Do Animals Have an Internal Clock?

Clock

Does your pet seem to know when it is time for dinner every day? Some pet owners have consistently marvelled at the ability of their dog or cat to remind them about meals or walks at the exact same time every day – sometimes right down to the exact minute. Given that our furry friends don’t rely on clocks to tell the time, you may well wonder if this is just an uncanny reaction to being hungry or if it is more than a mere coincidence. Here, we look at some of the ideas that have been put forward to explain why some pets have this knack.

Do Pets Have the Ability to Tell the Time?

Like most mammals, pets are believed to have an internal sense that lets them know when they are ready for food or sleep but there is some debate as to how this actually works. Routine can play a part, as pets come to ‘know’ that certain things will happen at the same time every day. Exactly how they recognise when this particular time is has been the subject of much debate. Some experts have suggested that it is this inner ‘clock’ that tells them when they are hungry or tired, while others have suggested that they may be able to almost literally smell time as your scent within the home declines over the course of the day. This may go some way towards explaining why some pets are able to pinpoint exactly what time you will return home and lie in wait for you, for example.

Some experts believe that while animals may have some notion of the amount of time that has passed, they do not actually remember things in the same way as humans. This has been inferred through studies on rats, who were able to remember but seemed unable to remember when a particular moment had occurred in the past. In this sense, animals are thought to be ‘stuck’ in present time – unlike humans, who have a sense of both past and future time. It has also been suggested that dogs may also use ‘circadian oscillators’ such as hormones and body temperature to gauge when certain events are likely to happen. Rather than being able to guess the length of time that has passed since the last occurrence of this event (such as their last meal), they are thought to be reacting to biological and environmental stimuli as their guideline.

 

[Photo Credit – RHiNO NEAL]

Does your pet seem to know time? Share your stories in the comments section below!