4yr old mill rescue: sleep and panting

[MaggieMaysMommy]

My newest question has to do with SLEEP! Maggie sleeps all night in her crate (11pm to 7am)...she then curls up on the couch and snoozes on and off all day. When shes not asleep shes looking around but resting...she is 4 yrs old and weighs 7.5 pounds. She eats once a day a 1/2 c of dry blue buffalo kibble mixed with a tbsp or so of wet food mixed in, and does drink water (not tons but visits the bowl twice a day it seems)...I am feeding her enough right? All her exercise comes from her trips out to go potty 3xs a day. I try to keep her out for as long as I can to explore and move around but she's afraid of the outdoors (making progress on that though!). I have to say, the upside is, its hard for a dog who is sleeping constantly to have accidents in the house! lol - I am not complaining, if shes just a sleepy little girl I am content to have her snuggled up to me, but should I be concerned? For those who have rescued mill breading dogs, is this common behavior during the adjustment period?

Side note while I have you here, she also starts to pant every night at about 10/11 pm...it lasts about 5 minutes and then she stops...she's obviously not panting because she was running, and she's not over heated. Stress???

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi and welcome to YT . Bless your heart for taking in a mill breeding dog, that poor little girl. I know w/ your TLC she will heal and flourish.

How long have you had her now? I think the very first thing I'd do is get a full blood panel on her so you can get a baseline and see if anything is off...have you done that yet? As far as the sleepiness, dogs do sleep almost all day...I'm home w/ mine all day long and most of their time is spent sleeping/resting...then they perk up around meal time bc we often play fetch first. And later in the evening it's more sleeping , lol. What a life, eh? Eat, sleep, play...sounds good to me! So, I don't know if I'd worry too much about her sleeping yet. Does she want to play w/ you when you get down on the floor and play, yet?

I would keep doing what you're doing...getting her outside as much as possible, eventually progressing to walks.

As far as eating, can you break it up and feed her twice a day? It'd probably be better to feed her twice a day rather than once. You want to feed her the amount that is for her ideal weight.

[MaggieMaysMommy]

Thanks so much for the response! I do have a vet appointment scheduled for next week, for a wellness exam and will ask for baselines, thanks for the suggestion! Whew, ok, Im glad to hear its ok for her to sleep a lot. Like I said, its fine by me! I work form home and I am delighted to have her curled up next to me while I am on my computer. She is really adjusting well in my opinion considering the life she led prior to my house. Maybe shes just so happy to have a quiet soft place to lay after breeding all those pups in a horrid cage, and now, like any exhausted mother, is catching up on some zzzz's

She doesnt really "play" yet, but she is just now starting to show interest in her kong toy. And if i put her on the floor she will do laps around the coffee table - but really shes just looking for access up onto the couch She is timid but we are being very patient

[gracielove]

I agree that a dog her age does sleep a lot. You may be able to teach her to play some indoor fetch by buying some small soft balls that you can toss around for her.

Exercise is important for the health of your dog although you don't want to push her into such activities, eventually and gradually you should be able to show her how to have fun. I'm sure she is accustomed to sleeping most of the time because of her former life.

Fixing a place for her by a window that she can observe the outdoors by can help her get accustomed to the outside while she still is feeling the safety of the indoors. Maybe eventually she will become brave enough to go for a walk with you.

Best wishes on this adventure. It is all about patience and consistency with lots and lots of love.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by MaggieMaysMommy

Thanks so much for the response! I do have a vet appointment scheduled for next week, for a wellness exam and will ask for baselines, thanks for the suggestion! Whew, ok, Im glad to hear its ok for her to sleep a lot. Like I said, its fine by me! I work form home and I am delighted to have her curled up next to me while I am on my computer. She is really adjusting well in my opinion considering the life she led prior to my house. Maybe shes just so happy to have a quiet soft place to lay after breeding all those pups in a horrid cage, and now, like any exhausted mother, is catching up on some zzzz's

She doesnt really "play" yet, but she is just now starting to show interest in her kong toy. And if i put her on the floor she will do laps around the coffee table - but really shes just looking for access up onto the couch She is timid but we are being very patient

Awww, she sounds like such a sweetie...would love to hear how she keeps progressing in her new, loved up life w/ you.