The behavior of dogs, their mental abilities and the emotions they feel are factors to constantly analyze. To understand many of their attitudes, feelings and thoughts it is necessary to know more about the dog world. In this sense, it is important to discover everything about canine memory and how it works in the short and long term.
Socially, there is no consensus on the reliability of the memory of dogs. In fact, many people have serious doubts about whether they are able to move and travel in time and space mentally through memory, as human beings do. To find out if dogs have memory and what canine memory is like, at OneHOWTO we recommend that you continue reading this article.
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Index
- Do dogs have memory or not?
- How is the memory of dogs?
- Can a dog forget its owner?
Do dogs have memory or not?
A dog is able to remember its owner. The greatest proof of this is his reaction to seeing him come home every day after work or after a trip: the emotion and affection he shows at that moment, expressing great joy at seeing him again, allows us to affirm that dogs DO have memory .
However, dog memory does not work the same as human memory . Other people, things and moments in a dog’s life tend to be forgotten, so you shouldn’t be surprised if your furry little one has forgotten that walk in the mountains, in the countryside or on the beach, even though it was a very special moment in your relationship
In fact, he probably won’t remember what you fed him just a day ago, no matter how good it was. Dogs have the ability to remember certain things, but other things come and go very quickly from their brain.
Why do dogs quickly forget some things? Because they do not have the memory known as episodic, that is, the one responsible for retaining, absorbing and sealing each episode on the “hard drive”, providing a very important sense of experience.
How is the memory of dogs?
Although they do not have an episodic memory, dogs have different types of memory, such as associative, olfactory and spatial.
associative memory
Your canine friend remembers many things thanks to associative memory, that is, the one that allows certain things to be associated , turning them into a type of memory . And it is that dogs are fully codified animals based on repetitions and habits.
A dog can survive a fall, either from the balcony of the house or from a terrace. Afterwards, he will avoid approaching that area or, at the very least, he will do it very carefully. Why would you want to avoid it? Not because of the fall itself, but because he will associate that place with fear and pain.
In addition, you will have observed on many occasions that your dog gets excited when you see that you are going to put him on the leash to go for a walk down the street. That feeling of joy is also the result of the association, in this case between the object and the moment of walking with you.
olfactory memory
Dogs have some long-term memory thanks also to their senses. Smell is one of the most developed, so it is very influential in this regard. Through the smells of people, places, objects and food, they can recognize them and react accordingly.
In the same way, this efficiency of sensory memory allows your dog to associate places and environments that cause sensations of comfort and pleasure. It also happens in the opposite case, that is, through the smell you can remember a location associated with a traumatic experience or that causes rejection due to some phobia.
spatial memory
Sensory memory gives dogs the ability to remember things thanks to spaces . As stated above, the association of a place with a smell or frequently walking through a site allows you to remember it according to the experiences experienced. Through association and repetition, a dog can also develop spatial memory.
Can a dog forget its owner?
As we have explained throughout this OneHOWTO article, dogs have memory thanks, above all, to associative memory. For this reason, they are capable of learning norms, rules of coexistence and other basic orders related to dog training through the association of gestures and words. Dogs are also capable of remembering their owner by the sound of their voice or their body odour. Therefore, they will not forget it and even more so if they live together on a daily basis . Feeling his scent and voice, the memory will remain intact over time.
Despite everything, even if a dog remembers its owner and other people, as well as objects, animals and actions through association, it will not have a long-term memory like ours because it will not remember well past experiences. What he will be able to remember is what he felt in order to associate a place with something that he considers positive or negative.
Now that you have learned all this about dog memory, you may be curious to know the answer to other common questions: Do dogs dream? and Do Dogs Have Nightmares?