Pet's routines after the time change....

[CathyA]

Has anyone else noticed that your pet expects their food an hour earlier, since the time change? Both my dog's meals and her treat I've had to give her an hour earlier or she'll beg/whine mercilessly, since the time change. I don't blame her. She's hungry at the same "times" as before.........we humans are the ones who mixed things up.

[catherine]

Definitely.. I'm sure they are better at tuning into sunlight v. dark than watching the clock. I mean, my dog is really smart, but not THAT smart. We feed our dog at 6:30 in the summer and 5:30 in the winter.

[CathyA]

Thanks catherine. Do you only feed your dog once a day? I think our dog would eat MANY times a day if we gave it to her. Maybe its part of her thyroid disorder? We feed her around 6a.m. and 4p.m., with a little treat (with medicine) and a chunk of cucumber around noon.

[catherine]

Thanks catherine. Do you only feed your dog once a day? I think our dog would eat MANY times a day if we gave it to her. Maybe its part of her thyroid disorder? We feed her around 6a.m. and 4p.m., with a little treat (with medicine) and a chunk of cucumber around noon.

No, I feed her twice a day. Once in the a.m. after our morning walk, which again, differs according to the season--around 7am now, but as early as 5:30 in the spring--the morning light wakes her (and me) up. Then once again after her late pm walk. As a side note, our last dog was totally NOT a foodie! I could never get over it, but we would feed him and he would just let it sit there and nibble now and then, but wouldn't really eat--until we sat down as a family to eat. So when we were eating at the kitchen table, we'd hear Laddie crunching away at the kibbles in his bowl. Such a polite doggie!

[Float On]

Our dog has an underbite which actually makes it a little hard to eat so I just leave food out for him all the time. He eats a few pieces and comes back later for a few more. No gorging like when I had a little beagle - that dog once ate an entire 9x13 spongecake we'd sat in the garage to cool on a picnic table.

[CathyA]

That's funny.........I think our dog prefers to eat when we're eating too. I give her a combo of canned food and dry food. Many times she saves just a little of the dry food from her later afternoon meal, and crunches on it when we eat supper.
Was Laddie a small dog?
Its funny, but our dog begs for food alot more, since we've changed her to the better stuff! (Blue Buffalo dry and Taste of the Wild canned). Maybe it just tastes too good!?

[catherine]

That's funny.........I think our dog prefers to eat when we're eating too. I give her a combo of canned food and dry food. Many times she saves just a little of the dry food from her later afternoon meal, and crunches on it when we eat supper.
Was Laddie a small dog?
Its funny, but our dog begs for food alot more, since we've changed her to the better stuff! (Blue Buffalo dry and Taste of the Wild canned). Maybe it just tastes too good!?

Your point about good food is a good one--because we were so cash-strapped when the kids were small, we only fed Laddie Walmart Ol' Roy dry food. (Yuck). We did try Kibbles and Bits once, but Laddie meticulously picked out all the cheese bits and dropped them on the floor around his bowl and ate all the kibbles. Picky eater!

He was a yellow lab mix, about 45 pounds--tall as a lab, but very, very lean (no wonder).

Like your dog, Nessie also gets a mix of dry/wet. We've come up in the world. Now we get Alpo.

[Miss Cellane]

The cat's rule about feeding time:

Breakfast is at 6 am; dinner is at 6 pm. If food is ever provided even one minute earlier, that becomes the new official feeding time in perpetuity. If food is ever provided even one minute later, that is clearly a failure on the part of the support staff. Loud and frequent meowing, accompanied by kneading of the closest body part, must then take place starting one-hour hour prior to feeding time, every time, to prevent such a horrible occurrence from ever happening again.

It takes weeks to get the cat back on my schedule after the fall time change. He is very happy with the spring time change, however.

[CathyA]

Our dog has an underbite which actually makes it a little hard to eat so I just leave food out for him all the time. He eats a few pieces and comes back later for a few more. No gorging like when I had a little beagle - that dog once ate an entire 9x13 spongecake we'd sat in the garage to cool on a picnic table.

Oh no! Did she keep it down? :0!

[ctg492]

Yes my dogs are affected by the time change. Also I cross the time zone line every other week with them traveling back north, then back south. Kinda funny really.
For 12 years or so I said "9 o'clock " and the chihuahuas would know it was last call to go out. Barking and running around wild like. They passed on and I have three bigs dogs. They all look at me like what's the deal when I say 9 o'clock. They just never learned or cared.

[jp1]

My favorite thing is when we switch to daylight savings in the spring. The first day I get home from work our cats aren't waiting by the door for me because they think it's too early. But they hear me open the door and then frantically come running down the stairs to greet me.

[Miss Cellane]

Oh no! Did she keep it down? :0!

I once housesat for a beagle/pomeranian mix who ate a double batch of bread dough I had out rising on the kitchen counter. Did not slow him down one bit.

It took me three years to tell the owners about that little escapade. Then they told me about the time he ate half a down jacket, including the zipper, and lived to tell the tale without surgery.

Beagles must have cast iron stomachs.

[CathyA]

I once housesat for a beagle/pomeranian mix who ate a double batch of bread dough I had out rising on the kitchen counter. Did not slow him down one bit.

It took me three years to tell the owners about that little escapade. Then they told me about the time he ate half a down jacket, including the zipper, and lived to tell the tale without surgery.

Beagles must have cast iron stomachs.

LOL! Sounds like it must have been part goat!