Daft sentimental question but what do dogs remember??

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sonjafoers

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I know there's no definitive answer but I have been musing about this for a little while now!

A while ago my OH & I took on a 5 year old rottie who had been deprived of food, water & exercise and physically abused. I posted in her about him but to keep it brief he weighed 28kg when we got him - we have his brother who is in perfect condition & not overweight at 52kg so you can imagine how thin he was. He came with the instructions that he was a terrible thief and we should push him into a corner by using a broom under his chin and then hit him about the head with the broom when he pinches food. You get the gist........

Anyway we have had him nearly 6 months now and he is a beautiful sweet loving dog who has fitted in perfectly with our other two. He is so happy and I often look at him lying on his duvet with his legs in the air and wonder if he remembers his other life or if he ever thinks about it. I wonder if he worries that this is a holiday and he might end up going back.

Daft I know but what do you think?
 
HMMM.

My ex boyfriends dog still goes mental when he sees me, maybe once a year and we broke up over 5 years ago. I loved that dog, and was probably the only person in that family who actually fussed him. As soon as he see's me he knows and goes mad.

My dog knows when we are on the way back to my nans. she'll perk up and get excited. we only take her there once or twice a year.
 
I think they remember, but I doubt very much they would worry about the possibility of going back as dogs do not, in my opinion, think like that. Once they're settled with someone I think that tends to be that, which is why they can find changes to their routine so stressful. The kind of poor home your lad had might have made it more difficult initially for him to relax and trust people, but I'm sure he is perfectly settled now:)
 
Agree with Dobiegirl re the broom.

I think they remember, or make reference.

When i took Jake on he was terribly nervous. He was (still is, and always will be!) very messy in his kennel. He has clearly been 'told off' :mad: for this - even now when i walk in his kennel with his food he will trot to the back of the kennel, crouch and circle at 100mph until you drop the food...a nervous thing! Nowadays, whilst circling, he will wag his tail at the same time :D so it's probably more habit now than anything.

Well done for turning this poor dogs life around :) it's so rewarding isn't it!! :D
 
We had our old dog for about 10 years and yet he was always funny with men and certain boots and shoes that people wore - he had no history at all when we got him from the shelter. He also used to get really excited when we were coming home (from wherever we'd been), and when we visited friends and family - he always knew when we were nearly there and would normally wake up and start barking.

My cousin had 2 beardies who we looked after when they were out from quarantine, she'd moved back from France. They lived with my family for about 1 year, I had known the bitch for a bit before that. My cousin sold them to a family who lived nearby as she got a job in London and didn't want them living in a city.

5 years later I was walking in town when I saw 2 beardies tied up outside a shop, I "casually" walked past them whispering their names and they both went ballistic, very waggy and happy to see me. I gave up all pretence of secrecy and went up to them and was in the middle of a very enthusiastic welcome from them when their new owners (well not so new then) came back, luckily they were fine when I explained who I was (and why I was talking to 1 of the dogs in french).
 
Ive had my greyhound nearly 6 months now, i got him at 18months old from a greyhound rescue. He was very nervous but now is pretty much fearless :D .. until he see's teenagers with footballs and he flips :( Adults with footballs/little kids with footballs and hes completly unfazed. Weve made a guess that when he was in the racing kennels he was kicked/had teens playing football around and it brings back bad memories but its so odd that its just that age group :o
 
I agree that they remember a long way back but, at risk of sounding all Cesar Millan, I think that dogs live in the moment and don't dwell on what's happened to them in the past.

That said... Dax has a fear of lone men that we meet out walking - she's fine with groups of men, or lone women, but freezes up and stares if we pass a lone man. This only happens out in the countryside, she'll wag her tail at them in town. :confused:

She has also shown fearful reactions to people with disabilities, to my great embarassment - on one occasion to a man with limited mobility who walked with an odd gait (she shot backwards at the sound of his foot dragging) and on one occasion to someone with Downs, whose voice (speech impediment) had a similar effect. Completely puzzling as her previous owner didn't have either of those conditions and I'm fairly sure he didn't abuse her, beyond not enough exercise and socialisation.

Anyway, in the case of the upside-down rottie, if he's happy in that moment - he's not wondering if that will ever happen to him again, or even considering how lucky he is - I just think he's happy in the now. :)
 
I think everyone has echoed what I thought really which is that they do remember if faced with a trigger but don't live their lives thinking about the past.

He is actually fine when I am sweeping the stables but not so good at walking past the broom if propped against the wall. He is also terrified of the lead if he has been off hunting somewhere and re-joined me but loves the lead when I pick it up to take them out.

If only they could speak :rolleyes:
 
Scranny_Ann said:
Well done for turning this poor dogs life around :) it's so rewarding isn't it!! :D
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Yes Scranny_Ann it is but it's unfortunately a double edged sword in this case as the original owner actually bought the dog when he had seen ours & wanted one. We actually drove a considerable distance to pick the pup up for him and handed him over in all good faith. If only we had known what a life we had delivered him into we would never have done it.
 
sonjafoers said:
Yes Scranny_Ann it is but it's unfortunately a double edged sword in this case as the original owner actually bought the dog when he had seen ours & wanted one. We actually drove a considerable distance to pick the pup up for him and handed him over in all good faith. If only we had known what a life we had delivered him into we would never have done it.
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Oh no :( how terrible for you :(

Still, at least you have him back and he is a happy bunny now :D

p.s my OH has a rottie - what is it about them sleeping/lying on their back with legs in the air! Funny things!! :D:D
 
I sometimes sell a pup to a showing home & will bump into it much later on at a show & they always seem to remember me & get excited. Not sure if it is the scent or sight but something says 'Mum is here' to them. So I think they do remember if their is a trigger stimlus.
 
Our last GSD (R.I.P) was a rescue and ALWAYS had a fear of men - it took her months and months to come round to my dad. Something had obviously happened where she was previously.
I think they definitely remember when something has happened but it's more of a "I'm going to be cautious, just in case" not a "oh God its definitely going to happen again".
Its the most brilliant thing being able to turn a dogs life around.
K x
 
sonjafoers said:
I know there's no definitive answer but I have been musing about this for a little while now!

A while ago my OH & I took on a 5 year old rottie who had been deprived of food, water & exercise and physically abused. I posted in her about him but to keep it brief he weighed 28kg when we got him - we have his brother who is in perfect condition & not overweight at 52kg so you can imagine how thin he was. He came with the instructions that he was a terrible thief and we should push him into a corner by using a broom under his chin and then hit him about the head with the broom when he pinches food. You get the gist........

Anyway we have had him nearly 6 months now and he is a beautiful sweet loving dog who has fitted in perfectly with our other two. He is so happy and I often look at him lying on his duvet with his legs in the air and wonder if he remembers his other life or if he ever thinks about it. I wonder if he worries that this is a holiday and he might end up going back.

Daft I know but what do you think?
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I haven't read other posts but I took on a rescued girl and for the first few months she had the most awful dreams, the sound was really distressing, a pitiful wail and not at all like she was having fun chasing rabbits. She was a chucked out bred from bitch in her past life and locked in a kennel for a whole year with her food and water poked through the bars. In fact considering what she'd been through she is the most wonderful dog now and her personality is coming out.

As time has gone on she still has dreams and rumbles but they are less frequent and not so disturbing. I always thought she was dreaming about the traumatic times she had before she was rehomed.
 
Oh BBH that's awful, poor girl. I'm glad I've had nothing like that because it would break my heart, what a lucky girl to have found you now.
 
sonjafoers said:
I know there's no definitive answer but I have been musing about this for a little while now!

A while ago my OH & I took on a 5 year old rottie who had been deprived of food, water & exercise and physically abused. I posted in her about him but to keep it brief he weighed 28kg when we got him - we have his brother who is in perfect condition & not overweight at 52kg so you can imagine how thin he was. He came with the instructions that he was a terrible thief and we should push him into a corner by using a broom under his chin and then hit him about the head with the broom when he pinches food. You get the gist........

Anyway we have had him nearly 6 months now and he is a beautiful sweet loving dog who has fitted in perfectly with our other two. He is so happy and I often look at him lying on his duvet with his legs in the air and wonder if he remembers his other life or if he ever thinks about it. I wonder if he worries that this is a holiday and he might end up going back.

Daft I know but what do you think?
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I often think that of our springer, we rehomed her at approx a year old, she's 3 now, she was past about 3 different people before we had her, one of which we know used to lock her in a cupboard if they had visitors, dunno why, she doesn't jump up at people or anything excessive, anyway, she doesn't like going in the car, when she's in the car she's fine its the getting in, I have to peel her off the road and lift her in, once in she's fine, I'm putting it down to some sort of small space complex, I dont' tell her off or anything, just pick her up calmly and put her in, she's fine when she's in there.

Cesar Milan says they live for today and how they are treated now, but I think they remember being ill treated like any animal or person for that matter
 
Scranny_Ann said:
Agree with Dobiegirl re the broom.

I think they remember, or make reference.

When i took Jake on he was terribly nervous. He was (still is, and always will be!) very messy in his kennel. He has clearly been 'told off' :mad: for this - even now when i walk in his kennel with his food he will trot to the back of the kennel, crouch and circle at 100mph until you drop the food...a nervous thing! Nowadays, whilst circling, he will wag his tail at the same time :D so it's probably more habit now than anything.

Well done for turning this poor dogs life around :) it's so rewarding isn't it!! :D
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Just wondering what happened re the nervous dog you had (is this the one) where he suddenly acted strange but you didn't know why, did you ever solve it ?
 
POLLDARK said:
I sometimes sell a pup to a showing home & will bump into it much later on at a show & they always seem to remember me & get excited. Not sure if it is the scent or sight but something says 'Mum is here' to them. So I think they do remember if their is a trigger stimlus.
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When we had our GSD from a pup, from the yard I kept my horse at the time, months later I took him up in the car to feed the ned, I left him in the car as I was only going to be quick, the window was open enough to get your arm in, my friend walked past the car and spoke to him and he growled, the lady who owned the yard who bred him, came down the yard and put her arm straight in and stroked him and he was wagging his tail so he remembered her !

Strange really, he was born in a stable with 8 others, his mother was fed scraps like burnt crumpets etc, stale bread ! he was the last pup to be homed and she had him in her house for a week before we had him so I think thats why he remembered her so well, cos she didint' bother with them otherwise. If you were on the yard on your own you could let the dog (the mother before she had pups) off the chain and she'd follow you round, really good dog, as soon as the owner made an appearance that was it she never left her side, even though she was fed absolute ***p

She died not long after having the pups, I think because having so many took it out of her, it was her first litter and they were all big pups, and she wasn't fed properly so hence her being dehydrated etc
 
BBH said:
I haven't read other posts but I took on a rescued girl and for the first few months she had the most awful dreams, the sound was really distressing, a pitiful wail and not at all like she was having fun chasing rabbits. She was a chucked out bred from bitch in her past life and locked in a kennel for a whole year with her food and water poked through the bars. In fact considering what she'd been through she is the most wonderful dog now and her personality is coming out.

As time has gone on she still has dreams and rumbles but they are less frequent and not so disturbing. I always thought she was dreaming about the traumatic times she had before she was rehomed.
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That's interesting, as our abused dog seemed to have the same experience. It hardly happens now but when she was younger she used to cry and cry in her sleep, then wake up obviously confused, distressed and needy. She now has the normal "running" dreams and fewer of the crying ones but will still occasionally stare off into space and cry quietly. Overall though, she's super cheerful, more so than the one who has never had a bad day in his life! :D

She also came with a "drinking problem", where she would drink and drink until she made herself sick. That went away fairly quickly and I think was more "training" - drink while you can - than remembering, strictly speaking.
 
TarrSteps said:
She also came with a "drinking problem", where she would drink and drink until she made herself sick.
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That's interesting TarrSteps because so did mine. I know quite a bit about him because as stated we picked him up for the original owner, so I know he wasn't house trained & was shut up all day. As a result he used to pee in the house so the owner stopped giving him water, and when he took him out the dog would pull him to get to puddles for a drink which resulted in being kicked in the face and head to stop him drinking.

When he first came to us he used to crawl to the water bowl like he was doing something wrong, and then he would drink a full bowl at a time. Shortly after & I'm not surprised he would sick it all up again!!
 
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