The owners’ assessment of “everyday dog memory”

Abstract

In a questionnaire study we surveyed the owners of 113 companion dogs. Owners had to mark on a four-grade scale how long their dog remembered particular memory items (persons, other animals, events, objects). Additionally we collected descriptive data on the demographical characteristics of the dog and the keeping conditions. A principal component analysis on the memory items resulted in five components. From these, two were connected to people ('Family' and 'Intruders'), three other components contained individual items of memory of objects and events ('Going out' , Playing' and 'Doing something'). Analyses of variance revealed that the dog-owner relationship, the keeping conditions, age and breed of the dog affect the dogs' memory as described by the owner. The amount of time spent together or the education of the owner had no or minimal effect on these components. Our study showed that owners form stable opinions about their dogs' episodic memory capacity. Nevertheless, the results can be biased by such factors that affect either the owners' opinions about their dog-companions, or the dogs' access to particular stimuli, which can modify the formation of memory traces. In the future, these results can serve as a starting point for empirical testing of family dogs' memory.

How Old Is My Dog? Identification of Rational Age Groupings in Pet Dogs Based Upon Normative Age-Linked Processes

“…The limited data available on the timing of behavioral maturation in dogs suggest that adolescent development may continue until dogs are ∼2 years of age, as they still exhibit behavioral changes between the age of 1 and 2 years (7,36). Therefore, dogs that are 1 year old (aged between 12 and 24 months) could be classified as being "Young adults."…”

“…There is also evidence to show that different behavioral traits exhibit different developmental and lifespan trajectories ( 12 , 35 ). In terms of memory, dogs aged under 24 months have been shown to have the shortest memory span compared with older dogs ( 36 ), implying that memory is still undergoing a developmental change in this period.…”

“…The limited data available on the timing of behavioral maturation in dogs suggest that adolescent development may continue until dogs are ~2 years of age, as they still exhibit behavioral changes between the age of 1 and 2 years ( 7 , 36 ). Therefore, dogs that are 1 year old (aged between 12 and 24 months) could be classified as being “Young adults.” Previous research has used a similar structure, with dogs aged 6–12 months classified as being in “late puppyhood” and dogs aged 1–2 years as “adolescents” ( 7 , 38 ).…”

Progress on evolution of communication and interaction studies

“…The primates' behaviour showed patterns similar to conversational responses in human children. Kis et al (2012) and Pongrácz et al (2012) focus on interaction and relationships between dogs and their owners. Kis et al (2012) find an effect of owners' personalities on dog-owner interaction.…”

“…Kis et al (2012) find an effect of owners' personalities on dog-owner interaction. Pongrácz et al (2012) uses a questionnaire study to gain owners' assessments of their dogs' memory abilities. Kagawa et al (2012) investigate differences in song complexity between male white-rumped munias and Bengalese finches, the former showing syntactically simpler songs.…”