Dogs use natural circadian rhythms based on light cycles for much of their version of telling time. Dogs also tell time by the routines of humans in their lives. Waking, working, school, recreational activities, etc. all have telltale actions and accessories that help the dogs that we live with know what might happen next. They know that potty usually comes first when awakening, then perhaps breakfast and maybe followed by a walk. Or if you are part of the 9-to-5 workday crew, maybe walks take place after coming home from work and your dog spends the day sleeping.
And dogs love routine, which helps them develop a sense of time, even when home alone. The sounds of your neighborhood change with the time of day. Dogs can sense when you are due home by the sounds and even the smells of what is happening outside. Dogs can even tell whether your exit will be a typical routine exit or something altogether different based on your actions preceding such, the clothing that you choose to wear and even the smell of your body. Different emotions create different smells in our bodies. They may act differently if your exit routine is different than usual as that may create more of an uncertainty about your return time frame.
And, yes, dogs are bothered by Daylight Savings Time changes.
Dogs and the Passage of Time
Dogs don’t tell time by a clock, but they can tell time “passage.” So, what happens when you go on vacation and are gone for longer than a workday or a dinner out? Well, ideally, you get your dog acclimated to something like that when they are young so that it’s not such a shock when they are say, 5 years old and you suddenly get a yearning to vacation overseas.
Will they notice how long you are gone? The short answer is yes, they notice by waking and sleeping cycles and meal cycles and how they typically pass the time. I think it’s likely more traumatic for them when they are boarded if this is not something that they have previously experienced versus staying in their own home with a known person. But every dog is different.
They cannot count hours or days like humans can. But they can tell that the time passed is different. Their greeting when you return will be far more exuberant than when you come home from work or dinner out. But again, if this is just another routine part of their lives that started as a puppy or an adolescent, then the extra time passage is less traumatic than it would be coming suddenly as an adult dog.
That said, routines are the bottom line here for helping your dog to better understand the passage of time, no matter what that routine consists of.
