Weird World: New Study Suggests That Dog Can Smell Time

Dogs are able to smell time.

A new theory has explained how loyal canines are found waiting by the door as their owner is about to come home because their sense of smell is so powerful that they can detect how long that humans have been away.

Dog expert Alexandra Horowitz explained how pooches are able to learn the rate at which their owner’s scent fades.

Professor Horowtiz, of Barnard College in New York City, said: “It might be that, over the course of the day, the smell of us in our homes, if we’re absent, is diminishing.

“Smells get less strong. If you’ve made coffee in the morning, you can smell the coffee, then after a time, this coffee smell is dissipated.

“So it could be dogs know you’re going to be home because the smell of you has reached the weakness it usually does when you arrive.”