Q. Do dogs in the wild sleep as much as domesticated animals?

A. Wild canines that rely on strenuous hunting to survive may sleep or rest as much as, or even more than, indolent human-created breeds that rely on a can or a bag of kibble.

Domestic dogs, with their great range of body types and personalities, show a tremendous variety of sleep patterns, often including relatively brief periods of deep sleep spread out over several hours.

A half-century-long study of wolves and their interaction with their prey on Isle Royale, a wilderness island in Lake Superior, found that in winter the wolves would feed for hours on a fresh kill, then sprawl out or curl up in the snow and rest or sleep about 30 percent of the time.