Those of us who live with an ARISTODOG know how intelligent and quick-witted they are. We have always said so to anyone willing to listen, but it seems that until science gives us the go-ahead, our claims are nothing more than “ARISTOPARENT love.”
Well, it turns out that three researchers, members of the Department of Ethology and the Comparative Ethology Research Group at the University of Budapest, have conducted a study, published just a few days ago in the journal Current Biology, demonstrating that dogs not only remember what they do themselves, but also what their ARISTOPARENTS do.
The study focuses on what is known as “episodic memory,” that is, the kind that allows us humans to remember things we do not consider important when they happen. The question was whether dogs have it or not.
To do this, they trained 17 dogs of different breeds, as well as mixed-breed dogs. Using the method known as Do as I Do, the dogs learned to match their behavior to behavior demonstrated by humans when given the command “Do it!” Put simply: the owner would jump, then give the command, and the dog would jump too. Animals trained in this way could imitate their owners’ actions even 24 hours later. This means that giving the command “Do it!” after some time is, in a way, equivalent to asking them, “Do you remember what your owner did?”
To investigate episodic memory, the imitation test had to be unexpected for the dogs. They were therefore trained again to change their expectations of receiving the imitation command. Regardless of the actions performed by the owner, they were told to lie down. In this way, they were taught that the actions shown to them were no longer relevant, because whatever the owner did, the dog was always told to lie down. Then, after confirming that the dogs no longer expected the imitation command, the researchers showed them everyday actions and, after some time, surprised them by giving the command: “Do it!”
The fact that dogs can remember and imitate when tested unexpectedly means that they use memory similar to episodic memory to remember everyday tasks. Therefore, the research concludes that dogs remember not only what they do, but also what we do.
Other species, such as primates, rats, and pigeons, had already shown evidence of possessing memory similar to episodic memory. However, it was not yet known whether animals could use episodic memory to remember complex events, such as situations that occur in real life. That is why this study is so important. It is the first to examine whether dogs in their natural environment can remember complex, content-rich events similar to those that occur in real life. It is also the first research to study memories of the actions of others, not performed by the subjects themselves. This is what makes it so significant. If you want more information about the study, click here.
So, if you were convinced that your ARISTODOG was capable of repeating what you do, and if you were convinced that it had an amazing memory, you were right. Daily life and physical and emotional closeness with our ARISTODOGS allow us to know more about them and understand them better than anyone. So we could say that familiarity not only creates affection (unconditional love), but also provides knowledge.
