Do Dogs Understand the Concept of Time?

by Kevin Fitzgerald, DMV

Kevin Fitzgerald is a staff veterinarian at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in Denver, and Is one of the vets featured on Animal Planet's Emergency Vets.

Text Copyright the American Kennel Club, Inc., 2007. No portion of this article may be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Reprinted with permission from AKC Family Dog, January/February 2007.
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[...] Time is a human concept, yet dogs do have cyclic rhythms. They certainly possess a number of inner "clocks"-clocks that regulate hunger and sleep, clocks that trigger urination and defecation, hormonal clocks that govern hair growth and reproduction. The various biological mechanisms that regulate the dog's circadian (daily) and yearly rhythms respond to day length, blood sugar levels, hormonal activity, temperature, and other factors both known and unknown to us.

What humans mark as time means very little to dogs. Nevertheless, they are creatures of habit-dogs hate change-and activities such as eating, sleeping, and urinating can become very regular and predictable occurrences. We artificially impose many rhythms upon dogs by feeding them at the same time each day, providing exercise at set hours, and having a regular bedtime. Eventually our dogs come to recognize our schedules and adapt to them. Do dogs tell time? Not in our sense. They don't know it's six o'clock, but their bodies know they eat when you get home.

Although dogs don't comprehend the human concept of time, they do have a fair memory, both long- and short-term. A Scottish Terrier of mine saw a raccoon go down a chimney in our neighborhood once when we were out for a walk. For years afterwards he always stopped to bark at that chimney. Another dog remembered which particular kitchen counter housed the dog biscuits, and which specific trick he had to perform to receive a treat, when he returned to the house after a 12-year absence-during which he'd never performed that particular trick.

We have to be careful about anthropomorphizing human concerns into terms that mean nothing to our dogs. Even so, dogs are capable of amazing feats that can make us wonder if they aren't watching the clock.