Everyone in the US, apart from Hawaii and Arizona, looks forward to the second Sunday of each March when they can set the clock forward by an hour at 2 a.m. The result is that millions of Americans miss the following morning’s worship and stay sleepy for a couple of weeks. A cup of coffee helps us keep off sleep on Monday. But how does daylight savings time affect your dog?
Benjamin Franklin is one of the reasons we adjust our clocks by
an hour. He noted that people wasted valuable oil, wax, and free
light by burning candles to work into the night and sleep through
the morning sunshine. In his essay, An Economical Project for
Diminishing the Cost of Light, he suggested that Parisians used the
seasons to adjust clocks in order to maximize productivity and save
resources. Germany became the first country to implement the idea
in 1916. When the US followed suit in 1918, the result was grumpy
Americans complaining about a lost hour every Marchfor almost a
decade.
Daylight Savings messes our body’s natural rhythm leading to
moodiness, insomnia, and reduced productivity. Our dogs also suffer
the effects of daylight savings, but in a different way.
Animals, particularly dogs, have their physiology and behavior
tuned to the cycles of light and dark. They wake with the sunrise
and sleep after sunsets. They work like clockwork and develop
precise patterns. But dogs can’t read clocks, so why should a
60-minute modification affect them?
It isn’t the time modification that really affects them, but
the sudden change in your routine that does. Their interactions
with you suddenly change, and you will take them to go potty an
hour early or late, serve them meals at a time they are not used to
and reschedule their walks. The mornings are suddenly earlier and
the evening walks are late and warmer. They find these changes so
sudden and challenging. There is a need to help them adapt to the
time changes.
The first week is quite unsettling, however, that can be
corrected by an additional walk or an extra shot of caffeine. It
helps to develop a routine and stick to it. Go to bed at a normal
time even if you aren’t feeling tired. Put the dog to sleep
at regular times even when it’s not ready. The sooner it
settles into the new schedule the more rested it will be. Besides,
a little more sleep won’t hurt, will it?
More playtime and longer walks are usually enough to get them into
the new routine and improve their sleep patterns and quality.
Relaxing scents and nutritional supplements such as melatonin can
be used if the dog is extremely sensitive to time changes. However,
make sure that you get advice from a veterinarian before using
supplements.
Avoid sugary or high carbohydrate meals before bedtime. Since dogs
cherish routines so much, try to feed it at the same time every
day. Before leaving the house, wake the dog, take it for a walk,
feed it and take it for one more walk.
Prolonged spring and summer times will also help them become more
active. Dogs have a close connection to the environment. The spring
solstice makes them friskier, and as the weather warms, they get
renewed vigor.
Basically, your dog is welcome to the time change. It means more
playtime, longer and warmer naps, and more bonding time with you.
It is your response to daylight savings that affects them. If you
become grumpy, you could affect your pups mood.
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