Dog Training Update: Ginko’s Wake-Up Whines

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.