It's hard to forget that moment when we saw our new pet for the first time. We remember the feeling when we took him in our arms for the first time, and in detail that first sleepless night when we gave in and placed the dog in our bed.
But many people wonder if the dog remembers that first day of life together? And it's not only curious owners, but also scientists, writes Pet Magazine.
Memory
As experts explain, dogs use two different types of memory - short-term and associative (long-term). However, short-term memory is very limited, so much so that dogs remember that you gave them a treat for only seventy seconds, and then forget it completely.
This is exactly the reason why they are so happy when you come home after five minutes because you only went out to take out the trash. It is impossible for dogs to know whether you have been gone for five minutes or hours.
Associations
Of course, our pets also rely on associative memory. These are situations when they associate objects, people or events with smells, sounds, visual traces, familiar behavior or emotions. For example, if he hears the jingle of keys, your dog will start whining and become alarmed, as this is a sure sign that you will soon leave the house. Or, when he hears the rustling of a bag of chips - that's a signal that he might get a bite.
Unwanted behaviors
All these are the reasons why behaviorists and trainers emphasize that it is completely pointless to "punish" a dog or scold him two hours after defecating on the bed - he doesn't remember it. You must correct unwanted behavior immediately after it occurs, so that your dog knows exactly what he did that is not allowed. If you scold him hours after, for example, he bit your shoe while you were not at home - he will not know what he hid and will most likely start to fear you, which no owner wants.
The memory of dogs is still under the watchful eye of scientists and is the subject of extensive and long-term studies. For example, it is still not scientifically proven how dogs manage to find their way home months after being lost? Or, how do they manage to forget where they hid a treat or a bone in a tiny apartment?
Declarative memory
Recently, it was discovered that dogs also use declarative memory, which is responsible for knowing facts. For example, thanks to it, dogs know exactly in which part of the park pigeons or squirrels are "hiding", which are real fun to chase and scare. Also, this type of memory is responsible for our dogs reacting to certain words. For example – a veterinarian. At the mere mention, the dog will become agitated because he will remember that a painful temperature measurement or a bottle will soon follow. Dogs recognize hundreds of words, and the record is still held by a border collie named Chaser who knows even a thousand different words! That's significantly more than the average toddler.
Time travel
But before you fall into the trap of declaring your dog smarter than the average college student, it's worth noting that dogs have a problem with "traveling" back and forth in time. They don't know if something happened recently or a few years ago. So, scientists say, although your dog most likely cannot remember the day you met and when he became your pet, he unmistakably remembers your facial features, your voice, smell and thousands of positive emotions and feelings you arouse in him. And so it will be for the rest of his life.
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