I've got a 3 year old female yellow lab that asked for things at certain times. At about 8:40 every night she wants to pee and get her treat. If I try and sleep in she cold noses me at 6.50 am like clockwork.

Our lab will come up to us at about 10 to 6pm and either bug you or put his paw on your leg.6:00 is time for grub.

Easy. My GSP looks a the freaking clock. Sheesh.

Wife’s stinking golden doodle knows when 3:45 am is. Wakes me up to go outside so I can not go back to sleep.

Same way I wake up 2-5 minutes before my alarm goes off every morning.

How do you know that dog knows ?

Most dogs learn human's routines. Can usually tell what you're doing and relate it to the normal daily routine.

Our lab knows she gets fed around 3 to 4 PM every afternoon. Morning is no problem, Fugger wakes up loud and hungry, but she adapts to my morning schedule and never yaps in the morning until I'm up and put the coffee on, then it's time to yap for her chow.

She knows several words. Hungry, bed time, go out, etc. Thumps hell outta her SS water dish with a paw, if it's empty and she's thirsty.

Our old dog knew our son comes over Sunday evening for dinner. The dog always would start watching the door around 5 on Sunday. Not other days. The routine is not different to speak is of.

Still miss that mutt

What else do they have to worry about?

It starts young too... my 3 month old pup knows that if she bites my ear at 3am, I can't get back to sleep before 7. She uses that time to spend quality time biting my beard and pouncing on my face.

Dog one was never allowed on our bed. Got it's first bath at about 6 months one evening, and given the fact that we bed in a cold room and the dog was still damp, it was allowed up for the night. Thereafter, back on the floor. With every subsequent bath, however, she would quietly sit and stare knowing that was the one night it was allowed.

Wife lets our new 20 week old Norwich Terrier on the bed. When I come in about 10 minutes later, I give it a look, and it meekly gets down and goes to its bedding box for the night. Hops back up onto the bed at 06:30 and sits by someone's face as an announcement that he needs to go out.

This one would know when it was time for the woman to get home.



Every afternoon, starting about 15 minutes before the car pulled up.

My Catahoula carries a pocket watch.

One of our female Springers is like that - every fuggin morning like clock work (within 10 minutes) wakes us up to feed her. Same with evening feeding - 5:00 +/- 10 min.

My Catahoula and 3 month old Lab pup play fight every night, right at 11:00. Lab pup is up in the morning and asking to be fed about 6:45. Amazes me.

So, now we know which guys have dogs that trained them.

Yep, you’re right!

True. Come 5:30 pm, the Lab-mix wants her supper. NOW! Breakfast varies- but as soon as I'm up, she goes out to pee, then breakfast, then tug.

The Dachshund knows the day when my wife volunteers- As soon as she is in the shower, he comes to sulk in my lap. Non-volunteer days he waits outside the shower. When she switched days, it took him just two weeks to adapt.

Used to be a little neighborhood mutt that I took a liking to and would stop my vehicle and give it treats. Apparently it learned to differentiate the sound of my vehicle from others because when other vehicles passed by it would be nowhere in sight but when I was within a block of where it lived it would come running, stop and wait at the curb for it's treat.

I had a Swedish Lapphund who would punch the side of the bed with her feet when it was time for her breakfast. No schit it was within 2 minutes of 6am every day. Fed her then back to bed til alarm went off at 820 and I would get up and let her out to do her business and I would go to work. Damn dog was more accurate than the atomic clock.

My lab never really cared what time it was. She didn't understand daylight savings time either. She would however let you or anyone else know when it was breaking daylight. She tried to be polite about it, but wasn't very good at the polite part. As long as someone got up when she shook her collar all was good. Lay there for a minute though and she would start a muffled bark. Make any move and not get up, she would bark wide open.

I didn't need an alarm clock for a long time, unless I was getting up real early. She trained me well. I had to put her down a few months ago, but I still get up at the crack of dawn regardless. I sure miss that ole girl.

When dog and I are at hunting camp, cousin usually comes over from the farm on his Yamaha ATV. Dog can hear that thing coming 10 minutes before he gets there and is fired up.

Used to have a Kawasaki myself.and the dog never reacted to the sound of it coming out of the woods and into camp. Same for ATVs running down the gravel road past camp. Just looks, no reaction like when her favorite visitor is coming from a half mile away. Dogs can learn. Sometimes they even learn something useful.

damned Labs...LOL
Our male gets testy about 4:50PM for the 5'O feeding.
Female drives the SS water bowl across the slate the second she drinks it all and continues until we refill.
They both also know to keep their traps shut in the early AM until I have coffee in hand.

They are, Watch" dogs.

Dogs can read clocks. It ain’t complicated.

FWIW I was told that they smell what time it is. Could be maybe. Made an agreement with neighbor behind me to not let the Grt Pyr out to run around before a certain time. That time comes she is always ready.

My Black Lab would let me know it’s snack time at 8:30pm if I missed it.

I am amazed at how close to 4 pm our dogs can get when it's chow time. Most days they are within 10 minutes. I swear they know theme songs to television programs. Same with 8 pm too for snack time. Our Aussie won't eat half the time knowing that momma is very close to coming home.

My dogs know exactly when it's time for them to eat, to the point that if I forget, they will remind me. Same for time for taking a walk. One knows that he's taken for a walk in the AM, and the other knows she's take for a walk in the PM.

There it is...the obvious and simple reason

To answer the question, it's likely based on the apparent position of the sun.