How quickly do dogs actually forget? Dogs have many talents, such as the ability to store a catalogue of smells and recognise human faces. But what happens when the master or mistress is not around for a long period of time? Do dogs forget their caregivers and look for new ones, or will they be loyal even after years?

How quickly dogs forget

The nose recognises everything

Dogs have up to 300 million odour receptors. Humans, on the other hand, only have 6 million. In addition, the part of the brain responsible for analysing odours is proportionally around 40 times larger than in humans. This shows that dogs can store and recognise an odour for a long time. Even if a person's face changes, even drastically, the dog will recognise it by its smell. However, the change in appearance may initially cause the dog to be confused and not show as strong an emotional reaction as if it recognised the smell and the face at the same time. But the memory of the smell is strong enough to ensure that the dog recognises its humans.

A dog recognises faces

How quickly do dogs forget a face? Dogs with normally healthy eyes rely equally on their sense of smell and visual recognition when it comes to recognising people. Dogs whose eyes deteriorate over the years therefore often need a little longer to recognise their humans, at least until the human's scent becomes more firmly anchored in their memory. If a dog's human does not see the dog for a long period of time and the dog's face changes significantly in the meantime, the dog will initially be unsure when they meet because the memory of the odour does not match the visual appearance. However, the dog knows from the odour that it is a familiar person. The dog will quickly learn to associate the familiar odour with the new face.

Affection grows with distance

There is a theory that dogs have no understanding of time, i.e. that they cannot distinguish minutes from hours. However, this theory is not true. Dogs know the difference between long and short periods of time, they just remember them differently to humans. For a dog, the period of a day consists of routines such as hunger, eating and going for a walk. It recognises the passage of time and knows what time its owner usually comes home from work. For example, he learns to associate his feeling of hunger with the arrival of his human, so that his anticipation begins to grow as the feeling of hunger intensifies. The longer his owner is away, the more his excitement grows and the more joy he feels when his human finally arrives.

A warm reunion

Experience shows that dogs greet their owners with more warmth and joy the longer they have been absent. Even if the human hasn't been around for years, the dog not only recognises them, but is even happier to see them again. Unfortunately, this also means that the dog suffers more from the separation in the meantime. The longer his human is away, the more anxious and distressed he can become. So if you are planning a reunion with your dog after a long absence, it is better for the dog if humans and animals meet again in a calm environment without additional excitement. The reunion should therefore not take place in a large family circle, but rather separately in a quiet park. The dog will be so happy about the reunion that it will need the undivided affection and attention of its human for a while.

How quickly dogs generally forget a person

Dogs rely on their nose and eyes to recognise a person. Of course, dogs can recognise a person by smell. But their eyes are very good and they can use their sense of sight to recognise a person. If the dog has a pair of strong, healthy eyes, he will never forget a person who is connected to him. But unfortunately, it can be difficult for dogs with weak eyesight to recognise exactly who someone is. Then he has to use the power of smell for identification.

How quickly do dogs forget an odour? Never! A dog can remember a person's odour for the rest of its life, whether the interaction with that person was friendly or not so friendly. The association remains stored in the dog's brain and relates to how that person made the dog feel. Your dog may remember a specific event associated with a particular gesture, voice, movement or odour with the emotion.

A dog never forgets a carer or an owner, even after years. The amazing olfactory power and facial recognition of dogs helps them to remember their owners as soon as they see or smell them. They do not understand time periods. So even after several years of separation, dogs will never forget the people they have become friends with.

How long will your dog remember another dog?

How quickly do dogs forget another dog? There are not many studies that show exactly how long a dog remembers another dog. But dogs are generally happy and uncomplicated creatures. They may meet other dogs while walking in the park, but won't remember everyone unless they come along and sniff each other. As their sense of smell is stronger than that of humans, they use it to identify each other. As soon as they sniff each other and play together for a while, they will remember that dog, even if they don't see each other again for weeks.

If, after several weeks of separation, a dog jumps or reacts happily when meeting another dog after they have sniffed each other, this is a sign that he can identify his friend. the dog cannot necessarily remember everything he has done, but through the associations with a smell, feelings towards other dogs are retained for a long time. The longer a dog plays with its furry friends, the better and longer it will remember them. 

How to become a responsible dog owner

How quickly dogs and other animals forget: animals meet their owners again after years!

How traumatic is it for a dog to change owners?

We all hope that all dogs immediately find a home where they can stay forever. However, this is not always the case as the person's situation may change or they may realise that their situation is not ideal for adopting the dog. Therefore, many owners want a better place for their dogs. How quickly do dogs forget a happy time?

It is a very emotional situation, both for the owners and for the dogs. But the impact on the dogs is much greater. The dog's reaction to a change of owner depends on several factors, for example how old the dog is and what the previous living situation was like.

In general, moving a dog to a new home with a new owner is a traumatic and stressful experience. Dogs can go through both anxiety and depression, especially if they are coming from a home where they were really happy. They will miss the old owner very much and this sadness can increase with each passing day.

How quickly dogs forget the change of owner and get used to the new situation:

This depends entirely on the dog's age and history. For puppies, the transition can be quite quick. The older the dog is, the more memories it has of its previous owner. It therefore takes time to establish a bond or build trust.