Do Dogs Remember People?

Whenever my 15-year-old daughter and I drive past a cute dog (which happens a lot in our town) we shout, “Cute dog!” If we pass a cute dog on the sidewalk and it’s convenient, we stop for a pat.  

Certified dog trainer Alexandra Bassett says first impressions matter to dogs as much as people.

“If someone acknowledges and greets a dog kindly and takes an interest in them by engaging with them via talking, petting, and fun activities like going for a walk or playing fetch, a dog will remember that,” says Bassett, the founder, lead trainer and behavior consultant at Dog Savvy. “The opposite is also true: Disinterest or negative interactions will be remembered.”

Do dogs remember people?

Bassett says, yes, just like people, dogs learn by association and consequence. They form lasting memories of people based on their body language and demeanor.

“A dog will form a positive or negative association with someone based on how they treat them and respond accordingly,” she adds.

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How dogs remember people

The role of scent in canine recognition

A dog’s sense of smell is estimated to be 10,000 to 100,000 times more powerful than a human’s. The average dog has 100 million scent receptors compared to five to six million in the average person and a much larger part of the brain dedicated to smell.

Scent-tracking dogs like Bassett Hounds and Bloodhounds have as many as 300 million scent receptors. If the way to the heart is through the nose, smell plays a key role in their impression of us. “Their sense of smell allows them to detect scents from far away and even smell diseases, emotions and things underground or in the water, making smell their primary way of experiencing the world,” Bassett says. 

Visual recognition

Research has shown that dogs recognize faces and facial expressions. However, a dog’s sense of sound and smell play a larger role than vision in their “picture” of a person because their vision is much different than ours. Bassett says that because dogs’ ability to see color is limited (they see yellows and blues distinctly but red and green appear “muddy”), images that are clear to us may appear blurry to them.

“However they have exceptional night vision and detect motion in the environment way faster than we do,” Bassett says.

Auditory signals and voice recognition

Voice recognition plays a major role in your dog’s memory of people. Your dog’s twitching, swiveling ears aren’t just picking up far-away sounds; they’re detecting a wide range of frequencies, Bassett says.

When a person speaks, their pitch, rhythm, accent, and emotional tone become part of a dog’s multisensory memory. Over time, they even recognize familiar words. The more they hear a familiar voice, the stronger the neural pathways for recognition. 

Emotional bonds and memory

A dog remembers a person’s warm tone and friendly demeanor after meeting them once. Repeated positive emotional experiences that form the basis of emotional bonds make the memory indelible.

When a person (or people) consistently makes a dog feel safe and loved, the dog’s brain releases the feel-good hormone oxytocin, which strengthens the neural pathways that make a dog imprint on a person.

What do dogs remember about us?

A dog’s memory of a person is based more on emotion than anything else. A dog remembers how you made them feel, whether that’s safe and calm, excited or fearful. Scent is the next strongest identifier followed by voice (tone, rhythm, and emotional quality).

Lastly, dogs have episodic memory and remember the patterns we establish over time — like what time of day we take them for a walk and feed them. 

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How long do dogs remember people?

In Bassett’s experience, forever. “The bonds of love stand the test of time just like with people,” she says. 

How to strengthen your dog’s memory

Exercise and nutrition go a long way toward maintaining a dog’s health and memory. “Consistent training that reinforces good habits and manners also go a long way toward keeping a dog mentally sharp,” Bassett says. 

Bottom line 

Dogs remember people primarily through a mix of emotions and sensory cues. How a dog feels after meeting you determines how they’ll remember you. Long after visual details fade, a dog can recall how safe, excited, or uneasy someone made them feel.

Even brief interactions can leave a lasting impression if they’re emotionally meaningful, while strong bonds may be remembered for life. For dog lovers, the takeaway is simple and reassuring: Kindness, consistency and positive energy matter. How’s that for a meaningful life lesson? 

FAQs

How long can dogs remember a person they’ve bonded with?

Strong emotional bonds based in scent, voice, routine, and repeated positive experiences last a lifetime. 

Do dogs have the ability to remember people they only met briefly?

Definitely, Bassett says. The stronger the emotional impression of a meeting, the longer the dog will retain it. If you offer a dog a treat, they’ll look at you expectantly next time (test this on the friendly gas station attendant). 

Can dogs recognize people through other senses, like smell or voice, even if they don’t see them?

Dogs don’t rely on sight the way humans do. A blind dog would recognize a person by their scent and tone of voice as easily as a dog with perfect vision. Dogs form their strongest memories through their keen sense of smell and acute hearing. 

References

• Sanni Somppi, Heini Tornqvist, Laura Hanninen, Christina M. Krause & Outi Vainio, “How dogs scan familiar and inverted faces: an eye movement study,” Springer Nature, original paper, 05 December 2013, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-013-0713-0.

• “SiOWfa15: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy,” the course website and blog for the Fall 2015 instance of Penn State’s SC200 course, https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/16/how-much-do-our-dogs-remember/.