New study says dogs don’t remember what happened yesterday

A few days ago on the NBC Today Show, they talked about a new study that confirms dogs don&rsquo-t remember what happened yesterday. This theory was claimed by a Psychologist named Dr. Ira Hyman. In addition Doctor Hyman also said that pups don&rsquo-t plan for tomorrow or the future either. So let&rsquo-s explore some of his points about this very interesting study of Doctor Hyman.

&rdquo-Dogs Don&rsquo-t Remember&rdquo- is the essay that Doctor Hyman had published a few years back. In his essay he explained how dogs don&rsquo-t have &ldquo-episodic memory,&rdquo- this is the capability to remember things that already happened. Doctor Hyman pointed out that &ldquo-episodic memory&rdquo- is unique to human beings only.

&ldquo-If I walk into the backyard, the dogs are overjoyed to see me and act like they haven&rsquo-t seen me for days. If I stay in the backyard, they quickly become bored with me. If I go inside and return after 10-15 minutes, my dogs are overjoyed to see me and act like they haven&rsquo-t seen me in days. They don&rsquo-t remember that I was in the backyard just a few minutes ago,&rdquo- noted from Dr. Hyman&rsquo-s essay.

When it comes to planning the future, Dr. Hyman also wrote in his essay, &ldquo-Dogs don&rsquo-t plan for particular future events although they have a general expectation of when dinner will appear.”

There quite a few people who have already argue Dr. Hyman&rsquo-s theory. I for one am having a hard time to believe that dogs don&rsquo-t remember what happened yesterday and that they also don&rsquo-t plan for tomorrow. I am not a psychologist but based on my experience with my dogs, they do seem to remember things such as the tricks that we teach them.

I have to agree with the Today&rsquo-s Show host that dogs do remember. Just like what Matt Lauer said about his pet dog back when he was a kid. The dog would wait for him at the school bus stop every day at the same. As to future planning, Dr. Hyman is quite right. I don&rsquo-t reckon dogs do that because they tend to act right away. They don&rsquo-t ever plan to bite someone, you know things like that. So what do you think about this theory?

Image via ETersigni at Flickr.com