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Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

theguardian.com

41–50 of 225 posts

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#41
post #38

Our dog a shitzu cross can remember multiple toy names, and go find the specific one. Dogs are the best man

What always surprises me is they remember places they haven't been at for many years as well. Not so much people in my experience. I guess we don't matter to them as much as we like to think we do :)

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#43
post #6

At work I often learned the full names and other details about dozens of coworkers, customers, whatever, even if I didn't need to know. A few years after leaving wherever, I begin to forget even the simplest names, and I consider this as a blessing, as if Agent K set the flashy-thing in my eyes and I've returned to an ordinary life.

For me typically some attribute remains in memory after the name fades: "white-teeth marketing dude" or "guy obsessed with keyboards". I suppose that's how names started: Miller, Shepard, etc. As a corollary to this if I'm going into a business situation where I think it would be useful to be remembered, I'll try to wear something notable -- brightly colored shoes, something like that. Imagining the other parties dis…

Official family names like Miller etc are a quite modern phenomenon for the majority of people, an aspect of a more formal and powerful state apparatus.

Traditional names are the first names, and these have been less direct for a very long time. First names are assigned in childhood and used for most of your life, so they are rarely related to your occupation. Much of Europe, America, and the Middle East of course use mostly the names of religious figures, but even in societies that didn't adopt foreign names, given names are typically words that evoke some positive aspiration, such as well liked/respected animals or plants.

Of course, sometimes people would be known by other names as well.

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#44

At work I often learned the full names and other details about dozens of coworkers, customers, whatever, even if I didn't need to know. A few years after leaving wherever, I begin to forget even the simplest names, and I consider this as a blessing, as if Agent K set the flashy-thing in my eyes and I've returned to an ordinary life.

One of the guiding principles in my household is that people will generally forgive, but they will never forget the way you made them feel.

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#45
post #41
post #38

Our dog a shitzu cross can remember multiple toy names, and go find the specific one. Dogs are the best man

What always surprises me is they remember places they haven't been at for many years as well. Not so much people in my experience. I guess we don't matter to them as much as we like to think we do :)

Remembering places is an interesting one, I’ve not experienced that with our little guy except he knows the vet and the kennel and not a fan of either. I suspect you’re right and we are not as important as we think we are to them but a wagging tail tells me all I need to know!

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#46

I've had my Labrador for 12 years, she was about 1 when we rescued her. In the first week I was walking her and passed a bus stop mainly used by school kids. There's a small wall behind it and she dashed around and emerged with half a sausage roll hanging out of her mouth. To this day, every time we pass that spot she enthusiastically pulls and goes round to inspect.

If you search "magic pie bush" you can find other similar stories :)

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is absolutely not true. Anyone telling you this should not be trusted to responsibly socialize, train, or raise dogs.

No, they should not be trusted on public and around kids.

This is absolutely not true

You and the top level parent commenter are confusing dogs with wolves

Saying a dog isn't good in human soceity is like Saying wheat or cattle aren't good for eating. They've been specifically bred to be so over thousands of years by us, specifically for these purposes.

Dog is truly man's best friend

If a dog doesn't trust a person I been believe the dog, if a person doesn't like dogs, I don't trust the person. I always trust the dog.

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is depressingly animalistic.

How so? Humans are very much the same way in many years, particularly as children.

Food is a primary reinforcers for all species. Neither humans nor dogs are special in that respect. I don't see why anyone should find that depressing.

Spend some time training dogs and you'll also find both that food motivation can vary quite a bit (some dogs are more interested in toys than food, for instance) and also that it's quite possible to train dogs without always relying on a food reward.

Generally the deeper you go with understanding and training dog behavior, the more you realize how the same learning theory that informs scientific dog training also describes human behavior. (Imo it also reveals deficiencies in thinking in terms of learning theory/behaviorism alone; idk how you could work closely with animals and seriously believe they lack cognition.)

Re: Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows

#50
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like me when I fix a bug within a minute by pure chance... I need those easy wins.

Ha yeah seriously. That makes me think of a managerial strategy that involves feeding a low performing employee softball tasks and praising them for completing them. Once they are convinced they are highly competent slowly start ramping up the complexity.

I do this with new people. Being new somewhere is a skill a lot of people I’ve hired don’t have. I toss them some meatballs so they can get a couple of quick, visible wins. You figure you hired them because they know what they’re doing, so help them establish their confidence early on. I highly recommend doing this.
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