Just been dog sitting

[starone]

for my daughter. He is a lovely little dog and very good. He wanders in and out of my rooms and asks me for a biscuit which he takes off to a corner and eats. Then he has a little sleep and all that time he doesn't say a word, or a bark if you prefer. I had no idea what time my son-in-law was coming to fetch him but all of a sudden he went to the front door and sat there giving little barks and waiting. Five minutes after my son-in-law's car turned into the yard and was welcomed with much tail wagging and barking. What I want to know is how did the dog know he was coming? There was no specific time mentioned and I did not know when it was going to be. Have dogs got a sixth sense?

[lcg]

some say that they do.....quite often dogs do get up and look out a window/sit in front of the door when their owners turn up. was it a regular time after work? he might have known it was time to be picked up! x

[FredPuli43]

No, but they make much better use of the senses they have, and what they have is far superior to ours, except that their colour vision is not as full.

[LyndaB]

Hubby always knew when I was due home because our little dog used to sit on the windowsill five minutes before I was due! We lost him last year, and I miss him so much!

[starone]

No there was definitely no specific time and there was no way the dog could have known he was coming. It is a main road and there was a long queue of traffic passing on both sides so it was not the advent of a single car. I am telling you, it was really spooky.

[FredPuli43]

That predicates that a dog can tell the future. If so,no wonder dogs aren't allowed on Newmarket racecourse on race days. Get one picking the winners and the betting market would collapse.

[Frank97]

Was your son-in law sat in the queue of traffic for some time? Perhaps the dog heard or smelt him long before he reached the door, I'm sure I've read somewhere that dogs can hear different engine sounds from quite a distance.

[starone]

Yes, that does sound like a good explanation d97. He was not sat in a queue because the traffic was moving but certainly perhaps the dog knew what his engine sounded like and possibly his hearing might be very acute. But it was a few minutes before so he must have heard him when he was a few yards away.

[paddywak]

I often used to leave my first GSD with my mum and dad and they always knew when I was due to arrive as he'd get up and sit by the door a few minutes before I appeared, don't know how he knew I was coming but he did.

[lilacben]

My rough collie will do the same thing. He does it with my husband and daughters. Never the same times. But he sits by the frontdoor and waits.I am sure they know something we don;t. x

[Tilly2]

My GSD always lets me know when my husband is coming home, sitting by the door and waiting patiently. My staffie, however, never does. She's too busy getting on with her own little life.

[GypsyGSD]

I had a cockatiel that would start to scream and natter lol at least ten mins before other half came in he came in at different times every evening but the bird was never wrong x

[ladybirder]

Clever little blighters aren' they. Not sure whether it is breed specific or not. A Springer Spaniel we had couldn't give a toss who came in and when, unless they brought food. On the other hand JRTs I know are brilliant at it. One I look after knows when one or other of its owners are 5 minutes away and plonks himself at the door. He can be fast asleep and suddenly leap up and run to get in position. One of them has a car and the other walks and yet he knows they're coming, whichever one it is. Clever little chap.

[lankeela]

I used to drive to London to visit my mum with my GSDs lying asleep in the back of the van where they could not see out. As we turned the corner at the road before hers they would both get up and start whining. This was after a 100+ mile journey.

[Baldric]

Very similar with us, we had a Dobie years back that used to go everywhere with us, didn't matter how long the trip was, even if he was asleep in the back, he would always sit up at junction by the meadow where he used to get a run.

[paddywak]

It's strange how they know lankeela. Max used to go into kennels for three days twice a year and in between he went all over the country with us in the back of the car and would either sit up watching the world go by or go to sleep which ever he never made a sound. We'd take him to the kennels and as soon as we turned off the main road about a mile from the kennels he'd start the most pathetic little whimpers which he kept up all the way to the kennels where he'd jump out of the car and trot off with the kennel maid tail wagging and as happy as Larry leaving Trish and myself feeling guilty as we drove off without him.

[Connemmara]

My dog gets very excitable and barky on a Sunday when my sister visits me once a week. Runs around the living room and onto the arm of chair looking out for her getting out a taxi and all at the correct time. It is amazing.

[wolf63]

Evil scumbag cats are the opposite - as soon as you think "I'd better get ready to take the cat to the vet" it disappears from sight. My two don't even meet me at the door when I come home.

When I first started working I worked flexi hours and came home at different times each day. My dog still know when to go over and sit by the window - watching the bus stop for my return home.

[karenmac60]

My dog regularly sits by the living room door with his ears up, about 5 mins before I get home. I work different shifts so am home at different times. I live in a bock of flats and park round the side so he couldn't possibly hear my car, and he goes and waits long before I'm out of the car so it can't be a case of recognising my footsteps. He just knows.