A Nose in the Past?

I suppose it should have been obvious but it seems evident, that animals (like dogs), relying largely on their olfactory sense (smell), operate in a social past. They get their information on who or what has been in the location and, perhaps, an idea of when that was. Animals (like humans) relying much more on their visual sense, operate in the present and/or the immediate future. It's all a question of timing?