With their hectic schedule of continually juggling between eat, sleep and play throughout the day, you wouldn't think dogs had time to be affected by the time change.
But, they are. And that one hour time change can cause some confusion to dogs who are really in tune with their owner's schedules. Dogs, just like humans have an internal clock, a normal biological function called the circadian rhythm. This internal clock is typically set by exposure to natural sunlight. But since our dogs live in our homes, they aren't exposed to natural sunlight on a regular basis for their bodies to adapt to waking and sleeping to the rise and fall of our sun. Like us, they are exposed more often to artificial light. The result is that they tend to follow our circadian rhythm, which is dictated by the alarm clock. When we get up at the same time every day, they also get up at the same time. And this rhythm is what sets their internal clock.
You are all probably aware of this on the weekends when you try to sleep in but as you lay in bed, your dog is either sitting on you or resting their muzzle on the side of the bed while sighing heavily in an attempt to wake you and keep with their learned schedule.
They do this because they have become accustomed to their human's routine, because it also sets their routine. Getting up at 7 a.m. leads to a walk, which leads to food, which leads to a nap, for the dogs I mean.
(Eesh, what a life huh? Lucky dogs!) When there is a time change, the dog is expecting to get up at 7 a.m. for their walk, but now has to wait an hour later (for the fall) or will be woken up an hour earlier (in the spring). In either case, it can be confusing for a dog, just like it is when you try to sleep in on the weekends and they keep tossing their toys at you, trying to coax you out of bed.
Not only will the change in waking and sleeping time throw them off for a few days, but meal times may be affected as well. If you tend to feed your dog according to the clock, when 5 p.m. comes around, Fido may be pacing in the kitchen looking for his dinner even though the fall time change says it's only 4 p.m. If your dog does his potty business at particular times of the day, you might find a not-so-welcome present waiting for you when you walk in the front door - when Fido expected to go out for a piddle at noon and you were still having brunch at the café at 11 a.m. If this happens, there is no need to blame the dog. Their bodies are just responding to their routine, which has been put off by the time change. It does not require a behaviourist to come in and assess your dog's emotional state. It does mean that you have to find a happy medium. Consider feeding your dog or taking them out a bit closer to their accustomed time and then over the next few days, stretch the time a bit each day until it matches the new later time. In a few days their routine will be familiar again and everything will be right as rain.
Remember, dogs don't understand the concept of daylight savings, or the switch back to standard daylight time. Well, let's be honest, most of us don't either. At one time in history it proved worthwhile, but in today's lifestyle it seems more of a bother than a benefit.
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her through her website k9kinship.com.
