How Does Dog Memory Work ?

Behavior -

How Does Dog Memory Work ?

Dog memory is the formation, consolidation and restoration of temporary neural connections. that is, certain neural impulses enter the brain through certain pathways, and repeated interactions between neurons in the brain, such as hearing, smelling, and seeing, form temporary relationships. By consolidating the effects on the cerebral cortex, which is the process of memory and preservation. This trace will be reactivated in response to the corresponding stimulus, which is the process of recall or recognition. Dogs have a strong sense of resilience and direction. They remember clearly the paths they've gone, the people and things they're interested in.

Depending on the content of the dog's memory, the memory can be divided into image memory, motor memory and emotional memory.

Image memory

Image memory refers to the memory of specific images that perceive things as their contents. Such images can be vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. For example, dogs' memory of their owner's appearance is visual, and dogs' memory of the smell of tracks during training is olfactory.

Motor memory

Motor memory is the memory of past actions or actions. During training, many are associated with motor memories, such as sitting, lying down, or walking through obstacles that dogs complete. When dogs are trained to form conditioned reflexes, they generally include both image and motor memory.


Emotional memory

Emotional memory is the memory of experiencing emotional content. When a dog is excited about its environment or its owner's behavior, it forms deep impressions. Dogs get excited when this happens.It's an emotional memory.

However, each type of dog memory has different characteristics:

Mechanical memory

Mechanical memory is the gift to enable dogs to effortlessly, efficiently and mechanically preserve past activities.

Emotional memory

Dogs repeat previous mental states under certain conditions. For example, if a dog recognizes its owner, it will show an excited state. Or when you take the leash off, the dog knows it's going for a walk and acts cheerful.


Associative memory

Associative memory, which is a crucial form of memory for dogs. Without this mnemonic approach, many training tasks would be impossible. However, some are beneficial, while others are harmful. If you train your dog to sit or lie down for five seconds, then instead of recognizing your command, the dog will remember five seconds. and after five seconds, the dog will lie down on its own. The more intelligent the dog, the more likely it is to form bad associations. Therefore, it is essential to avoid bad associations when training dogs.