In the video, which has over 630,000 likes, Bradley, a golden retriever, can be seen tucked up in bed with a teddy bear, while his owner walks toward him saying, “Wakey, wakey it’s time for school. Come on wake up” as he shakes him gently, even lifting his paws up as Bradley plays dead and refuses to open his eyes.
According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), “Dogs tend to spend as much as half of their days asleep, 30 percent awake but relaxing, and just 20 percent being active. Older dogs require more sleep just because they tire out more easily and, as a general rule, bigger breeds also spend more time dozing.”
If your dog is sleeping up to 50 percent of the time, there may be times where you’re going to want to wake them up, but this comes with some issues, according to the AKC.
Quoting the saying “Let sleeping dogs lie,” the AKC suggests that while it may be tempting to wake your dog, “Disrupting a dog during REM sleep can result in serious consequences…Touching a dog when he is dreaming may startle him and cause him to bite or scratch involuntarily,” the AKC says.
Pet advice site PetMd warns that if your dog is sleeping a little too much, it could have a sleeping disorder. Four common types of sleep disorder include, narcolepsy, insomnia, sleep apnea and REM behavior disorder.
Of those four, narcolepsy affects dogs in a similar way to humans, and, as PetMd reports, “A dog with narcolepsy will suddenly collapse on its side and fall asleep, usually after a period of excitement or physical activity (such as eating, playing, greeting family members, etc.). The muscles will become slack and the dog will appear to be in a deep sleep with rapid eye movement (REM sleep).”
While it isn’t a life-threatening or painful condition, it is incurable but can be managed, either by minimizing triggers or with medication.
Comments on TikTok were almost universally fawning in nature. User Dimitar said, “Let the poor baby just sleep.”
User Emma Kate Edmands commented, “Why is my goldie puppy the oppposite lol 6am wake up including on weekend.”
User Chloe said, “me waking up my brother in the morning.”
User jozsi2552 wrote, “So cuteee.”