Our pets may not be able to understand a clock – but they definitely have a sense of time
Dogs might not be able to understand a clock – but that does not stop them from knowing it’s almost time for their next meal or a walk. They rely on a combination of sensory cues, like sounds, smells and environmental changes in order to almost predict the future.
According to I Heart Dogs, there is no physical grasp of hours and minutes in a dog’s mind. But, with enough of a routine established, dogs start to use their built-in body clock to almost anticipate day-to-day events.
Routines dominate a dog’s life. They thrive on “structure and predictability” to help them understand what’s going to happen next.
They don’t necessarily know it’s a certain time, but they will know they usually go for a walk or eat around this time. Their sense of time is tied more to ‘what usually happens now’ than to actual awareness of the time.
It is understood that dogs may actually “smell” the passing of time using their powerful noses. For example, if you leave the house, your scent fades while you’re away and dogs will learn to associate that fading smell with how long you’ve been gone.
This scent-based tracking helps them predict your return. To a dog, just how faded your natural scent is will mean it’s about time you return home.
But, food is also a major daily occurrence for a dog – and meal times also spark this scent and pattern-based behaviour. I Heart Dogs wrote: “They don’t know it’s exactly 6pm, but they know your behaviours that typically lead to dinner.”
A dog’s stomach is one of its most accurate timekeepers, signalling meal times just like it would for us humans. This is why our dogs will usually pace, whine and point out if dinner service is running later than usual.
Dogs also rely heavily on sound to interpret daily timing. From a car pulling up on the driveway, jingling keys or kitchen appliances beeping, these sounds help our dogs put together the pieces of the puzzle of what’s happening around them and let them link it to what should happen next.
An animal’s circadian rhythm is what controls their biological clock. The circadian rhythm is responsible for changes in the body that tell a dog when it is time to wake up, sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, and exercise.
Because dogs have a strong sense of routine, they can certainly tell when something is off. If certain sights, smells, and sounds aren’t happening, they’ll know a broken pattern in the rhythm of the day.
