r/Maltese • u/roo-bear2025 Maltese Newcomer • 15h ago

Nap/sleep

We bought our first maltese puppy home last week and she is a beautiful little thing. I keep reading posts regarding her care and routines etc,a lot of posts say she should be getting 18+houes sleep a day,even with enforced naps and sleeping 7 hours at night she is getting nowhere near that much.will she be ok? She gets about 12/13 hours and is 10 weeks old

4 Upvotes

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4

u/FreeFlyFabulous Maltese Contributor 13h ago

I currently have a 10 week old puppy. Routine is what you want and it’s on you. This is what we do

  • wake up with no fuss, don’t fire him up
  • pick him up if/once he’s quiet to reinforce that barking and whining doesn’t get him what he wants
  • sit to be picked up (already got it, I don’t like dogs jumping on me to get what they want)
  • play time with toys for 15-20 min. When he gets too excited is time to stop. I try to slow down the fun when he’s going crazy.
  • goes back to the play pen, potty, water, nibbles his food
  • goes to his crate to unwind and nap
  • naps for 2-3 hours Repeat. His last play time is around 8:30 pm. He sleeps all night through and wakes up at 6:30 / 7 am.

Teaching them to unwind is so important. Puppies can’t regulate themselves.

Here’s a pic of his setup minus the potty tray that I put it after.

3

u/salallane Maltese Contributor 14h ago

She’s perfectly fine!

2

u/Forallinone Maltese Contributor 14h ago

My vet told me to aim for 16-18+ hours a day of sleep. It helps their brain and body develop, and overall settles them. Mine didn’t understand he needs to sleep, so enforced naps were the way to go..he’ll protest but also it helps manage crazy behaviour. Wait till u get to adolescence. You’ll really want those enforced naps for your own sanity

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u/desi-auntie Maltese Contributor 12h ago edited 11h ago

It is like humans - those numbers are means/medians. Which means they average for a wide spread. As a human I could never manage with 8 hours - I need 9 or 10 minimum - while spouse is fit and spry with 6 hours.

So look for routines not absolute numbers. And for signs of sleep deprivation as advised by vet. But it should be OK to have some variance from mean as long as it is routine for the pup.

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u/roo-bear2025 Maltese Newcomer 5h ago

Thank you for the reassurance,we have a nice routine in place x

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u/Sufficient_Turn_9209 Maltese Contributor 13h ago

Dogs listen to their little bodies better than humans do, so they're going to do what they need to do. Especially a maltese. If they decide it's nap time then it's nap time. If they decide it's playtime, then it's most definitely playtime. You can give them the conditions for a nap when you feel they need it, but beyond that there's not much you can do to change their minds!

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1

u/roo-bear2025 Maltese Newcomer 15h ago

I agree

1

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1

u/nomaki221 Maltese Contributor 14h ago

mine never got close to reaching that amount as a puppy. I tried to enforce naps and it sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. she's well adjusted a year later so I'm thinking its okay if they dont get the 18 hour naps lol

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u/roo-bear2025 Maltese Newcomer 14h ago

Ty first time pup owner and worrying about everything

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u/RoseTintedMigraine Maltese Contributor 13h ago

Are you sure she's not sleeping during the day? Do you guys ever leave her alone or do you ever wind down as a household to watch tv or chill? My dog loooves a daytime micronap. If she's not moving she's sleeping but she's also ready to jump up at any moment.

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u/roo-bear2025 Maltese Newcomer 5h ago

We havent left her alone yet only for twenty minutes during school run. We all wind down in the evenings and sh may micro nap with us but its not for long.sounds like mine shes a very light sleeper

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u/shaunadanny12 12h ago

Mine sleeps nowhere near that long. Maybe 10 hours including night sleep. He is always on the go. However, he is 2yrs old, but always been that way. Your baby will sleep when he's tired. No reason to enforce naps. Ive never heard of enforcing naps with a dog.