out if dogs can remember such details, scientists asked 17 owners to teach their pets a trick called “do as I do.”
1. The dogs learned that after watching their owners jump in the air, they should do the same thing when commanded to “Do it!”
They trained the dogs to imitate human actions on command. But that alone did not prove episodic-like memory, so the testing continued.
2. In the next round of training, the owners taught their dogs to lie down after watching them do something different. Things like touching an umbrella or stepping up on a chair were used as signals. They were no longer required to imitate the same act performed by their owners, instead they were expected to lie down.
3. The owners then performed the different action, but this time after the dog laid down, the owner ordered, “Do it!”
That’s when the dog had to remember what action it had seen its owner do previously. That action was combined with the command it was being ordered to perform.
And this was done even though it had no expectation that it needed to recall the action.
The dogs were tested in this way both one minute and one hour after watching their owners.
a. Essentially, the dogs were first trained to imitate human actions on command.
b. Next, they were trained to perform a simple training exercise (lying down), irrespective of the previously demonstrated action.
So, they substituted the dogs’ expectation to imitate their owners with the expectation to lie down.
Amazingly, the dogs succeeded in 33 of 35 trials. This suggests that dogs have something similar to episodic memory. Although, the longer the dogs had to wait, the more trouble they had recalling the action, like human episodic memory.
The human memory fades at a faster rate when an event isn’t intentionally recorded. For example, you’re more likely to remember your first kiss than a hug last week from your spouse.
To break it down, the dogs were able to remember the “do as I do” trick, even when the owner performed a different trick, but their memory faded with time.
According to researchers, this demonstrates that dogs can remember events they witness (in this case, an action performed by their owner).
But they don’t retain those memories for very long. So, dogs may have short-term, episodic memory, but their associative memories stick with them longer. (More on this later.)
“The study showed that dogs remember events much like we do, and [it] blows out of the water the old way most scientists characterized animal memory,” said Brian Hare, a dog cognition expert at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who was not involved in the study.
“Our dogs’ memories aren’t based simply on repetition and reward.”
The study revealed that episodic memory is not unique to humans. And it did not evolve only in primates.
Though humans and animals do not share the same level of episodic memory or self-awareness, it shows that dogs and other animals recall a lot more than we probably think.
“It’s a more widespread skill in the animal kingdom,” said Claudia Fugazza, an ethologist at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and the study’s lead author who also said that parrots, dolphins and killer whales could be the next ones to be further tested.
Researchers have already taught these species the “do as I do” trick.
Note: A cat’s memory is thought to be at least 200 times better than a dog’s.
Associative Memory vs. Episodic Memory
Unlike episodic memory, there is associative memory which we know for sure that dogs have.
After all, a dog who’s been through obedience training can remember commands and hand signals for the rest of its life. Dogs have proven to have good memories when it comes to people, places and things.
For example, they know which fences they like to bark at and who gives them treats. It’s associative memory that helps dogs remember their favorite things.
When you think about going for a walk, you probably remember specific walks you’ve taken in the past. And you may recall a specific route you took or the time it rained on you while you were out for a stroll.
A dog’s mind, acco