To be able to make a somewhat complete analysis about the span of dog memory, it is important to differentiate between associative memory and real memory. It is said that if a dog does not have some sort of exterior stimulus that he is not able to think about or remember parks or places he has been in before. But as soon as dog hears his owner’s voice, smells him or perceives his presence at a distance, his associative memory activates or comes to life. This same type of reaction seems to happen to people that have not seen each other in months or years and their immediate reaction is as if no time had gone by at all. Some veterinarians say that after a dog has been away or separated from his owner for over ten hours and after the dog’s tension and desperation has gone from having left his home and owner, that the dog is then able to inverse the situation. It seems that the dog is able to change thehostile or anxious feelings he had. Some people say that the dog’s emotional tension leaves him as well as the image of his owner in his mind, which then allows the dog to peacefully live his life with another owner. Whether this is true or not is beyond our knowledge. Some people believe it while others don’t. If it is true though, how would we explain certain behaviors the dog does when he has lost his owner because of death etc. and they reject any invitation into a new home? There are many cases of dogs that have run away, rejecting any help and that actually look anxious sad. There are breeds that do not get completely hung up on their owners and these types seem to accept change a lot easier than others. There are others though, that just don’t accept new owners. These dogs are only able to have one owner. This might be because of a predisposition or generic characteristic but the truth is that some do not accept a new owner easily.
