Do dogs like routine?
Good dog care includes a consistent and reliable routine for your Morkie. Routine makes dogs feel secure and comfortable to know what’s coming up next. But just how tight should that schedule be?
Although most Morkies aren’t food-driven, they do like to know when chow’s on.
Feeding twice a day for adult Morkies works well; in the early morning and then around our own dinner time. Some people prefer to leave food out all day, so their dog can eat on demand. If your Morkie isn’t a little piggy, that works too. Other people prefer to feed their dog at a certain time:
A dog that eats on schedule, poops on schedule.
In scheduling a routine, don’t forget time for regular exercise, training and play.
What do dogs do all day? If you guess “sleep” you’re probably right. Here’s how their day adds up: small periods of activity, lounging around, and sleeping:
No need to overdo the schedule!
A routine is one thing, but your own life will be miserable if you try and stick to it too closely.
Scheduling your Morkie’s meals at roughly the same time each day is an anchor; then fill in with time for a walk, playing, grooming and training.
How about sleep?
You can’t schedule sleep, since dogs can fall into a deep slumber for a short time, then wake up active and alert. Depending on your Morkie’s age, daily activity, physical shape and some other factors, he probably sleeps about half the day, in small chunks of time. Some dogs will sleep even more, and puppies need about 18 hours a day of sleep.
Dogs sleep more than we do, and they also wake up more often.
One theory why dogs sleep so much is this: humans sleep for a long stretch, and fall into REM (Rapid Eye Movement) or deep sleep, about 25% of the time. Dogs on the other hand, only experience restful, deep REM sleep about 10% of the time. So they need more total sleep to get the deep rest they need.
Working dogs sleep less
Strangely, dogs who are active, such as guide dogs or search-and-rescue breeds, sleep less than couch potato pups.
While we can oversleep if we’re bored, a dog does the opposite. The bored dog will stay awake, and probably get into trouble, chewing and destroying things around the house.
Dogs can easily adjust their sleeping patterns, to be wide awake if something is going on, otherwise they can fall into a deep sleep quickly.
When are dogs most active?
Most are energetic in the morning; then they will nap and sleep or be awake but inactive. They usually have another spurt of energy in the early evening. In a day, dogs are active about 20% of the time, or around 4 hours in total.
A dog's typical day
- 6:00 to 7:00 am – RISE AND SHINE. Time to pee soon after waking. Take your dog outside if that’s the training choice you’ve made, or direct him to his pee pads.
- 7:30 am – around this time, your Morkie is ready for his first meal
- 8:00 am – This is a great time for a walk, since dogs have lots of energy in the morning.
- 10:00 to 12:00 pm – Back to sleep.. Zzzzz
- noon time: play, have a grooming session or some training.
- early afternoon: napping
- 4:00 pm – any time now, your Morkie is ready for another meal, and then some playtime.
- 7:00 pm – an evening walk
- 8:00 to 10:00 pm – another walk, some play time and some zzzzzs
- 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm – your Morkie is probably ready to bed down for the night.