You’ll never forget the first time you saw your furry friend. You probably fell in love at first sight, right? But have you ever thought about whether or not your dog also thinks about that day?
Before we consider whether or not dogs remember meeting their owners, it’s essential to know how a dog’s memory works. Dogs usually have two kinds of memories: short-term and long-term. Does that sound familiar? Dogs are different from people in that their short-term memories are concise. Experts say it won’t take your dog more than 70 seconds to forget what happened.
Their short-term memory could probably use some work, but their long-term memory is impressive. Dogs always know their owners, even if they haven’t seen them in a long time. There are many reasons for this, but they mostly use their sense of smell.
PBS says dogs have as many as 300 million odor receptors in their noses. Are you having trouble understanding? To compare, humans have just over 6 million. That means your dog or puppy has a sense of smell about 40 times stronger than ours. This also means that smells will stay in your dog’s mind for a long time. This could be about other animals, but it could also be about the person who owns them. So, even if you changed your face, your dog would still be able to recognize you by the way you smell. Pretty cool, wouldn’t you say?
How can you tell if your dog remembers your presence?
Many different things happen when a dog sees its owner. Some may whine, bark, lick, jump, and move their bodies all over the place, while others may be calmer. One of the great things about dogs is that they don’t have just one way to show how much they love or miss their owner. They are different people with different reactions and personalities.
If you want to know if your dog remembers you, all you have to do is walk in the front door and wait for their special greeting. Even if your dog can’t tell time or count how many days you’ve been gone, they will notice if something changes in their routine. Your puppies depend on you, so they see when you’re not there to feed them, walk them, or be with them.
How do dogs remember their owners over time?
Scientists and historians worldwide have studied dogs for a long time to find out if they remember their owners and, if so, how. Scientists at the University of Padua in Italy have done one of the most well-known studies. There, they found out that dogs not only remember their owners but that they do so by looking at their faces. During this study, they also found that dogs use their sense of smell, hearing, and physical traits to find their owner.
Why does your dog remember you, and how does it do it?
Over the years, there have been a lot of studies that have shown that dogs do remember their owners. You may have seen one of the many popular videos on YouTube of soldiers coming home to a crying, fainting, overexcited dog. If this doesn’t show what we’re trying to say, we don’t know what does!
From a scientific point of view, dogs are more likely to remember things and people they care about. They can feel basic emotions like happiness, love, anger, surprise, and fear, but not much more. Many people are sure that cane corso dogs know how it feels to miss the people they love, but they might not understand why they are gone.
As was already said, a dog’s sense of smell is linked to its memories and feelings. So the answer to whether or not they remember their owners is yes, because they can smell them. A specific part of their brain is activated when they sense a familiar person, like their owner.
How to Teach Your Dog to Recognize You
Dogs use their instincts and sense of smell to find their owners, so there isn’t always just one way to train them to do this. Your dog will remember you because of the pheromones you give off, not because you’ve spent hours trying to get them to recognize you.
Still, you can change how your dog acts when you see them by doing different things. Train them in basic obedience and help them learn to recognize their master and other people in the house. This will go a long way toward strengthening your relationship with your dog and helping him in the long run.
