Internal Clocks and Daylight Savings Time

Pets like structure and schedules.  An example of this is that after Kevin and I eat breakfast I then make up the bed.  Our girls, Binks and Spirit wait patiently or impatiently at times for me to put the spread and all the pillows on the bed.  I then put Baby’s “Chicago Bear” blankie on Kevin’s side of the bed.    Baby climbs up the stairs to the bed and heads for her blankie.  By this time, Spirit has her “crazy” eyes and I ask, Spirit, do you want to play?  Meorw she answers.  Are you sure you want to play?  Meorrrwwww!  What do you want to play with?  She then leads me to the secretary where their wand toys are kept.  Do you want to play with your boxing wands?  Meoorrrwww!  Where are they?  She then stand up on the secretary and stretches her paw up to the door.  I open the door and pull out their favorite two (don’t ask how many they have).  Do you want to play with these boxing wands?   Meeoorrrrrwwww! And she leads me back to the bed for playtime. 

Both cats and dogs are very quick at picking up stuff and usually 2 or 3 times becomes habit.  If our schedule is changed for some reason; their whole morning is off kilter. 

I love to be able to turn off the two alarms on the clock on Friday when I don’t have early morning clients to care for but unfortunately one can’t turn of the “cat alarm”.  The girls don’t care if it’ a weekend, they want their gourmet breakfast and they want it now!

Keep in mind that the inane practice of daylight savings time affects our pet’s internal clock.  If your dog is used to going out at 6 am and DST forces our clocks ahead one hour, their internal clocks are saying Hey!  I needed to go out an hour ago!!!  This is especially important when trying to housebreak a puppy.

I for one would love it if we quit this antiquated practice of changing the clocks.  Keep it one way or the other.  Not only do I struggle for 2 weeks with the change to DST but I am at amazed at all the clocks we have to change.  When I was growing up we had a clock on the stove and my parents wind up alarm clock.  Now, there is the alarm clock, the grandfather clock, the clocks in the two bathrooms, the clock in the sitting area, the clock on the frig, stove and microwave.  And Kevin would add, all these clocks and she still can’t be on time!