Quote: Rich Pallechio

I don't think they know what day it is, but I do think they are more attuned to our routines than we realize. I think there may be something about your Sunday routine that tips Danke off that it is a training day. Maybe you get up a little earlier or later. Or maybe you do something just a little bit different on Sundays that she has come to associate with training.

When my wife puts her knee brace on Hans gets excited, because he knows that means going outside to garden and he gets to go with her and keep the squirrels and birds away. (Honestly, you can't possibly garden with birds and squirrels wandering around!) When she puts on her brown shoes he knows it is time to go outside too.

This morning he heard her put the crate in the back of the Expedition. He got very excited, that means go for a ride.

So no, I don't think they know what day it is, the way we do. But I do think they can identify things about our routines that clue them in.

I agree... until I look at my routine.
On a regular Sunday, I would lay in bed, hit snooze until 7:30 (much to the chagrin of the hubby), and then finally roll out of bed. Then I take Danke outside and let her make her morning potty. Then she goes into her crate while hotdogs are chopped, all the gear is packed into the training bag and loaded into the Jeep.
Then I throw my flannel lined Carhart pants on, a thick hoodie, my good tracking shoes and load her into the Jeep.

BUT, on a Sunday when I have drill (and thus, no training), I'm out of bed at 6:00, or earlier. Shower, put on the uniform, and then let her out to potty. So she's already cued differently, just based on my routine and clothing.
And yet STILL, she pouts, and stares at the training bag.
She does the eyeball ping-pong routine between the training bag and me, until I leave.

Then she proceeds to mope, all day long, according to my husband.
She was sure in poor spirits when I got home yesterday.

The worst part? Our run this morning was rather protracted, since Washington has decided to behave more like Colorado.

I definitely think she knows that "every 7 sleeps, we train". I don't think they have a concept of "a week" but I think they DO know when a certain number of days have passed. And probably most of the time it's our behaviour that cues them, but again, try forgetting to feed them supper. I can be doing any of 50 different things but they know when feeding time is, no matter what I happen to be doing or wearing. I think it could be the same for day of the week.

Back in the days when dogs were allowed to roam free, my grandparents' dog would walk to the school and meet my uncles at dismissal time. Since they were wandering all day long and not at home for my Grandma to possibly cue them, I'd say they have a pretty good idea of time.

My uncle also had a crow that did this. He would first fly to the grade school, and then the Jr. High, and then the high school. There were 8 kids at 3 schools w/different dismissal times. He would occasionally stop by the grade school at recess.

I think most animals have a much better idea than we give them credit for. I have a former performance horse who still gets in what we call his "Sunday mood." Sunday was show day, typically. When put in a trailer to go on a nice liesurely trail ride, he emerged from it ready to win- walking different, breathing different-he was going to obliterate the competition...and all I wanted to do was take a nice walk. Yes, in that case the trailer probably did it, but he is different on Sundays than any other day.

Part of this thread is discussing knowing the days of the week, part if it is discussing being able to tell time. I think dogs rely on cues for both, but I think their sense of time may be linked to cues other than the ones humans give them. I don't know this, of course, I just think it.

When my wife was working Hans would go to the front door and wait for her at about the time she should be getting home, and I'm sure he must have heard the car several blocks away because he'd get excited a minute or so before she drove into the drive way. His dinner time is 5:30 PM. Every day between 4:45 and 5:00 he starts lobbying for his dinner. Either by being vocal about it or by laying down next to his dish. He knows when dinner time is.

I'm sure there is a test that could be devised to determine if dogs can tell time and the day of the week. Maybe someone will do so, or has done so.

Hmm...

I'm thinking science project!!!

Here's a neat article that answers at least some of our questions:
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/dogs-perceive-time.htm

If you have your dog long enough, it will read your mind. My last GSD lived until she was 15 and she knew everything I was thinking. If I thought, I think I'll go for a walk, she would look at me and bark, and was ready to go. If I thought I did not feel like walking that morning, she would lay down and sulk. We had our own businesses and she was with us 24 hour a day. She knew everything we were thinking if it involved her. Boy, I still miss her.

Now I have an idea for a science experiement to test whether or not Danke can tell how many days have elapsed and predict which day is which...