How Long Is A Dog’s Memory

Today we are going to discuss how long a dog will keep memory in his mind. How long is a dog’s memory actually? Their brains work completely differently than ours hence the answer is completely different than regarding humans. This means that we have an interesting topic to answer and we are going to give you all the data possible. You will be surprised with this matter.

How Long Is A Dog’s Memory?

3 types of dog’s memory

How long is a dog’s memory? We will have to explore three different types. These are all different and they have a specific purpose. In order to understand the answer to the main question here, you will have to understand all three types. 

• Short-term memory

Let’s start with short-term memory. It is for around 2 minutes. Some say that it is even shorter, around 27 seconds. Some claim that dogs don’t have short-term memory at all. They do have data banks for this type of memory but they don’t work in the same way as humans. For example, a dog will remember a thing or an action that gave him food, a treat, or something similar. He won’t remember where that happens or anything similar.

How long is a dog’s memory? Well, short-term memory is very short and almost completely directed towards survival. This is the theme when it comes to a dog’s memory. 

• Specialized memory

Semantic memory is the cause of instinct. In other words, dogs will remember where they can eat, drink water, and similar things. All animals use this system. This is something that keeps them alive and happy. A part of this memory is also responsible for mating and similar things. You can see that this is not a memory ability but rather knowing a certain thing or things. It lasts the entire life and it leads a dog through life. We can see that this is the main part of the memory here. 

• Long-term memory

Yes, dogs do have long-term memory but it is not the same as ours. They are unable to remember the whole event from the past where they did something. Here is an interesting example. You can think of the past and you can remember the event that will still make your feelings go wild. Dogs don’t have this ability. 

Episodic and associative memory

Here we have two interesting terms. We have episodic memory. This allows us to remember anything that is important and we know all about that event. Basically, we can remember a particular event completely. Dogs don’t have this ability.

They have associative memory. What this means is that they can remember something but they need an association first. For instance, a dog will refuse to get in the car. He will do it because last time he ended up at the vet. He can associate that getting into the car will be a bad thing. 

It is a complicated matter to explain and we can see a lot of unclear facts. Sadly, dog’s memory is not a well-explored topic and there are still a lot of unknown and confusing facts. Scientists prefer studies about memories of birds and other animals rather than dogs.

Dogs will remember their owners and other dogs

A dog will not forget you any time soon. Even if he spends some time without you, he will still remember. This is possible thanks to the positive associations. Basically, you will spend a lot of time with your dog. You two will play, walk and eat. A dog will memorize that in his own way. He will also know your scent and your face! 

Even if your dog spends some time without you, once you come he will remember you. He will get a lot of positive associations with you. Add the face and scent and you can see that he will remember you in his way. This is the same situation with other dogs. A dog who spends a lot of time with another dog will have more positive associations with that dog. He will remember him even if he spends a lot of time without him. In both cases, we can see that this can last a couple of months. 

Associative memory: Positive and negative way

We know that dogs will remember something that had a strong effect on them. For instance, if you play with your pet and you feed him every single day. He will remember that when he sees you. But, associate memory works in both ways. This means that a dog will have negative memories as well. He will know that you yelled at him when he chewed something. 

What we are trying to say is that dogs will associate good and bad things with specific events. Both of these can make stunning ‘’memories’’. The only thing that is relevant here is that a stronger association will provoke a stronger memory. 

They will remember the smell as well

Humans have olfactory receptors that allow us to smell something. We have 6 million of these. Dogs have 300 million so yes, their sense of smell is much stronger. This also means that a dog will store in his memory a very powerful scent.

In other terms, a dog will memorize your scent. If you two are playing, feeding, and enjoying every single day, he can remember that scent at any given moment. Even if you two spend some time away from each other, he will still be able to do this. There are a lot of reports where dogs recognized the owners after years.

The final word

How long is a dog’s memory? As you can see there are many facts you need to know. All you have to remember is that their mind doesn’t work like ours. They need an association to remember something that is important for their survival or can make dogs happy. But, they can remember the scent much longer (for years) and this is important if you want your pet to remember you.