The short answer is: yes, dogs do have some ability to remember and look back on past memories. Dogs are capable of recall when there is an emotional attachment to the experience. Dogs remember things using the same mechanisms as humans, but they have a much smaller capacity for long-term memory. Research has shown that both dogs and humans create memories based on experiences and emotions. When a dog encounters certain stimuli, such as food or a person, neural connections in their brain form a pattern which will later be recalled as a particular type of event. It’s also believed that dogs may possess episodic memory. This kind of memory allows them to recall details about specific events from their past — such as who was present during an incident or what happened before or after it occurred. A lot of canine behavior can be attributed to this type of memory, such as how some dogs respond positively when they hear certain familiar noises or words associated with good experiences (e.g., car rides). In addition, research has found that dogs have something called declarative memory, which also involves recalling specific details from past occurrences — but without any emotion attached […]