Do dogs sometimes recall a time a few years back where they failed to catch a frisbee?
I’ve had multiple dogs all my life, and the way they behave and dream, and what I read in scientific literature has convinced me that their thoughts and memories are probably pretty similar to ours. It is just hard to research this.
I don’t think it’s ever been conclusively proven that other animals have episodic memories. (Although it’s hard to tell whether they’re actually replaying an experience or just remembering the relevant information in a less immediate way, without being able to ask them.)
That’s fascinating. Does an animal finding an item they buried a week ago not constitute an episodic memory? Considering they’d basically have to retrace their steps. Is ‘remembering the relevant information’ not akin to memory of an event?
The most suggestive study I’ve seen was of squirrels who re-bury nuts at a later date if other squirrels were watching them bury the nuts initially. But it can still be argued that they’re just keeping a mental map with some nuts marked as “need to move” without remembering the specific experiences that made them think the original locations were compromised.
Squirrels are known for storing large amounts of nuts all over the place, hense the term “squirreling away” but they often forget about stores, leading to new trees sprouting
If any are, I bet crows are among them.
Back in my dogyears on my first fulltime job the office assistant wanted to shake my hand close to the coathangers so I handed her my backpack.
Lmao that’s amazing. If I were that person I’d had found it funny. Hopefully it’s not too embarrassing a memory for you!
It’s been well digested by now it’s a fun memory since it was for 6 months then moved on. Years ago.
I doubt most other animals experience embarrassment like we do.
