From Moments to Hours: Exploring How Dogs Perceive Time and Its Impact on Their Routine

Zack Keithy, our author, is a certified veterinarian technician (UC Blue Ash) for over 6 years (contact him here). The articles written here are based on his expertise and experience, combined with a review by our expert vet reviewers including Dr M. Tarantino. Learn more about us here.

Ever noticed how your pup goes wild with joy when you pop back home after forgetting something, as if you’ve been gone for ages?

Yet, that same pooch seems to have an uncanny ability to know exactly when the kids are due back from school.

What’s the deal with dogs and time?

While research on this topic is sparse and not particularly illuminating, there might be a straightforward explanation for your dog’s seemingly psychic abilities.

Greg Bryant, a cognitive scientist at UCLA, suggests that our canine companions may be picking up on subtle cues we often overlook.

Their superior hearing could allow them to recognize your car’s engine long before you pull into the driveway.

Or perhaps they’re attuned to the changing light throughout the day, barely audible clock noises, or even the routines of your neighbors.

But here’s where it gets really interesting – dogs might actually experience time differently than we do.

Some studies indicate that our four-legged pals perceive time as passing more slowly.

This could explain why a brief 15-minute errand feels like an eternity to them.

It’s worth noting that even we humans struggle with time perception, as evidenced by the pandemic-induced phenomenon of “blursdays.”

The crux of the matter might lie in our ability to communicate about time.

As humans, we’ve developed language that allows us to conceptualize and discuss abstract concepts like time.

Dogs, lacking this ability, simply experience time as it is without the added layer of introspection or rumination about past and future.

So, next time your dog greets you like a long-lost friend after a quick trip to the store, remember – in their world, you might have been gone for what feels like an eternity.

And isn’t it wonderful to be loved so deeply that even a moment apart feels too long?