These guys are completely nuts. Maybe rats and mice are like that, but I can guarantee that dogs not only are aware of time, but they have internal clocks that are accurate to within about five minutes. How do I know this?? I usually give my two Corgi’s a piece of cheese (treat) at 6:00AM. If I don’t show signs of “standing and delivering” (like I’m sitting down reading) within +/- five minutes of 6AM, my female Corgi WILL show up next to the chair, sit back on her haunchs (think prairie dog in “sentry” mode), and “bitch” at me because my ass isn’t in gear to deliver the cheese.
It in now 5:04. My Two Irish Setters are letting me know loudly that is past 5:00 and it is time for them to eat!
He wakes me up, every night without fail....
and don't even start with Annable my cat who use to wake me up at 5 so I could watch her eat her breakfast.
Dogs also have DPS, the doggy positioning system. This works by a combination of urine markers and memory. My husky remembers every single place he ever almost caught a mouse or a squirrel, and he checks all of them for quite some time after the excitement. I know that it's more than smell, because he drags me to all those places on his usual circuit even when we are upwind.