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October 8, 2010

At first, we blamed Ginko’s early-morning wake-up calls on knee pain. Then, we had that whole excessive thirst and urination thing going on. Now, we’re not sure if he’s just hungry on the new turkey/sweet potato food or merely a pain in the neck. So, we’ve been experimenting with some things, and for now … it seems to be working.

Step 1: Start feeding Ginko more food.

Since we’ve switched to a higher-quality food, I’ve had trouble figuring out how much to feed him. You’d think with better quality ingredients that perhaps he would need a bit less food, but that does not seem to be the case.

So, I’m feeding him 1.5 cups of food twice a day … because honestly in the right light, if he is panting, I can see his ribs.

Step 2: Stop feeding the dogs as soon as we get up.

We’ve begun waiting at least 20-30 minutes after we arise (on our own timetable) before we feed the dogs. They seem to be adjusting to the new routine, but that first day I swear Ginko looked crestfallen.

Step 3: Feed dinner later.

The theory is that I’d rather have Ginko being fussy in the afternoon than at 4 am. And, honestly, for the first few days it even meant that neither dog really started “humming for dinner” until much later.

That’s a nice break, when it’s late in the day, and I’m on deadline.

That trend, however, did not last. The pacing and vocalizations began on schedule most days this week around 4 pm … about an hour before their old dinnertime.

Results? Mixed!

Well, for a few days, we deemed ourselves geniuses, but it didn’t last. Ginko is still waking us up once in a while. For now, my strategy is to take him out to potty, then straight back to his crate with a small dog biscuit to tide him over until breakfast.

Earlier this week, that bought me another 2 hours of rest.

The other benefit, so far, is that when I do finally feed them in the morning, there is MUCH less over-threshold noise and excitement.

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  1. With my old dog we had good success with a small evening snack right before bed. I actually stumbled on that when the puppy needed a little extra to get him through the night and it worked well for her. She had some liver problems so sometimes had naseau on an empty tummy. I basically cut back the evening meal a bit and then gave a handful of kibble as part of our bedtime ritual. Worked for us :o).

  2. Thanks so much for the link Roxanne…I will be trying that out over the next few days. Unfortunately, when i first adopted Poppy, i got so tired that i gave in and fed her, just so i could get some sleep.This was of course the slippery slope to continued sleepless nights. It reminds me of when my (human)babies were tiny and i had to get up to feed them, except that i’m now 56 and struggling to cope with the lack of sleep! Thanks again.

  3. It’s always hard getting the dogs on a schedule and then keeping to it. I have trouble every time we have the daylight savings time switch here!

  4. I am following your sleeping habits with interest!! 4 months ago i adopted a 6 year old ex breeding puppy mill girl. From the start she woke me at 5am. All attempts to get her back to sleep failed, so in desperation, i fed her. That has continued and is the quickest way for us all to get back to sleep. Once she has been fed, she will then sleep through till 10am if i let her. She always goes out for a wee and poo after she has eaten, so i figure it may be the toilet as well as the need for food that wakes her. Maybe she was fed at 5am in the puppymill? Recently 5am has become 4am, which is really wearing me out. Ive tried feeding earlier, later, more walks, less walks, more food etc, but nothing works. Any ideas welcomed!

  5. I think you’re still hurting yourself by taking him out and giving him a biscuit if he wakes up in the morning before you’re ready. With my dogs I usually won’t even take them outside as they should be able to hold it, their last outside is 10-11pm so asking them to wait until 8 or even 9:30 on the weekends should not be a problem. But at the very least a quick 2min trip outside and straight back to the crate, no treat, should be it.

    I also haven’t seen your dogs, but I personally like being able to really easily feel the ribs and even being able to see the last 1-2ribs when the dog is exercising. But I do know people who feed their dogs green beans and other vegetables to have some extra filler so their dogs feel fuller in between meals.

    I like not feeding the dogs right away in the morning and feeding dinner later. Usually my dogs dont eat until 7pm.

    1. Thanks for your input, Laura. That is a valid point about the treat. He has only done the wake-me-up thing once this week, so we’re making progress.

      Since Ginko is getting older and has some health issues, I try to give him the benefit of the doubt on these things. He really isn’t the kind of dog to cause trouble unless he really needs something.

      I’ll be interested to see what he weighs when we take him in on Monday (he is having knee trouble again). They wanted me to take a few pounds off him, and I’m pretty sure he has lost weight … because I can see his ribs when he is just standing there breathing hard and because a couple people who have visited have been like … holy crap! he looks skinny … so we’ll see.

      Last weigh in, he was a full 8 pounds less than he was at the height of his youth and musclehood.

      I’m guessing he is below 60 pounds now, and for a lab+greyhound his size, I think that’s pretty good.

  6. It sounds like Ginko now eats the same brand of food as our R. It’s a good food, I think. I love that it doesn’t have a ton of superfluous ingredients.

    We’ve always been a bit haphazard in our feeding times so our dogs don’t pester us much about meals. The only time that they have any expectation that they’re about to eat is after their evening hike – but even then, they’re willing to do some training and games before eating. Their dinner often isn’t until 8 PM – Ginko would be having apoplexy by then!

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