Are dogs affected by daylight saving time change?

Does it affect your dog when daylight saving time comes around? You bet! On Sunday, March 12th our clock moved forward by an hour and such a change can impact the life of our furkids strongly. Our furry friends have what animal behavior experts call circadian rhythm, an internal clock that tells them when it is time to eat, sleep, go potty, and everything else they have going on during the day.

So what can you do to help your canine buddy adjust to the time change without causing them to feel stressed, anxious or having any unwanted behavior? You can help them by making little changes to your schedule a few days before the time change takes place until you reach the correct time.

Adjusting their feeding schedule by a few minutes at a time, will help your dog to gradually adapt to the schedule change without causing any stress or ‘bad’ behaviors such as begging, chewing things they shouldn’t chew, or raiding the trash bins.

Another way to help them is by holding off on the morning walk for a few minutes but don’t let them waiting for too long or they might find a houseplant or a rug to do their morning and afternoon business.

Your furry friend misses you when you go to work. They sure appreciate the extra hour in the morning but they are still expecting for you to come home on time. Spend some time running a short errand before you get home from work will also help them adjust to you arriving home an hour later without causing anxiety, having ‘accidents’ or destroying your belongings.

Pay extra attention to your fur buddy needs during this transition and offer them extra comfort and love and patience if they show any signs of stress or anxiety.

Laura.