Puppy's Life

Healthy Pooch

Power nap with your puppy as a way to bond

You already play, travel, and do a variety of other activities with your puppy, so why not add rest to the mix as well? Enjoying naptime together can be a great way to bond with your new best friend, and with all the dozing that puppies do, there should be plenty of opportunities to take advantage of this relaxing way to create even more interactive moments.

Experts say when your pup is conked out on the carpet, his brain is busy maturing. So let your puppy snooze when he feels like it. He is also using that sleep time to recharge and refuel for all the rambunctious fun you two will have together, and no one wants to be sleepwalking through playtime!

Just ask Houston schoolteacher Bruce Goodner, who says that napping with his dog, Dixie, when she was a puppy was one of their favorite things to do together, and it was also a sure-fire way to get him and his best friend, a yellow Lab mix, ready for a hardy play session.

“Watching Dixie curl up on the couch when she got tired was what really did it,” Goodner says. “I ended up taking naps with her. And then, when she'd wake up, she would be so full of energy, it was hard to keep up with her.”

Today the two of them still try to get their R&R at the same time. Luckily, Dixie's best friend has summers off.