[Nadeem Gabbani (OP)]

Jim asks:

Can animals keep track of time? More specifically, cows and dogs?

Any ideas?

[evan_au]

Yes - most animals and plants have a circadian rhythm - even some microbes. This clock is located at the cellular level, and was the subject of a recent Nobel prize.

At my uncle's dairy farm (many years ago), the cows would line up for milking in the morning and afternoon.

At a more mundane level, my dog knows how long his dinner takes to defrost after I take it from the freezer. If I get busy doing something else and forget to give it to him, he will come and remind me.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm