Can dogs tell what day it is?

[Rivrrat]

Every Fri afternoon, I come home from work, go outside, have a few beers and a good cigar. Our dog loves to come out, cause he knows he'll get a bit of beer if he's persistent enough.

Now, I only do that on Fridays, I don't drink during the work week at all. All week long when I come home from work, he just sort of acknowleges I came home (he's old). But on Fri's after I change, he's ready to go, whether I have a beer in my hand or not.

Today, as soon as I got home and changed, he was doing the dance to go outside, and was woofing at me. But, I have some puter stuff to do before I go out, and he's laying on the floor waiting and looking at me.


Can they really tell stuff like that?

[obieone]

'Conditioned response' is the term, I think. Or he has to go pee?

[Danny Tse]

Can they really tell stuff like that?

Oh yes, I think they know. I believe scientists have no answer for it though.

[rskarvan]

Dog's are master-sleuth investigators. You probably do something very subtle that the dog has queued-in on to let him know that he gets to go outside. Maybe you come home and say... TGIF and the dog has learned to associate that with going outside.

Alternatively, maybe he just counts the nights through the week.

Or, maybe on Friday the ice-cream truck comes-by playing their theme-song and he knows that means he gets to go outside that evening.

Or, maybe on Friday at Lunch-time, your wife has a boyfriend over and to the dog that means he gets to go outside that evening.

[Dennis Gardner]

He's spotted your Friday "tell".........you are the one that is different on Friday eve, not him, he's just responding to your increased relaxation.

[Rivrrat]

He's spotted your Friday "tell".........you are the one that is different on Friday eve, not him, he's just responding to your increased relaxation.


Pretty damned observant dog. Although you're probably right.

[Shizelbs]

Check your dog into rehab.

[SolidSqual]

My dogs definitely know. They notice everything. They can sense little nuances of your body chemistry or slight alterations in the way you act on Fridays. They know!

[I-SIG]

Between about 445 and 630 my dog starts to get antsy because she knows it'sa time to go for walk. This is a daily thing, but still, it's almost on cue.

Wes

[Polk addict]

Check your dog into rehab.

Yeah, everybody else is doing it

[Lasareath]

Yeah, everybody else is doing it

Maybe he doesn't have 70 days ;)

[obieone]

Dogs are a lot more 'in-tune' with what's going on than we are. I remember hearing a story a while back about a dog that saved 2 kids whose blood sugar was out of whack, and nobody in the family noticed. But that dog knew SOMETHING wasn't right.
They're even experimenting with dogs to find cancer early.
Creepy. If they learn to talk, we're screwed.

[sucks2beme]

He's spotted your Friday "tell".........you are the one that is different on Friday eve, not him, he's just responding to your increased relaxation.

That's why you never want to play a hand against man's best friend!

[PolkThug]

He's spotted your Friday "tell".........you are the one that is different on Friday eve, not him, he's just responding to your increased relaxation.

and Bingo was his name-o!

[dragon1952]

Have a beer in the middle of the week and really screw him up :D

[tonyb]

Maybe he's telling you to pay more attention to him than one day a week.:)

[Doctor R]

Habits, its all about habits for our best friends (and my patients). He knows a consistant pattern and is looking forward to that Friday beer as much, if not more than you are. (Then again I guess you have the same habit as he does?)
Rick

[George Grand]

Yeah, it's either that or on Fridays you're putting out a certain "stink" that you don't put out on other days.