DO DOGS KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?

             

Do dogs know what time it is?

Well, I think they do, but I'm a dogaholic, so maybe I tend to overrate my dogs' IQ...

Anyway, let me give you a few examples, and then you'll tell me if my dogs are really smart, or if I need to be cured.

When the clock strikes 5pm, Canaille, my English Springer Spaniel, starts pawing up and down the kitchen.

Is he smart enough to count the strokes of the bell or to read the time on the oven clock?

I don't know, but Dearhubby, who is more down-to-earth, says that Canaille is just able to count the rumblings of his stomach!

Quite true that his stomach rules the roost, but I can't help thinking that he must have swallowed a Swiss cuckoo clock, cause, even if he is sleeping like a log and snoring like a trooper, at 5pm sharp he wakes up with a start, stares at me as if saying " What's up, dog? ", and then rushes to his bowl.

Apart from clocking in at bowl times, timing our sleep is his other great concern.

He must know the creaky adage that " every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight ", cause around 10.30pm, he starts dragging his basket all around the room to let us know it is curfew time.

If we ignore him, then half-an-hour later he strikes up a kind of whining lullaby which sometimes turns out to be more efficient than any sleeping pill!

So, does Canaille just keep a watch on us, or does he know what time it is?

Well, I can't say, but the clock is ticking, and I want to tell you about Ulysse, my Coton of Tuléar.

Ulysse really deserves his name. Like the legendary Greek hero, he is always ready to go on long journeys, and he has already had many incredible adventures*.

Always eager to get some fresh air and sniff the latest news of his nearby buddies, this cute little dog must have a clock hidden somewhere, cause at 9am, 3pm and 7pm he starts nuzzling against my slippers as if saying " Hey you, is your watch slow or what? Don't you see it's time to put on your shoes and set off? ".

We have a huge garden, but I guess Ulysse thinks frolicing there is  just good for Wimpy Canaille, cause every day at 9am, 3pm and 7pm, his wagging tail and question mark-looking eyes give me the signal for departure.

Walking times must be as regular as clockwork, whatever the weather is, and that's where the shoe pinches...

If Ulysse knows what time it is, he isn't able to read the barometer, and what was to happen happened.

Last Thursday afternoon it was pouring down, so at 3pm when Ulysse started his kind of " scalp dance " around me, I just opened the kitchen glass door to let him out and do what he had to do in the garden.

A quarter of an hour later, I received a phone-call from an old neighbour of mine I'm used to visiting every afternoon when going with Ulysse on our 3pm walk.

" Hello Penelope, guess who is in my place! ", she said. Then she added,

" Let me give you a clue. He was named after a great Greek traveller, and he really tries to honour him!".

Jeez! Ulysse!!

Yes, guys, my four-pawed adventurer, had managed to sneak out of the garden , and had taken a ten minutes'walk to pay his daily visit to my neighbour! 

Is Ulysse' s motto " There is no time but the right time ", or is he going through that awkward teenage phase and seeking independence?

Well, Ulysse is nearly 15, which means for his breed 80 in human age, so a bit late to behave like a teen!

What do you think of all that? Are my dogs really smart, or am I an incorrigible dogaholic?

Let me know, and in the meantime if you want to read more about Ulysse 's adventures, have a look at the post " Happy, he who like Ulysse " dated 03/20/2016, and " Can cats and dogs get along? " dated 

11/17/2017.

Have fun!