside noises as well.
Do Pugs Like to Sleep with Their Owners?
Pugs love to be as close as possible to their owners. They often mimic their owners as much as they possibly can, meaning if you are up and moving around, they will be moving around with you, or if you are just chilling out on the couch and relaxing, they will want to be curled up right next to you. While this may seem very cute, pugs will often exceed their limits, so please keep in mind their limits and don’t let them accidentally hurt themselves doing this.
Because of this, pugs love nothing more than getting to cuddle up with you at night.
However, you should not be letting your pug sleep with you. If you move around a lot in your sleep, this can very much disrupt their sleep and make it harder for them to stay asleep.
Just the same, this could negatively affect your sleep, too. Sleeping with your pug may worsen allergies or cause some skin irritation if you have more sensitive skin. Your pug could also disrupt your sleep by moving around or randomly barking throughout the night.
While you and your pug may love sleeping in the same bed, both of you may just be losing sleep in the process.
Why Is My Pug Not Sleeping?
Just like humans, a dog’s sleeping pattern or hours they sleep at night can vary from night to night. However, if the hours they sleep vary by more than an hour each night, there may be cause for concern.
Possible reasons why they are not sleeping very well could include:
Lack of Stimulation
Pugs aren’t lazy dogs like most people may think. Just like more hyper dogs, pugs need to be able to get their energy out through the day so that they can get to sleep. A lack of stimulation can lead to your pug getting up and wandering around a lot during the night or can lead to them barking and waking you up at night.
Perhaps a small training session before bed, a nighttime walk, or a game of tug of war could give your pug enough stimulation to make it easier for them to relax and not get rowdy throughout the night.
Mimicking
As has been stated several times in this article, pugs tend to mimic their owners. They love to be with their owners as much as possible and as close as possible. If you are chilling out on the couch, they are chilling out with you. If you are roaming the house in the middle of the night, they will follow you around the entire time.
You can see why this may be an issue. They don’t want to sleep if you are not sleeping, and they just want to be around you no matter what time it is or where you are.
Illness or Injury
There is a possibility that your pug may have gotten sick or injured at some point recently, and this could be causing them some discomfort, making it harder to sleep. On the other hand, if they are sick or injured, it could cause them to sleep more than usual. Either way, if the oversleeping or under-sleeping persists for longer than three days and nothing has helped, you should make an appointment with your vet as soon as possible.
How Much Sleep Do Pugs Need?
Pugs have a reputation for being lazy dogs. While this is not entirely true, pugs usually sleep for over half a day. They don’t sleep for this entire fourteen-hour period, but they sleep the most at night for about however long their owner sleeps, then will periodically take naps throughout the day.
Just like humans need about eight hours of sleep to function properly, pugs need about fourteen hours.
Try to help your pug get in those fourteen hours by giving them plenty of exercise and a good meal beforehand. Also, try just chilling around the house for a bit at some point every day if that isn’t something you do very often. While you are chilling out, your pug will be able to curl up near you and take a well-deserved nap. Whenever possible, make sure there is some quiet time for you and your pug.
Conclusions
Whatever reason your pug may be finding it hard to sleep, hopefully, something will work out, even if it may mean a trip to the vet and some potential medication. Although, it should be unlikely that a trip to the vet will be required.