Do Dogs have any concept of time?

Question

I am late home from work at times and I get all anxious about my Lucky, who is alone at home.

Answer 1

Dog's sense of time


Dog's sense of time: It has been hypothesized that dog's notion of time (and its elapse) is not so much chronological as it is based on a biological rhythm that is linked to their terrific skills of memory association. We humans are often amazed at the ability our dogs have to anticipate the daily arrival of their masters from work or the kids from school. And how is it that they know what hour to wake up every morning summer or winter? How is it that dogs can tell the time? Dogs have been known to show up at a train station everyday at the same hour to receive their returning masters and everyone who has a dog knows that when meal times role around their dog shows up no matter where it was or what it was doing. So how is it that our dogs are able to know when it is time for certain things to happen or take place? One clue is that they live in a world predominately made up of humans and we

humans are generally quite predictable, waking and sleeping at certain hours, eating at certain set times, leaving and returning home at certain set times, etc…
One thing that we do know is that dogs over time build up a tremendous wealth of memory association cue. And they perceive the slightest changes and actions around them. By interpreting the multitudes of sensations around them such as the smells, amount of ambient light, actions of the people around them, turning on of artificial house lights, food preparations, etc… they are able to make decisions and act accordingly. Although we cannot deny the possibility of some special and unknown sense within dogs that allows them to know the time of day what we do know is that using the senses that are available to them and by picking up and processing the information that is all around them they are able to act and/or react in a surprisingly accurate and predictable way.

Answer 2

I think that dogs are aware of time on a a day to day basis (or even hour to hour).

Most dogs seem to know when regular events are due to occur like an owner returning, meal times, treat times, time for a walk.

Some of these things can be explained like feeling hungry or feeling restless but many dogs won't hang about the letterbox once the time has past for the postman to call.

I think your dog will know when to expect you home but if he isn't showing any obvious signs of distress when you get back late I wouldn't worry about it.

I doubt whether dogs have any concept of time passing in the broader sense. They may learn from experiences in the past but I doubt if they reminisce in the way people do and I don't think they will be too worried about the future.

I believe that although dogs can be both positively and negatively affected by their past, they live almost entirely in the present and have no concept of time passing and therefore do not worry about becoming old or homeless or any of the negative things we might worry about.

This also means that they can't look forward to special treats and outings so everything comes as a huge surprise!

Answer 3

My dog, like many others, has an accurate inner clock which tells her when it's food, walkie or bed time. I guess that Lucky might notice if these key moments passed without the activity occurring. However, in my experience, the moment of reunion is so joyous that any concept of waiting or anxiety must be instantly forgotten. Still, I know how you feel, and you certainly wouldn't want to leave any dog alone for too long. Is there a neighbour who could pop in and check Lucky for you?

Answer 4

My dog Ben knows exactly when I should be going upstairs to get changed to take him for a walk..whereas my other dog Millie has not idea!!! Ben will also go to the front door five minutes prior to my husband pulling up outside in the car...this is far more random as my husband can go out for anything from 5 minutes to 5 hours..again, Millie doesn't seem to notice...I think some dogs are more tuned in to times and routines and the anxiety of separation than others.

Answer 5

I think they do, our dog sits by the door at exactly 5.25 pm every day waiting for my hubby to get home at 5.30 pm, but the strange thing is for part of the year my hubby gets home at 4.30 pm and our dog knows when that happens and she is at the door at 4.25 pm on the first day he starts coming home at that time, he gets up at 5.30 am each day and a few weeks ago we had a power cut during the night so of course the alarm was off but for some reason our dog woke my hubby up at exactly 5.30 am by shoving her nose in his face as if to say, get up or you'll be late, now tell me they have no concept of time, like you I believe they do.

Answer 6

I don't think they do. Have you ever seen a dog wearing a watch? They will be aware of night and day, and will sleep when tired or have nothing else to do.

Younger dogs are a worry, if left alone they will occupy themselves with some activity, and this could result in destructive behaviour.

Answer 7

While dogs don't sense time in the same way we do they quickly develope a routine and this is what your dogs are demonstrating. Mine know exactly when 6:00am rolls around and they remind me every day. It's much easier for me to feed and potty them at 6 every morning and then go back to bed for my extra winks.

Answer 8

Yes ,, they are very habitual animals ,, particularly sensitive to the exact day of time.

My mutt is a popular neighbourhood dog ,, and he knows the correct times to toggle between my street , the street behind and home. He is accurate to 10 minutes on good days ,, he sometimes gets it half hour off.

Answer 9

Definately. An example for you: My dogs used to get fed at 7am and 330pm, had to change that to 6am for the first feed and bang on 230pm my eldest dog was standing in front of me with the ' i want my dinner look!'
They know what time my husband gets in from work, around 630pm they're at the window watching for him coming up the drive.

Answer 10

i don't know about "concept" of time as we know it, but they seem to have an internal clock, I had a dog when i was younger that knew when i was coming home from school, he would be at the bus to meet me every night at the same time.. and noooo, he didn't just sit there all day after i got on the bus...lol...