Do Dogs Have a Sense of Time? Do Dogs Know When it is Time to Eat?

How many times have you wondered how your dog knows it is time for a morning walk? Or it is time to eat? It is also amusing to see how the little one gets restless when her human is about to return home. So, do dogs have a sense of time? Do they know when it is time to eat? 

Dogs may not read clocks, but they have a strong sense of time and routine says research. For pet parents, noticing their dog waiting near food bowl at the same hour every day is pretty common. They also seem to get ready to greet their humans. Experts state that it is a mix of biology, memory and learning.

How Dogs Sense Time?

Dogs are sticklers for routine. They rely heavily on routines. They study daily patterns. Changes in light, household sounds and human activity help them predict events. 

Dog’s biological clock, the 24-hour circadian cycle, tells them when exactly is the time to eat, sleep and perform other daily activities. If you are used to playing with your pet at a particular time of the day, your pet would be ready every day at the same time for playing with you. The same goes with walking, feeding and sleeping.

Various studies on animal cognition suggest dogs can estimate time using something called interval timing. That is, they learn how long something usually takes. If you return home after eight hours every day, your dog slowly learns this pattern and starts waiting near the door around that time.

Dogs amazing sense of smell also helps them to track time. Scent of humans fade gradually after they leave. Dogs have the ability to sense the reduction of smell and can associate the level of scent depletion with how long their humans will be away.

Hope you will check this video for Chezhi's mind voice as she was expecting breakfast to be served.

Do Dogs Know It Is Time to Eat?

Though dogs cannot understand time like humans do, they understand routine. As mentioned above, dog's biological clock plays a great role. Dogs also take cues from what's happening around. If your routine is to complete your exercise, head for the kitchen and return with food for your pet, she knows precisely when to expect food the moment you roll down your exercise mat. When feeding time is consistent, their body clock adjusts to the time. Their stomach starts releasing hunger hormones at the expected time. This is why irregular feeding schedules can confuse dogs and can cause anxiety. Regular routine helps dogs to feel safe and secure.

Mom seems to lose sense of time while on terrace

Scientific Understanding

According to studies published in animal behavior journals, dogs remember events using associative memory. They link:

• Time of day
• Environment
• Human behaviour
• and food

This combined information helps them to predict what will happen next.

Though dogs do not understand time like humans, they understand patterns and time intervals. Dogs' sense of time comes from routine, smell, memory and body rhythms.

Hence, it is highly essential that we stick to schedules with regard to activities concerning our dogs. Time to walk, time to feed, time to play and endless time to cuddle.