Does Daylight Savings Time stress your dog?

Who’s ready to spring forward this weekend? That’s right! On Sunday, at 2 am, remember to set your clocks ahead one hour for Daylight Savings Time.

Oh, wait, that means we actually lose an hour of sleep. (I’m more of a fan of the “fall back”, which takes place in November, and gives me an extra hour of dozing with Cooper.)

And, if we lose an hour of sleep, so do our four-legged counterparts. Sure, they don’t exactly tell time, but they do have a biological clock. You know, the one that goes off at 6 am on Saturday’s because that’s their normal feeding time during the week. They are creatures of habit.

Point being, it’s not just our clocks that will be affected during this time change, your pet's internal clock will be altered as well.

Now, for Cooper, this won’t be a very big issue. See like me, he’s not a fan of mornings, and is happy to eat whenever the occasion arises (when we fall back, however, he’ll probably be pestering me for grub).

But, not every dog is as easy as Cooper. And, while I get to enjoy the comfort of my bed in the morning on Sunday, many of you may need to be up and at ‘em. You may find that your dog is confused, or stressed at this change in schedule. If your routine is set in stone, you may want to consider changing Rover's feeding or potty breaks for the next couple of days, so that he is up for the adjustment. Also consider getting up early on Saturday, and for a few days afterward, so your dog adjusts to the time change gradually.

You should also watch your pet for signs of stress—i.e. scratching, licking, panting, yawning, shedding, getting into the trash can (OK, this may just be bad behavior). If you see some of this behavior, know that the time change may be causing some stress on them, like it is on you. Perhaps be sure to give yourself some extra time to spend with them.

It won’t take long, and they’ll be set into this new schedule, just like you.

Psst: Don’t forget to change the batteries in your smoke detector, as well.