Circadian Rhythms | My Dog the Alarm Clock

Tock from Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth

According to the National Institutes of Health, 

Circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment. They are found in most living things, including animals, plants and many tiny microbes.

Circadian rhythms affect our hormones which in turn influence our sleep-cycles. Generally speaking we're all subject to these rhythms; as are our pets. I've always been amazed at how spot on a dog's internal clock can be. Maxwell used to wake up at 6:00 a.m. (give or take a couple of minutes) pretty much every morning - right on the dot. He loved to eat and made sure we woke up with him and filled his bowl with food. Around 5:50 p.m. he would start to get restless in anticipation for dinner. If we didn't feed him right at 6:00 p.m. he would lie down on his belly and stare at his bowl. It was so sad and cute at the same time.
 

Andy's been having some difficulty adjusting to our daily routine; at least in the mornings. His internal clock has been going off early - 5:30 a.m. early! Every morning I tell him, "Andy, it's too early. Get back in bed." He typically ignores me and goes downstairs before eventually making his way back up. In the meantime I can't go back to sleep because I'm paranoid he's going to pee on the floor. These early morning interruptions to my sleep are starting to take their toll. I know half an hour doesn't sound like such a big difference but I value every minute of shut eye I can get. Sleeping in seems to be a thing of the past. Sigh.