Guest donatella Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 As in I can leave my pup for 4-5 hours and she seems fine, when i leave her a full 9 hour work day and she seems all worked up when i get home. I'm very calm when i walk in, pay her no attention and make coming and going not a big deal so she can't be feeding off me. I just wondered if it was her and her concept of being left for so long? sorry if this has been posted a million times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 (edited) My observations lend me to believe dogs do have a sense of time but it is measure against the natural world not the man made world. Minutes and hours are an artificial construct but the real passing of time as shown in the changes of light, axis of earth, seasons, tides, moon phases do affect the behaviour of the dog. Edited September 24, 2011 by lilli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambrosia Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 My dog comes to work with me every day. We usually leave at 5:30pm. She is very quiet in the office, follows me around, sleeps etc. Around 5:20pm onwards she gets very ancy (is this a word?), barking at me and jumping at me. This occurs even when other staff members are not giving any indication of leaving or she is in an isolated part of the office (say the boardroom) with me, with no sights or sounds to signal it's home time (such as people packing up, dishwasher being filled etc). She is taken outside to go to the toilet a number of times throughout the day so it is not that she needs to go bathroom. It would seem she has a concept of time. Everyone calls her a clock watcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolving Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I have tape the dogs while I have been at work in the past. They can sleep the whole day and 30 minutes before I get home they start to get excited and listening for me. My brother confirms the same as they will get excited at the noise of a car when it is about time for me to get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 My 12 year old dementing westie has a stomach clock - you can set your watch by him each evening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Black Obsession Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 My observations lend me to believe dogs do have a sense of time but it is measure against the natural world not the man made world. Minutes and hours are an artificial construct but the real passing of time as shown in the changes of light, axis of earth, seasons, tides, moon phases do affect the behaviour of the dog. Yes, I agree. What a lovely and eloquent way of putting it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillybob Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Dogs also read signs we dont realise we are sending. My old bloke Bob, who is also dementing starts at 4.30 with his nearly tea time whine. I suppose they are similar to people with dementia, whos lives revolve around food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cointreau Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I think they do have a sense of time, if I go to work for my normal long shift Sparkles is usually asleep when I come home if I do a shorter shift she gets very excited when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 My observations lend me to believe dogs do have a sense of time butt it is measure against the natural world not the man made world. Minutes and hours are an artificial construct but the real passing of time as shown in the changes of light, axis of earth, seasons, tides, moon phases do affect the behaviour of the dog. I have to agree with this. Dogs can't understand time as we do but they do have a concept of it. For instance I've taught Zeus that he gets breakfast when the sun's up and dinner as it sets so come dawn and dusk he gets food crazy. It's a PITA though come daylight savings and winter. I live near mountains and the sun disappears by 4pm and because it's dark Zeus wants fooding. So I think their concept of time is based on learned routines and the passage of the sun, moon, seasons etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory the Doted One Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 My observations lend me to believe dogs do have a sense of time but it is measure against the natural world not the man made world. Minutes and hours are an artificial construct but the real passing of time as shown in the changes of light, axis of earth, seasons, tides, moon phases do affect the behaviour of the dog. Agree here too. Dory comes to work with me everyday. This week we had to fill a shift on Thursday, a day I do not usually work. Her behaviour right from when I got up to get ready was interesting. She was a little confused. I was very surprised that she didn't twig when I put my uniform on. It was only when we got to work that she realised. Then every Friday at 11.30am she starts to sook and whine....cos it is time to go home...Dory's version of TGIF. We don't feed her at a set time, and as a result she never begs for dinner. She will tell us when she wants it though and that time varies quite markedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy's mum Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Greyhounds are slaves to routine. They know breakfast time - no sleeping in allowed. Playtime 4pm. Dinnertime 5.30 weekends; 7pm working days. My grandad had a fox terrier who waited for him at the bus stop at 5pm every day ( jumped the fence, up the road, round the corner). They must have some concept. When mum was staying with me, she said the dogs all headed for the door at my usual home time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Having trained stays in obedience I'd say the answer is definitely yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Having milked cows, I'd say the answer is likely yes! If a cow can tell when it's time to be milked, a dog would presumably have some concept of time as well? I don't know if we'd have much better sense of time than a dog does, if we were to live in a society without clocks and watches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minxy Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Hmm well Kyojin wakes up around 5am every morning. Neither OH or I ever have to get up that early so it's not something he's gotten from us. He also insists on being fed at 5pm every day, which again has never come from us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbreedlover Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I can set my alarm by my Bullmastiffs stomach clock. 3.30 in the morning and 2.30 in the afternoon. Doesnt matter if it is a week day or the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DobieMum Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 My story isn't time so much as when allowed. I remember Mum had a kelpie, that came everywhere with her other than work. If Mum walked into the kitchen, in anything but a dress, Pete (the kelpie) would get super excited and do the "Comeon, Hurry UP" routine, but if Mum walked out in a dress (work clothes), Pete would lie there snoozing, with her head on her paws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I dunno how my body signals cue my dog in. She's the one that cues me in that it's time to be getting off the computer and either taking her for a walk or getting dinner or both. In her opinion. If I've got hockey or we've got agility training, she's out of luck - ie dinner at dinner time or even the walk are not guaranteed. It could be the need for a toilet break but sometimes she doesn't quit yelling at me after that's done. If I try to ignore her, she puts paws on my shoulder as I sit typing and yells in my ear. Quite effective. I can't pretend it's easy to drag me away from this thing some days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I used to work early mornings and kaos would wake at 4:50 every morning, when i moved to WA she didnt get used to the time difference.. and would wake 3 hours earlier! It drove me mad. When we moved home she kept doing it I now have her trained not to wake me till 6... need to work on getting her to 7am now and i will be happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 They don't need to have a cognitive concept of time to have very accurate routines. I wake up at the same time most mornings as well. My circadian rhythm has that sorted. I don't know how long I have slept or what the time is when I wake. If I eat at the same time everyday, I get hungry at that time everyday. I won't know what time it is until I look at the clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry's Mum Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Perry always gets up early on a Tuesday and is waiting by the front door at 8am for her best friend Erika the cleaning lady to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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