5 Things Dogs May Know Even Before We Do That Show Underestimating Them Is a Big Mistake
5. They have an uncanny ability to sense when you’re nearing home.
According to Alexandra Horowitz in her book Being a Dog, dogs exhibit habit-forming and associative behaviours. This means, basically, that dogs love having a daily routine that they can associate with specific behaviours. As a result, they are able to leverage minor details as a point of reference. For example, they can utilize particular sounds or variations in the light entering through the window to determine whether it’s approximately time for your return home. They can also distinguish the sound of your footsteps from that of others, or the sound of your car’s beep or of the elevator. Upon hearing any of these, they will eagerly rush to the window or door to welcome you. Horowitz highlights that a dog’s keen sense of smell plays a crucial role in predicting when their owners will return. “It’s possible that the odors we leave behind in the home diminish consistently over the course of the day.” Dogs may have the ability to sense when we are returning home; the diminishing strength of our scent could indicate that our arrival is imminent.
What behaviors does your dog exhibit that suggest they possess a deeper understanding than you initially realized? Do you have any pictures or anecdotes to share with us proving that dogs are smarter than we think?
