Adjusting Your Pet to Daylight Savings Time

You wouldn't think an hour would matter too much one way or the other, would you? I have heard a ton of complaints about how hard it is for us humans to adjust to daylight savings time. It is really confusing to our pets, since they don't realize that we intentionally changed our clocks for daylight savings time. They just know that their dinner is either an hour late or an hour early if we don't try to adjust them to the time change.

Start Adjusting Pets Schedule Gradually

Do you adjust your pets schedule to adapt to the time change, or do you just stick to what the clock says? If you normally feed your pet at 5:00 each evening, his or her tummy has its own feeding clock. It's especially confusing for the pet when it is "fall back" time, because the animal will think their dinner is an hour late.

My dogs tell time quite well, and will begin following me around when it is close to their dinner time. The old cat outside will start meowing at the door. They quite honestly don't care about saving any daylight, they just know their tummy clock says feed me.

I forgot about the time change this year and didn't adjust them for the full week ahead of time. Today is the first day of the "fall back" time and they were barking an hour earlier then their dinner time, according to the clock. They got their dinner early today and I will have to start adjusting gradually to get them back on their "tummy" schedule.

You can split the difference and start feeding them a few minutes earlier or later, depending on spring or fall time changes. I usually try 10 minutes earlier or later and then add to it every day until the time actually changes. If your work schedule doesn't allow you to do that, try feeding your pets either a half hour earlier or later to get their tummy clocks synchronized.

We humans complain about how much that hour's difference messes up for us and we know exactly why we are eating an hour later, or earlier, then we are used to. Our pets, along with feeling hungry, may feel almost neglected, as they look to us for their needs. They won't understand why you are not feeding them when their tummy says you should. Adjusting their feeding schedule gradually will help them cope a little easier.

Adjust Walking or Sleeping Schedules

My two Shih Tzus know exactly when bed time is and they are not happy if that schedule is not adhered too. They even give company those looks that say, "Go home now," if it is getting close to our normal bedtime. Their internal clocks just amaze me. They know when it is feeding time, walking time and bedtime and as far as I know, they haven't learned to read the clocks.

Remember, your pets can't complain about the twice a year time changes like we do, but they are just as confused by it as we are. Just like we humans have to adjust to the hour earlier or hour later schedule, so do our pets. You can make it easier for them by adjusting their schedule gradually the week before the time change each year. You might even make it easier for your self too.

Have patience with them as they adjust. If you have a hard time going to bed for the first few days as your body adjusts to the extra hour or the lost hour, figure that your pet is having the same problem. Eventually both of you will adjust to the hour's difference in time and things will be back to normal.


More by this contributor:
Tips for Raising a Hyper Young Puppy with an Older Dog
Dog Theft on the Rise: How to Protect Your Dog
The Search for Hanah: Dog Lost in Joplin Tornado