For first-time dog owners, it often comes as a surprise that their furry friends can sleep almost all the time. Adult dogs sleep for almost 13-14 hours a day and puppies for 18-20 hours.
Sleep is essential for the pups’ overall development. Dogs who struggle to get their well-needed rest are often prone to illness and infections.
So when your dog stays up half of the night, pacing and barking, you have all the reasons to be worried.
Scheduled playtime before bed, a comfortable sleeping area, and intense physical activity throughout the day can encourage your dog to get more rest at night. Besides these strategies, a modern study reveals from Betway that watching TV before bed can also make your canine feel more drowsy at night time.
The TV shows that help dogs sleep well at night
Many dog owners are well aware of the good influence of music on their pups. But many don’t know of the benefits of watching TV. In a recent study, dog owners were asked to observe their dogs’ sleeping quality after watching certain shows on the big screen. FitBarks were attached to the dogs’ collars and it kept track of their rest time during the research period. The owners were advised to play different shows on different nights and these included ‘Friends’, ‘Stranger Things’, ‘Bridgerton’, ‘The Witcher’, ‘Rick and Morty’ And ‘Pup Academy.
According to the FitBark metric, The Witcher was the least helpful show. After watching it, dogs on average slept for only 27 minutes which is ten minutes less than the highest sleeping period that the dogs had after watching Bridgerton. The dogs continuously barked which indicated the ups and downs of nerves that the participants experienced while watching The Witcher.
The fitness tracker simultaneously revealed the anxiety level is up to 99/314. This dark adventure drama not only increased the dogs’ sleeplessness it also dropped their sleep quality to only 75%, which proves that the dogs did not sleep well at all.
Previously humans reported being haunted by nightmares after watching The Witcher so seeing pups struggle after seeing it was no surprise. A dog, in particular, struggled the most with getting some shut-eye and it mirrored on the tracker. He scored 71%, the lowest out of all shows. Stranger Things also had pretty similar results. Providing only 28 minutes of sleep, the show was another failure. Though the show performed better than The Witcher, the sleep quality was still down to 77%.
Conclusion
While some degree of caution should be used when allowing pets to watch television shows, as with any other environment where they are already accustomed to observing human activities, experts recommend providing plenty of reassurance and comfort during these experiences.
It is important to keep talking calmly and reassuringly while giving your pet time to get reacquainted with their normal routines after viewing any kind of media content. Furthermore, if any severe behavioral issues persist it may be wise to consult a veterinarian for further advice about how best to manage the situation going forward.
