Do puppies put off sleeping?

[maryevaoh]

This is a theory my mom and I have come up with over the last few days, and we were wondering if it is at all possible.
Well, my 3 month pup will sometimes, even after going on a long walk or other tiresome activity, get overly playful and nippy when we get home and sit down at the couch (or something of the like). He will get bored of his toys easily, and will be very stubborn. He'll basically insist on mouth play with our hands. After we manage to distract him with toys for maybe 20 minutes, he will crash out for a long nap. Sometimes around an hour. Other than these "tantrums", he's a pretty calm and well-behaved puppy. It could just be teething, but usually if he's not in this over-excited state, he'll accept a good chew toy or stick for a good while. My mom asked if it might be similiar to how it is with humn children, who will often insist on playing, and will get moody and whiny because they're overtired.
Just wondering what anyone else's thoughts are on this. lol. :P

[luckypenny]

We find pups get overtired and wound up as easily as young kids do (I know I'm pretty crabby if I don't get my sleep either ). What helps immensely is putting them on a schedule and having an area such as a crate or playpen for down time. The last litter we fostered became so used to routine that they instantly fell asleep when put into their pen.

[maryevaoh]

Ahh, good to know. I gave up on crate training rather quickly, as what would have been his crate became his time out pen, and his training's been going well enough that I haven't really needed a place like that for him.
We got him a nice dog bed the other day, and have actually seen an improvement in this behavior since. It seems he's more willing to give up and go to sleep now, because normally he'd want to sleep in my room with me, but now he has a place to go while I'm in the living room or at the computer. And he'll often bring his toys to the bed with him, meaning that when he gets bored of them and he's tired, he'll go to sleep when he's done.

[pattymac]

That's what I noticed with my dog when she was a puppy. She'd get pretty crazy when overtired. So I crate trained her, so when she was like that, rather than have her destroy something, it was crate time. Sometimes she'd protest but usually within a few minutes she'd be fast asleep.