Do dogs have any concept of time?

[hypermike]

Chumley has some sort of internal clock because when we try to sleep in on the weekends he begins the face & ear licking promptly at 6:30 am to get us out of bed to feed him his breakfast!

Reggie and I have perfected the weekend routine:

• Potty
• Kibble
• Back to bed

[Bethy]

I think it depends whether or not they are on some type of a daily schedule, where everything is done just about the same way, every day. Dogs that are on a schedule of feedings, people leaving, people coming home, daily walks, done at the same time every day, learn, I think, by the position of the sun, or by the way the sun comes in through windows during the day, when something is going to happen. I usually get home about 1 P.M. every day. The other day, when I came home early by about 1 1/2 hours, they were all sound asleep in their crates.......but when I come home at the regular time, they are all sitting up, looking towards the front door.
I think it's sort of like Pavlov's dogs. Dogs that are on a fixed schedule, are conditioned to know what time something is supposed to happen. Dogs that are not, and are usually just left outside, or free fed, not so much.

[Karl Ellzey]

Our dogs go nuts at 8:55 pm which is when we are going to start getting dinner ready at 9:00

So yes, they can tell time...

Or they can read the time on the cable box... I'm not sure.

[pegatha]

Same thing here with Toby, especially. He KNEW 5pm was dinner time, and any time after that was starvation situation. I have actually seen him limp near his food bowl after 5pm. Pearl used to go get Bob at precisely 2pm every afternoon for a nap. If he didn't come, she would go into the bedroom and bark from the pillow, quite preemptorily. She was a very bossy thing. And a million years ago, we had a Lhasa Apso, Echo, who loved Bob - she was sorta of like Lola - she bit everyone else. Anyway, she would go to the door, and within five minutes, Bob would be home. He drove 35 miles to work, and left at different times to come home, but she was quite consistent. We decided she had a web cam trained at the Interstate turnoff - only possible explanation.

Peg

PS - I like Reggie's morning best!

[Nicole]

Mine certainly know when its time to eat and time to go to bed.

Once I get out of the shower in the morning they are out of bed and sitting pretty on their eating rug. tails wagging. But just like Reggie, once they get fed, they are back to bed.

In the evening by about 4:30-5 they are in the kitchen barking and doin their spins.

There are times when they try to get fed at 3:30, but when I tell them "uh huh", they go back to playing, as if they KNEW they weren't gonna get fed yet, but wanted to try. It's pretty funny.

And at night, by 9pm they turn into little babies and cry to be picked up and held or they stand at my bedroom door and bark. TIME FOR BED!

So yea, they know time, or maybe they are just creatures of habit and know their schedules very well.

[crhpets]

I think they have to have some. StanLee goes to bed with me at the same time every night and sleeps through the night. I know some of it is repetition and being on a schedule, but he fact he settles down when it gets dark leads me to believe he has some concept of time.

[SaraFaust]

I believe what others have said that they have time concept as far as "when" things happen- I've come home early before and they are all quiet as I open the door- when I come home at my regular time, they start screeching and howling as soon as I pull up in the driveway!

I think the "no concept of time" thing is more like they don't really realize that 8 or 10 hours have passed at a time- like we do. Probably because they sleep so much!

[Nicole]

Oh to hang out at home all day and sleep and play with my friends and wait for my owner to get home to love me and feed me....... the good life~