Do Dogs ever Forget?

I have been pondering this thought "Do dogs ever forget?" in terms of training because as I train dogs and see those light bulb moments when they get "It" (meaning the thing I am teaching them), I wonder if once they learn "It" can they forget "It"?

I think it is so Brilliant when, particularly in teaching the Down Command, a dog actually lays down on the word with no other help or cue; Truly that is a Cognitive Thought Process of understanding and performance. Learning is a complex process and many cognitive skills contribute to the success. These critical skills include:

• Attention
• Working Memory
• Processing Speed
• Long-Term Memory
• Visual Processing
• Auditory Processing
• Logic and Reasoning

I think dogs have these skills to learn. Of course these skills will vary from dog to dog as in people but I believe these skills exist in a dog's brain.  

So is learning Commands and Tricks like "Riding a Bike"? To me, Yes! Over the years, I have had several past dog owners come up to me proudly stating that their dog still knows all the commands and hand signals they learned at Out of the DogHouse. Sure, some dogs may be rusty from not as much practice but I have found and seen that the dogs do remember. Now if I can just find my glasses!



Out of the DogHouse LLC website www.ohiodogtrainer.net
Contact Dru Therrian 440.286.9070