supervices
The memory of dogs is not like that of humans, they live in the present, although this does not imply that they do not remember things in the short or medium term. Let’s say their memory can be divided into two, short-term and long-term.
You will be surprised to know that a dog can remember a person throughout his life, not how we remember him, but with a positive or negative association.
The short-term memory of a dog
Suppose you come home and your dog is tearing up the sofa because he is bored, he will come out to greet you as he always does because he is living in the moment, the present. He does not remember that moments ago, he was breaking something.
If you scold him maybe, he won’t do it anymore, or maybe he will. In the event that he does, he will still come out to greet you when you return home. They can remember concrete facts how breaking is wrong, but they don’t remember hiding after doing it; instead they come out to greet you.
It may sound a bit complex, but it is quite simple actually. We can teach them things with repetitive exercises, but they can’t remember what they did ten minutes ago.
The memory associated with images, smells and noise
Known as long-term memory, a dog is able to associate the image of a human with something positive, such as petting, playing, or eating. So when the dog sees that person, now or ten years from now, it will have the same feeling.
Their incredible sense of smell allows them to associate smells with feelings or moments, so that the smell of our body scent can make them feel excited and very happy, knowing that we are coming home even if they haven’t seen us.
The same happens with the noises, if our dog enjoys walking through the forest because there are no car noises and there are nature and other animals, it does not matter which forest you take him, whenever he hears those sounds he will feel comfortable.
How long can they remember a human?
It does not matter if it is us or a family member, or simply a friend who has stopped by a few times. Our dog will always remember, surprised?.
His memory is so complex but good at the same time, that he will remember not only the image of the person but also his smell and the sound of his voice, and his tone. So even if the dog only listens to it or smells it, the dog will be able to identify it without any problem.
If you have ever scolded your dog and you are worried that it will remember it, unfortunately, you have to know that it will never forget it. But you can create a better and more positive memory about yourself, taking care of it and pampering it, with time it will remember you like this.
There is no way that the dogs can ever forget their owners, not even after years.