GOOD GIRL: Dogs Have Better Memory Than You Realize.

For the episodic memory study, the researchers trained 17 dogs to copy human actions through the “Do as I Do” method. Next step, the dogs were taught to lie down purposefully after the watching an action performed by a person. After the dogs learned to do this, they were suddenly given a “Do It” command without any prior warning.

Surprisingly the dogs were able to imitate the action even though they weren’t alerted beforehand to remember and repeat it.

The dogs were able to recall the action performed by the person and repeat it when they were asked to do so. It is therefore clear that the dogs exhibit episodic-like memory.

The researchers tested the dogs after one minute first, then after an hour. They discovered that the dogs were able to do the actions after both short and long stretches of time. However, their memories declined more with time.

I can’t think of a single one of my domestic routines that my dogs don’t remember at least as well as I do.