Do you ever find yourself in this situation as a dog owner: even when you’re completely still, your dog just knows you’ve woken up? Every time I carefully open my eyes, I find that my dog is already standing by the bed, staring at me. As soon as the day breaks, I have to be extra careful when I turn over—afraid of making a sound. My dog, Sonny, will immediately rush to the bedside and gaze at me with his sharp, piercing eyes. If I don’t move, he sits up straight, staring at me intently. At this point, there’s no pretending to be asleep anymore. No matter how tired I am, I have to get up. But how does my dog know exactly when I’ve woken up? Does he have a sense of time?
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Highly Sensitive Senses
At this point, it’s important to mention a dog’s hearing ability—dogs can hear incredibly faint sounds. (A dog’s hearing range is from 15Hz to 50,000Hz, whereas humans can only hear between 20Hz and 20,000Hz.) Dogs can detect subtle noises like their owner shifting in bed or changes in their breathing pattern, even the seemingly silent action of pulling the blanket can be noticed. Besides hearing, dogs’ incredibly sharp sense of smell deserves attention too. A dog’s nose can detect changes in the scents emitted by their owner’s body when they wake up. When we sleep, our body releases certain chemicals, but these change when we wake, and that’s when a dog immediately notices. Sometimes, if your dog stays still when you wake up, it’s not that it doesn’t know—you just haven’t gotten up yet. Sonny knows when I’m about to leave for work, and often just lifts an eyelid to glance at me before going back to sleep. But on weekends, his accuracy is impressive. He knows I’m about to wake up before I even do!
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Circadian Rhythm and Conditioned Reflex
If an owner has a very regular routine and the dog has been living with them for a long time, the dog will form a “time memory.” For instance, if you wake up at 7 AM every day and sleep in on weekends, your dog will likely be waiting by your bed around that time, anticipating when you’ll wake up.
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Desire to Interact with You
Dogs don’t sleep through the night like we do; they take fragmented naps. Especially after dawn, their sleep is shorter, and they get up to move around every so often. When they wake up and feel bored, they’ll often want to come over and check on you. If you’re already awake, it’s the perfect opportunity for them to give you a quick nudge or a lick.
Dogs don’t have a specific concept of time and can’t distinguish between today and tomorrow. However, they use their senses, smell, and conditioned reflexes to track the passage of time. For example, their internal clock helps them know when their owner is about to wake up, and they can gauge when their owner is coming home based on the intensity of their scent in the house. Does your dog also seem to know when it’s time for you to wake up?
