Food and water before the flight

Hi all,
We are a week from take off! :-/

Just about to get the paperwork rolling and checking the final details.
I have one question I want to run by you guys.

The airline instructions say you need to post on top of the crate the last time the dog was offered food and water but it doesn't say how long it should be.

I've read different times online.
I called the cargo office from the airport we are departing from (Newark) and they told me 8 hours. But that seems a bit long to me considering that we have to drop him off 4 hours early for a 7 hour flight. Also it's going to be hot. I guess he will get water en route so he should be okay but I was wondering what thoughts and experiences you have about this. Is there a range that is okay? For example if I feed him something 6 hours before the flight will it be okay? Also don't want him to be uncomortable if he's got to go so maybe 8 hours is best even though he'll be starving when he lands. We plan on giving him a BIG walk before we head for the airport so he should be all peed and pooed out.

Appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks,
Aimee

Its been awhile but I think we just fed them at their normal eating time for that day. So like breakfast- maybe a little later.  I don't remember having to put it anywhere but I could be wrong.  I don't think they drank much during the flight and I think we offered them stuff as soon as we collected them.

I moved my cats just last month, and here's how we handled it (based on advice from British Airways' IA Cargo division): The kittens were allowed to eat and drink normally until six hours pre-flight. In the required water dishes, I froze water overnight. When we were getting in the car to leave for the airport, I attached the water dishes (with glorified ice cubes in them) to the carrier doors. The water melted slowly overnight, so they had a steady flow of available water over a period of time. No food was sent along, as I wasn't allowed to include that.