Can Dogs Tell How Much Time Has Passed?

We all know that our pup is the most brilliant, perfect little creature to ever grace the earth with its presence. Despite this perfection, however, we also all know that our dogs can't exactly read clocks. 

However, that doesn't mean that dogs can't tell that time has passed. As humans, we tell time by seconds, minutes, and hours. Dogs may not do that, but there is evidence out there showing that dogs understand time "based on changes in their behavior when left alone by their human companions for different lengths of time." 

The importance of this research is that it shows that "dogs are capable of recognizing and responding to different spans of time." So while they may not be able to read the hands on a clock, or tell you down to the second how long you've been gone, they can at least perceive when their favorite human has been gone for longer amounts of time. So, in a way, dogs are capable of understanding, at least in their own way, how much time has passed, especially in relation to you leaving!

Basically, your dog can tell time in a variety of ways. One has to do with understanding how long you've been gone, as we've already talked about. In numerous studies, dogs showed significantly increased "excitement" behaviors when their owners were gone for longer periods of time. 

"The dogs [in one study] became much more excited when their owners returned after 2 hours compared to 30 minutes," with researchers reporting behavior of increased tail wagging, alertness, and basically just a happier, more excited pup. "This indicated that dogs knew that time had passed, and that they seemed to care." So, the longer you're gone, the more ecstatic your dog will be when you get home!

Another way that dogs can "tell time" depends on routine. You may notice that your dog seems to know when it's time for a walk, time for dinner, or time for bed. That's because dogs also notice routines and patterns. 

If your normal routine is taking your dog out first thing in the morning when you wake up, your dog will know that it's time for their walk when you open your eyes in the morning. If you usually get home and feed your pup shortly thereafter, your pup will know that they're going to get fed quickly after you get home. 

Studies have shown that some dogs learn to associate certain things with certain events - "your dog may know, for example, that when the sunlight coming through the window starts to dim, its almost dime for her dinner." In regards to routine, your dog will become more alert when they see something that they're used to that leads to another action, like walking towards their leash or cleaning out their food bowl. 

Lastly, like all animals, dogs have a circadian rhythm. "Circadian rhythms are the physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle, responding to light and dark in the animal's environment." Circadian rhythms are essentially biological clocks that tell animals when it's time to sleep, when it's time to be hungry, and more. 

While all species have different circadian rhythms (humans are active during the daytime, cats and bats are more nocturnal, etc.), dogs have rhythms that are somewhat similar to ours. As a result, they'll be tired when we usually are, hungry when we usually want to eat, and everything else that our internal clock tells us. This "internal" or "biological" clock is another way your dog can distinguish time! Signs that your dog understands time in regards to their circadian rhythm are getting tired when the sun sets or begging for food around the time you start to get hungry!

Your dog may not be able to read a clock, but their body and their routine will tell them when it's time to eat, when it's time to play, and when it's time to sleep. However, it's difficult to know how accurately dogs really can tell time. With humans, throughout studies, we can tell researchers that we know that a few minutes have passed, several hours have gone by, or we've been doing this for days. Our dogs (unfortunately) can't talk to us, so the only way we know about their awareness are their behaviors and reactions. 

Additionally, it's also important to remember that while dogs can sense a generalized passage of time, studies show that "a dog cannot make a connection between a behavior and a consequence if there is more than a 4 second lag in between." This means that if your dog gets into trouble while you're gone, there's a chance they won't understand what you're mad about by the time they get home. 

So while your dog may get that you may not come home for a while, that food becomes available at a certain time, or that the sun setting means it's time to go to sleep, they may not understand the connection between your anger and the trash they went through 6 hours ago.

No, you are never going to be able to strap a watch on Rover and tell him you'll be back at 5. But what you can do is establish a solid routine so that your dog becomes more comfortable with you coming and going all day.

A great way to do this is to wake up at the same time every morning (okay, maybe not on the weekends!). After you get up, serve yourself breakfast and give Fido his as well - yep, at the same time each morning. 

If you have consistent work days, you can keep Fido at ease by coming home for lunch at the same time, or arranging for a dog-walker to pop in at the same time each day. This breaks up his day so that he's not just moping around, waiting for you.

Finally, keep dinner time, evening play and bedtimes consistent, and soon your pup will be a master of routine!