Afraid I can't agree with that statement Miss P about the greeting being the same whether it's an hour, a day or a week! In my own experience, a week away from them was not the same greeting as my usual 2 hours, absolutely no way! My rescue got so excited when he saw me again, that I actually worried he was going to have a heart attack or something, and yet my daily return greetings are just normal run of the mill tail wagging and licking and they quickly settle down again.

I have been thinking about this all evening and I believe dogs do remember and do have some sense of time. It is strange though that my dogs wait by the back door for me from about 4.30pm onwards every work day but when I come home at lunchtime (every day) I generally wake them both up as I come in. I don't think they believe I am deserting them every day and that I may never come back because they are in a routine, which they have been in since 8 weeks old, and so they know I will come back. If they really thought I may never come back then I don't think they would settle so quickly and well when I leave to go out to work etc.

It will be very interesting to hear how Georgie reacts to the person he knew 5 years ago. A friend of mine sadly had to rehome her border collie when he was 7 years old (she'd had him since he was 8 weeks) and 4 years later he came to live two doors away from me. The new owners were happy for my friend to come and see him but she decided not to because 1) she was worried he may remember her and then not settle down again or 2) he wouldn't remember her and that would be upsetting. I think he would definitely have remembered her, but we will never know.

I have been thinking as well .
It may be all to do with routine and settling into it wherever they are. My lot greet me madly whether I have been next door for 1/2 hr or away for a week!
I am going away to do some reading.
Potter visited her first owner 2 years after I rehomed her, there was no HUGE greeting, just a normal 'someone else to love me' greeting. She had been bred, loved and cared for by this lady.
Not sure what to think now!

When we visited our first pup we got a fantastic greeting and that was after he'd got distracted when he was 'working' when he smelt us...BUT he obviously adored his trainer and followed her around, he'd been away from us for almost a year.
When we saw our second pup...2 months after he lfet, it took a while for him to 'recognise'us...but when he did.....blimey...7 and a half stone of excited.
Both dogs settled back down immediately when we left...as did our first pup when he visited us here with his owner...he left our house, went to the station and guided his owner home...no problem at all...

Having two rescue dogs I often wonder if they're still waiting for their original owners to come and get them?

Like you say, they don't know they've been rehomed, they might just think they're taking an extended holiday!

With Pickles I don't think this really applies because:

a) He never really had a proper home

and

b) he's stupid and forgets everything after 3 seconds (bit like a goldfish?!)

But with Woody I do wonder. He lived with his previous family for nearly 5 years when he was rehomed to us and I often wonder if he misses them? Can dogs miss people after 6 years?

I know he's happy here and has definitely had a better life with us, but it still makes me wonder?

This is how I see it put in very simple and brief terms,
Dogs are not cognisant in other words they have no 'awareness of self' and don't really think about things. Much of their behaviour is based on previous experiences what I call learned association eg,
this thing = reward = pleasure,
this thing = no reward = no pleasure.


Dogs have no concept of time passing, you can be away ten minutes or an hour, a dog gets used to you not being there by becoming 'familiarised' with the situation, you leave and come back and a dog can learn to accept this.
Some dogs cope better with absences than others, many will sleep, some wait and watch anticipating the 'reward' of your return, some dogs use displacement activity like chewing.


Dogs have 'memories' based on past experience and are able to recognise those things which are familiar, they don't consciously think about things but associates an object/scent/sound/person/people or place with pleasure/no pleasure and react accordingly.

Dogs have great powers of perception and note our every move, this gives them a queue as to when things are going to happen so they can anticipate events ,
eg based on past experience my dog associates certain shoes with going for walk so when she sees them she waits by her lead.

In addition to observation and association influencing a dogs behaviour, I think dogs in common with many other animals and birds they have an inbuilt method of calculating some things such as when meals are due.
If I am busy doing something and it is time for my dog's meal she will come and remind me. She may not be in the same room as me and I might not have seen her for a while so she can't be determining when her meal is due by picking up queues from observing my movements or behaviour.

We have learnt a great deal about dogs, I think there is much still to learn

If I go out for a short time, say for an evening, my dog seems okay with this and apparently behaves quite normally while I am away.

However when I was in hospital for 4 days there apparently came a time when his behaviour changed and he was subdued and down and kept looking for me until I came home.

Have you ever seen Greyfriar's Bobby?

LS yes, dogs do get depressed and this has been born out by recent research . If you are away for a short period of time your dog is able to cope with this, althought I believe a dog is not aware of time passing , coping with the absence of an owner becomes more difficult for some dogs over a long period of time.

Aw poor Loki . After all my moods I'd have thought he'd have been grateful for a few days respite . No, seriously though, it's a humbling thought.

I think it depends what sort of absence it is to be honest.
If a dog is left and left to fend for itself yes, they may 'miss' their owner more than a dog who is left for a short time, but if a dog is 'left' by the owner and has an immediate replacement, someone to build a new bond with, I think they cope really well.
I know this may be really controversial, but my time with the pups has convinced me furthur that dogs are opportunists. If they are fed and cared for and have good living conditions, to be honest they can change allegiance quickly...whilst they will 'remember', people, once they have established a new bond with someone else (the amount of time that takes can of course vary) they will greet their old owners/handlers and be pleased, but their allegiance is with the one who has been feeding them the most recently....
Yes, dogs can be upset by seperation...I think they have an inbuilt concept of time..okay the difference between 10 mins and an hour may be meaningless, but they'll soon know if you are out longer than usual), but if that seperation is handled carefully, either long or short term, they are fine (IMO).