13/06/2025
You leave the house, close the door and don't look back. But he knows. He is quiet at first, attentive to every sound, every shadow that moves behind the window. He doesn't know the time, he can't read the clock, he can't distinguish between "soon" and "late". All it has is its scent. And while that smell is still present in the environment, for him, you are still there. That's why he's waiting for you. That's why he doesn't move. That's why you hold on. But when your scent starts to fade from the air, your body knows it. And even if you don't see it, something inside him starts to prepare... Because he feels that you are about to come back.
Dogs' sense of smell is thousands of times more powerful than ours. Where you may only notice a faint scent or an imperceptible trail, they can sense emotions, hormonal changes, illness and even the passing of time. Each person has a unique scent, and for a puppy, that scent is identity, security. It's his way of knowing you're part of his pack. And when you leave, the air is still filled with you. But little by little, molecule by molecule, its olfactory presence begins to dissipate. And he realizes it.
Several studies have shown that some dogs are able to associate scent intensity over time. It's not that they "know the time," but they've learned that when your scent drops to a certain level, you tend to show up. This is why some puppies get up right before you arrive, run to the door for no apparent reason, or get restless at exactly the same time every day. It's not magic. It's chemical memory. It's a sensory connection. It's love turned into waiting.
And this waiting is not always easy. For many dogs, being alone isn't simply "being without you." It is a heavy, restless, disorderly absence. But there's something about that ability to notice you even when you're not there that calms them. As if your scent was an invisible promise that you would return.
That's why the next time you see him running towards you, as if he hadn't seen you in years, even if it's only been minutes... remember that he wasn't measuring time with his mind.
He was feeling it with his soul.
And if he waits for you every day when you are about to return, maybe it is not because he listens to you...
but because he never stopped feeling your presence. And he knew, deep in his gut, that this moment was about to arrive.