How does he know?

I witnessed very interesting behavior from our dog, Rocket, this evening. He was napping on the floor next to me while I read in the recliner and Hallie surfed the Internet from the other room. Kelly had been at work all day and was bringing Travis home from his piano lesson.

Everything was quiet in the house so I was wondering where our dog was going as he suddenly hopped up from his nap and walked over to the door leading to the garage. Seconds later, the garage door went up and Kelly and Travis walked in with Rocket greeting them.

I sat there astonished. Could it be the dog had somehow known they were coming home? How? He clearly hopped up from his nap and went directly to the door as if he knew they would arrive. I can’t say for sure what his intentions were but to my eyes it certainly seemed like he was ready to greet someone at the door.

While it’s true that the front blinds were open and Kelly did drive past the house on the way to the driveway, Kelly was driving a car we had bought only 48 hours earlier. Rocket has not only ever been in it, he has never even seen it. Could he have associated the noise of an engine that quickly? I don’t think so.

I have heard of research that shows that pets know when their humans are on the way home and I’ve always taken those reports with a grain of salt. Even so, it’s very intriguing to watch what certainly looks like this behavior.

I’ve long asserted that Kelly is Rocket’s favorite human. Could he have somehow known she was coming home? I wouldn’t bet against it.