Some questoins about food&sleep

First let me give you guys some history before i ask my question. For the longest time I have been a bad mommy and have not walked my dogs, but they have always played out in the yard and occasionally go to the dog park. I feed Lana Canidae, she is 45 pounds. Syd gets Natural Choice for sensitive stomachs and she is 35 pounds. Normally I feed them each a little over a cup of dry in the AM and little over a cup of dry in the PM.

Now for my question. For the last week I have been taking them on hour walks. And as of a couple days ago I started taking them on 50min jogs. Since I increased their amount of exercise, should I increase the amount of food I am giving them and if so by how much? Syd isn't skinny but you can kind of see her ribs, not all of them, just like the last 3. I'm worried I'm not giving them enough. All together they get about 2 cups a day each of dry.

Also another questoin not food related. I havnt gotten good sleep in about 7 months. All the dogs sleep with me in my bedroom with the door closed, cause i cant trust them roaming in the middle of the night. In the early morning if I move my arm while I sleep or roll over Lana and Winnie get up and start pacing and breathing in my face. Since I'm a light sleeper, once that wakes me I'm up for good. Syd is the only one who doesnt do this. So for the last couple nights I have put Lana and Winnie in their dog room, Lana in her crate in the dog room and Winnie free roaming in the dog room. I have gotten so much sleep now, i am so happy but at the same time feel guilty for making those two sleep in there. I just need some sleep! What would you guys do if this was your situation? Thanks everyone!

 

I would think if they were able to maintain a good weight w/out the exercise now that you've increased their exercise you should also increase their calories. A person who exercises regularly should eat more cause they are burning more calories - without maintaining a good calorie count throughout the day, and exercising, the body starts to live off muscle tissue. Gotta eat well if you are burning calories off (I should talk LOL).

And no...if I were sleeping better cause my animals were keeping me awake and I had to make other arrangements I wouldn't feel guilty - well i wouldn't feel guilty while I was sleeping soundly. Are they also sleeping better? Are they acting depressed cause they aren't sleeping with you?

My cats sleep on me and now and then I wish they wouldn't cause there are nights when I get those lovely night sweats and having those 3 bodies attached to me doesn't help at all. My problem is I sleep on the sofa....my hubby's snoring is why Mt. Washington has avalanches...I have no place to close them up and 2 of them being Siamese cats if I did put them in another room I wouldn't get any sleep from their yowling wanting to be with me!!! So I'm darned if I do, darned if I don't. I love Tylenol PM :y_the_best:

 

Winnie and lana dont seem to be depressed being in there at night. They dont make any noises or cry or anything when they are in there. I just feel guilty, and am so tired of waking up at 6am when i dont have to.

I know what you mean about the cats, I only have one so i feel bad for you with 3 sleeping on you. I actually kicked the cat out lastnight since she decided to start exploring and knocking things over while i was trying to sleep. I think its better for me sleepwise to only have Syd inthe room, she doesnt make a sound and sleeps better then me. She would have a fit sleeping in the dog room, luckily she is so good in the bed room.

I think my problem is that I'm such a light sleeper. Everything wakes me up which makes it hard for me to sleep with all the animals. I did purchase a spray bottle for the cat and realized that it works wonders on the dogs, especially Lana, who is the worst in the mornings. I was thinking of letting them sleep with me and use the spray bottle when they come up to me to wake me up, but i think that would also make me feel bad...lol...but hey maybe it would work and we could all sleep together

 

I used to be a light sleeper, now when I sleep heavy I fear I wouldn't wake up if the house was on fire. BUT...if any of the animals meow, bark or a mouse squeaks I'm wide awake (my zeus is a hunter and he can get a mouse in the basement and I hear the squeak). I think that's the mother in me...used to sleeping and listening for babies.

My dog will go out at 5am (she's aging...can't hold it all night), then at 6...I get up during the week at 6:45 - so at 5 I lay awake and wait for her to bark again to go out cause I know she'll want to. Then Zeus wants to eat, then I start sneezing (no idea why but every morning I have to have a sneezing fit), then I'm wide awake LOL I know what you mean....

 

I agree that you should probably increase their food a bit. Maybe a half cup each at first and see how they do on that amount.
If I were in your situation and was a light sleeper I'd probably keep the dogs out of my room too. I keep the cats out of my bedroom for the same reason.

 

Judge the weight of the dogs by how they look and feel. You should be able to feel the ribs easily but not see them. There should be a narrowing at the waist when seen from above. Of course, different dogs have different body types, so let your mommy's intuition guide you. If they were at a good weight before and now you are exercising them, a little more food would probably be in order. You can also keep weighing them and see if they are losing if you want to. I've found it takes no time at all to put weight on a dog.

As for the sleeping - my husband won't let the cats in our bedroom. Years ago they used to sleep with us, but they would get up and rummage around the room when they got bored and it drove my husband nuts. So when we moved into our house, he forbade cats from ever entering our bedroom and the door remains closed. For a while we had to lock them in the basement at night because they would scratch and yowl at the door. Eventually, they have learned not to do that so they don't have to go in the basement at night, although one cat seems to be picking up the habit again.

Anyway, I would say if the dogs don't seem unhappy and you are sleeping better, just go with it! My dogs sleep in my room in their crates and they are very good about not waking us up even when we sleep in on the weekend. If Bonnie cries it means she REALLY has to go out, so it only happens if she isn't feeling well for some reason. I don't even wake up in the morning anymore when they are staring at me, hoping I will get up - although I do wake up if someone vomits, LOL. Oh! And I can even get out of bed in the morning and use the bathroom and then get back in bed and after some rustling around and sighing, they are quiet again. I have the best doggies ever!

 

I still feel guilty because I had to put my dogs out of my bed over a year ago. They sleep in an adjoining room and Brie is still upset about it. She wakes up at any sound I make and then of course has to go pee. I gave up on fixing that and now I leave a wee wee pad down. I know it's separation anxiety with her because she doesn't do it at my Mom's or if I sleep on the floor with them. And she doesn't do it every night either. I can't say that I sleep any better though.