Do dogs have long term memory?
The common thought is no but sometimes I wonder. I have a 9 year old springer. My late father in law(and MIL)was very fond of this dog and lived just down the block. He would often pick her up for a walk. About 4 years ago he began showing symptoms of alzhiemers. As the disease advanced the dog picked up on the changes and adapted to them. As my FILs physical condition deteriorated the dog stayed closer to him. Since it seemed to do him some good we dropped the dog off in the morning and picked it up after work. Usually a couple of times a week the dog would spend the night. The dog developed very specific routines that it only followed when at my FILs house.
My FIL passed away a year ago. A couple times a month my MIL will tell us to bring the dog over. Maybe one a month the dog will spend the night. The funny thing is the dog still follows the exact routine it did when my FIL was alive. An example would be at night. Prior to his death he would go to bed at 7 pm and get up at 10 am and the dog would sleep on the bed with him. When the dog is at my MILs she still goes to bed at 7 and gets up at 10. At home it is 10:30-6:30.
My FIL passed away a year ago. A couple times a month my MIL will tell us to bring the dog over. Maybe one a month the dog will spend the night. The funny thing is the dog still follows the exact routine it did when my FIL was alive. An example would be at night. Prior to his death he would go to bed at 7 pm and get up at 10 am and the dog would sleep on the bed with him. When the dog is at my MILs she still goes to bed at 7 and gets up at 10. At home it is 10:30-6:30.
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What I've heard about dogs and long-term memory is usually associated with smell. They have a long term smell memory and when triggered, that could explain the dogs activity. 0 -
Sure. We have a dog and used to have a cat named Streak. The dog used to harrass the crap out of the cat. If the cat came around, the dog would chase her away. If we were in one room, and someone would say "Streak", the dog would look up and around looking for the cat to chase it. We had to get rid of the cat, and gave her away about 10 months ago. Even now, if someone says "Streak", the dog gets alert and looks around for the cat. She definitely remembers the name. 0 -
My dog remembers how to get onto my bed. Sometimes she has to be reminded, but most of the time she remembers on her own. 0 -
suppose just like any animal, some have good memory, some don't .....an age thing i think.....dogs are smart, some try to comunicate !!
others are mind readers !![;)]0 -
dogs have memory JUST like people. the difference between dogs and people is that dogs can't "figure stuff out". within what they can understand, their memory is just as good as ours. they remember smells better than you can remember names, numbers, objects, anything.
example: Stormy went to a pool party. there were more than 100 dogs there. she thought she was there to herd them. she smelled every one of them. then, whenever she came across a new dog that just came in (out of 100+ dogs) right away she knew it was new, so she smelled that one too. I think she was keying off of smell, not sight. no person could do that, with, say, nametags at a convention.
example: my other rott and I lived at a house with some other dudes for a few months. we moved outstate. maybe 2 years later, we went on vacation, met one of those guys at a park (didn't go to the house), and my dog recognized him and was happy to see him.
2 important observations to explain what's going on:
1. dogs really like routine.
2. dogs are aware of their environment, and change their behavior accordingly.
she knows she is at a different house, and that was the routine. she might be following that routine hoping that your FIL will show up, because that was his house and his routine.0 -
I could give plenty of examples of how they think (smart too) but that's kinda off topic. every rott I've had, we communicate so well they might as well have subtitles appear under them. and they know what I'm thinking too. within their limitations. 0 -
If they didn't have long term memory could they remember what certain voice and hand commands are and what they mean? Or the dogs knows it can sit or lay one one couch but not another. Has to be memory doesn't it? 0 -
Mine can't remember that the tractor is not a toy.. all he wants to do is drive it fast. 
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100 dogs! That's a lot of butts to smell!
JM[:D]0 -
When I break out the duck call and shotgun by lab remembers that we are about to have a good time. 0 -
quote: When I break out the duck call and shotgun by lab remembers that we are about to have a good time.
The same holds true for my beagle Guns come out he wants to go0 -
our dogs have learned to watch the surveillance cameras i set up to catch the neighborhood nazi patrol checking to see if IM in there compliance [:(!](another venting session)[:(!][V] (i got too get out of here) back to the dogs when they see us drive up they go nuts when they see us leave they sometimes break in the house and destroy it. mostly just steal the loaf of bread and haul but back out and act like nothing happen till i find the wrapper and ask who did it. most all of the time one will cower down and act guilty. sorta like a child, they know better but dont think past the moment. i have also been watching my daughters dog for a short time (4 years now) she use to walk him every day, i never do but if i move the chain leash she used he goes nuts wanting to go for a walk. 0 -
***copied from http://www.fabuloustravel.com/globe/hachiko/hachiko.html ***
"Nestled amid hoards of harried commuters, a variety of shops and department stores, and a giant television screen that covers half a skyscraper, a life sized bronze statue of a dog can be found at Tokyo's busy Shibuya Train Station. Despite the diminutive size of the statue in comparison to the massive neon flash of the city, it isn't difficult to find. Millions of Tokyoites have been meeting at the landmark since 1934 and continue to do so today.
Chu-ken Hachiko (lit. the faithful dog Hachiko) was born in Akita in 1923 and was first brought to Tokyo in 1924. He and his owner, Mr. Eisaburo Uyeno, were inseparable friends right from the start. Each day "Hachi" would accompany Eisaburo, a professor at the Imperial University, to the train station when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting, tail wagging. This happy routine continued until one fateful day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill on the job and unfortunately died before he could return home.
Despite the fact that Hachiko was less than two years old at the time, the bond between dog and owner was strong. Hachiko continued to wait each day at Shibuya station for a friend who was never coming back. At times, he wouldn't return home for days at a stretch.
The Akita became a familiar sight to commuters as he kept his vigil for over ten years. On March 8, 1935, Hachiko finally went to meet his master. He died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive."0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Mine can't remember that the tractor is not a toy.. all he wants to do is drive it fast.
cool....[8D]0 -
Do dogs have long term memory? No question about it. My little dachshund remembers more then I do.
If she sees me pick up my 1890, she heads for the back door. If she hears my keys rattle, she heads for the front door. If she hears me open the kitchen door, she heads under the bed because she knows Molly is in and she is about to be mauled....[:D][:D] She has a terrific memory.
rider0 -
My understanding is that dogs don't have a sense of time passing, though I'm not sure I buy that -- how then do they know it's time for their walk, or get agitated if it gets to be ten o'clock and I'm not heading for bed according to routine? I suppose the one doesn't have to cancel the other out. The reason I mention this is, if they don't have a sense of hours or days passing, then as long as something has become routine to them they'll likely remember it to the day they die.
Don't know. I do know my dogs have a routine of me leaving for work, me coming home, their walks, and regular "treat" times (they argue that these are each and every time I open the pantry door -- I say no, not quite that often, and occasionally win the argument). I live by myself and am honestly better off for having the responsibility of making sure their lives are in order, day in, day out.0 -
I've been pondering my Dawg's dreaming.
What's going on in her little pea-sized brain ??
Doug0 -
quote:Originally posted by Doug Wilson
I've been pondering my Dawg's dreaming.
What's going on in her little pea-sized brain ??
Doug
When is he going to give me a treat..........0 -
i believe a dog has a long term memory. no special stories except the dog we had when i joined the Marines, after 4 years when my eas date he almost knocked me down he was so glad i was back with him. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by mongrel1776
My understanding is that dogs don't have a sense of time passing, though I'm not sure I buy that -- how then do they know it's time for their walk, or get agitated if it gets to be ten o'clock and I'm not heading for bed according to routine? I suppose the one doesn't have to cancel the other out. The reason I mention this is, if they don't have a sense of hours or days passing, then as long as something has become routine to them they'll likely remember it to the day they die.
Don't know. I do know my dogs have a routine of me leaving for work, me coming home, their walks, and regular "treat" times (they argue that these are each and every time I open the pantry door -- I say no, not quite that often, and occasionally win the argument). I live by myself and am honestly better off for having the responsibility of making sure their lives are in order, day in, day out.
Our Miniature Schnauzer "Tazz" will jump up on the back of our couch each day at about 5 o'clock and start watching through the front window for the wife's car---returning from work.
Had a miniature Poodle (Barbie) years ago when the two boys were young that each day at about 3 o'clock would get on the back of the couch and start watching for the school bus---knowing it was about time for her 2 boys to get home.0 -
quote:"The wolves ... were only interested in the meat," notes Miklosi. "The dogs were of course interested in the meat, but knew that one way to get it might be to figure out what the human wants them to do."except, they're not waiting to see what the human wants then to do, they're trying to get help in figuring it out, or assistance in doing it.
I give Stormy rawhide bones. one time I didn't feel like peeling the plastic off myself, I figured I'd let her do it. I gave it to her, she got a silly look on her face and went "I don't know what to do with it!" that's what she was communicating. help, assistance, or giving the problem back to me. that's a significant level of thought and communication.0 -
quote:Originally posted by buschmaster
quote:"The wolves ... were only interested in the meat," notes Miklosi. "The dogs were of course interested in the meat, but knew that one way to get it might be to figure out what the human wants them to do."except, they're not waiting to see what the human wants then to do, they're trying to get help in figuring it out, or assistance in doing it.
I give Stormy rawhide bones. one time I didn't feel like peeling the plastic off myself, I figured I'd let her do it. I gave it to her, she got a silly look on her face and went "I don't know what to do with it!" that's what she was communicating. help, assistance, or giving the problem back to me. that's a significant level of thought and communication.
Or maybe the dog has issues.0 -
my friend and I were driveing in a L shaped pasture when in the middle of nowhere his dog stoped running and ducked way down and crawled a few steps and then took off running like nothing happened I pointed it out to hin and he said severl years ago they had a electric fence in that spot and the dog hit it years later the dog still remembered the same spot where the fence ran across that pasture 0 -
My current dog was a little puppy and I was 16 when I stayed with my sister when I was living on the streets. I got real close to the pup and she was by all concerns my dog while I stayed there. I didn't see the dog for 4 years or so until I moved down to Houston on my sisters insistence. She was amazed that the dog came right up to me and insisted on staying in my room and cuddling with me like we used to when she was just a few months old.
I hadn't seen her since she was a few months old and she still knew me and acted like my dog after 4 years of having no contact. When I got my own place my sister made me take the dog after a month or so because she was whining and pacing since I had left.
Funny how some dogs pick you.0 -
Dogs do, goldfish dont. [:)] 0
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