Dog Sees Old Owners

FCIM

This hasn't happened but I'm curious. We got a four year old from a rescue centre about six weeks ago. He's settled in very well. Loves attention and hates when we go out but is getting better. He seems very happy and is affectionate. As he wasn't a "rescue" dog as such I'm curious as to how he would react if he saw his old owners.

His previous owners had to give him up because they had to move away. I would like to think we treat him better lol. He was a bit thin when he came to us, not overly but I'd say a bit under his supposed weight and he seems a better shape now. He was a little dirty and his coat was matted in places. That could all be because of the rescue centre but he was only there four days. He was a happy dog from the off though so he certainly wasn't mistreated. Pure speculation though but he had no issues so I would assume his previous owners were decent


Now this is purely theoretical because for all I know they could be in Antarctica or they could be in a much smaller house around the corner. It's not a concern because I know he's our dog now. However, as dogs are so loyal how would he react if he saw his old owners? Would he want to go with them or do dogs change priority in terms of families? Not worried at all, just curious as to the psychology of it and interested to know if anyone has similar experience.

aonb

He would of course know his old owners. If they were 'good' owners, and there was a bond, of course he would be happy to see them, and might happily 'go' with them. As you say, hes your dog now, so Im sure, he would just as happily say goodbye and go home with you

Similarly, the "creature" that abused a dog I rescued, came looking for him a year or more after I took the dog home - he'd heard there was a dog like his in our area, but didnt know where exactly, so was chancing his arm. When the dog saw this "person" getting out of his car near our house, the dog literally nearly had a fit - we were unluckily out walking, the dog saw/smelled the man before I even knew what was going on - he FLEW home across a field that would back onto our property and hid himself in one of the sheds. Was a nervous wreck for several days afterwards :mad::mad::mad:

FCIM

aonb wrote: »

He would of course know his old owners. If they were 'good' owners, and there was a bond, of course he would be happy to see them, and might happily 'go' with them. As you say, hes your dog now, so Im sure, he would just as happily say goodbye and go home with you

Similarly, the "creature" that abused a dog I rescued, came looking for him a year or more after I took the dog home - he'd heard there was a dog like his in our area, but didnt know where exactly, so was chancing his arm. When the dog saw this "person" getting out of his car near our house, the dog literally nearly had a fit - we were unluckily out walking, the dog saw/smelled the man before I even knew what was going on - he FLEW home across a field that would back onto our property and hid himself in one of the sheds. Was a nervous wreck for several days afterwards :mad::mad::mad:

Horrendous. Says a lot about someone that they feel the need to be cruel to someone or something weaker than them to make themselves feel adequate.

Thanks for your reply as per my question, more my curiosity than anything else.

An interesting thought and I can only offer my own thoughts on this.

And I'm sure its a bit of a concern, ie: if you do meet the "old owners" and he looks as if he'd like to go home with them.

My opinion is if he is with you long enough, and you treat him well, he might want to say hello to his old owners, but he wont drag his paws to go the other way with them.

BUT, if you treat him badly, and the memory of the old owners is better than you, he might well wish to go back home to them. That's down to how you treat the dog.

I have been told that dogs settle in and adapt very quickly to new surroundings, that is if they are comfortable and as caring as they can be (ie: kennels).

But I dont think they will ever want to stay in an uncaring environment, when they can go back to a more caring one. Dogs have very very good memories.

The attached Judge Judy video is interesting, and lovely to see.

So if you ask my opinon, for what its worth, look after the wee fella as best you can. And when you meet his old owners, he might wag his tail and say hello, but he'll be happy to go back home with you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG0a6Oy7rfA

Thats an interesting incident that aonb has described.

We had a rescue dog who had been taken from the owner by the Gardai due to ill-treatment. But then had to be placed in the pound.

I guessed it was probably bred or bought as a working gun dog, but maybe wasn't up to the job. And so was kept tied up outside in a rural location. Skin and bones.

We had the female dog with us for 7 years. And over the years we noticed that when anyone entered our house who had been drinking alcohol, our little lady would run and hide behind the settee. I'm not talking drunk, just the slightest smell of alcohol would send her hiding. Even if someone had been in a pub and the smell was on their clothes.

So we can only assume, that she remembered the smell of alcohol with getting a beating, (she had bone fractures that had badly re-fused themselves to prove physical abuse).

But I hope she had a good life after that with us. We were blessed to have her.

But I can never bring myself to forgive the b*****d that mistreated her for the first few years of her life. I hope a big dose of Karma was dealt out.

FCIM

The Judge Judy video is interesting but it doesn't establish that the woman was treating the dog badly and that's why the dog went with the original owner. I would be concerned that she bought it off the street which doesn't suggest good ownership and has me wondering did she steal it. I'm not sure how accurately it shows the dog going with the man because he was a good owner and she wasn't though.

As per the coward that had the dog bashed up when on the drink, and I would say coward is the correct term as these people very rarely hit on people or animals who are equal to them or bigger in strength, it's hard to know what to do with them.

CeilingFly

Dogs have phenomenal memories and its all based on scent.

They will remember people they are in regular contact with for at least two years. For those there were in constant contact with (owners), the memory can last a lifetime.

From personal experience we had a girl stay with us a couple of nights a week for about 8 months while she was studying nearby. She then moved to Dubai and dropped into us last Christmas - 2 1/2 years after she last saw the dog. It took about 5 seconds for the dog to recognise her and I just wish I recorded the pandemonium that ensued for about 10 minutes.

Also as in the post above - they will assosicate scent with negative experiences too, so a dog that has had mistreatment by young children (mostly because the children see it as a toy) will have a fear of young children for a long time afterwards.

FCIM

FCIM wrote: »

The Judge Judy video is interesting but it doesn't establish that the woman was treating the dog badly and that's why the dog went with the original owner. I would be concerned that she bought it off the street which doesn't suggest good ownership and has me wondering did she steal it. I'm not sure how accurately it shows the dog going with the man because he was a good owner and she wasn't though.

As per the coward that had the dog bashed up when on the drink, and I would say coward is the correct term as these people very rarely hit on people or animals who are equal to them or bigger in strength, it's hard to know what to do with them.

Yes the Judge Judy is only a snippet of TV and we dont see the full procedings, but it does appear to show a preference for an owner by the dog.

volchitsa

CeilingFly wrote: »

Dogs have phenomenal memories and its all based on scent.

They will remember people they are in regular contact with for at least two years. For those there were in constant contact with (owners), the memory can last a lifetime.

From personal experience we had a girl stay with us a couple of nights a week for about 8 months while she was studying nearby. She then moved to Dubai and dropped into us last Christmas - 2 1/2 years after she last saw the dog. It took about 5 seconds for the dog to recognise her and I just wish I recorded the pandemonium that ensued for about 10 minutes.

Yeah, maybe it's like children getting all excited over an auntie or a babysitter they hardly ever see, while they don't make a fuss about their parents. A dog might get all excited to suddenly see someone they really liked, a previous owner or whatever, but it doesn't have to mean that's who they prefer, it's just the surprise and happiness.

Our dog (who's quite excitable anyway) gets all wound up in a happy way when she sees visitors she knows. It's like "Yeah we're gonna have a party, come in come in!" Doesn't mean she prefers them though. I'd imagine a dog that had previous owners that it loved would be thrilled at the idea that all its "people" might get together and it could be with everybody at once.

razorblunt

We often thought this too.

We have a rescue who's with us for no fault of her own, her elderly owner passed away during the night suddenly. We noticed that for the first few months women in their 60s/70s would catch her interest and we could see her sniffing but lose interest when they passed.

She was well cared for, we can tell, perhaps too well, we had to help her drop 3-4kg and get her fitness up.

Just last week she saw an elderly lady with a zimmer frame on tv and it really caught her attention so I think she definitely remembers something.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if she had a choice between her new and old mum! She LOVES my wife, you can tell she prefers women in general but it took a long time for her to warm to me, don't think she was abused but it was just, now I'm just the guy she goes to when she's ill, reminds its dinner time or walk time or needs to go out to do her business!

Ivory Fancy Squash

Ivory Fancy Squash wrote: »

Thats an interesting incident that aonb has described.

We had a rescue dog who had been taken from the owner by the Gardai due to ill-treatment. But then had to be placed in the pound.

I guessed it was probably bred or bought as a working gun dog, but maybe wasn't up to the job. And so was kept tied up outside in a rural location. Skin and bones.

We had the female dog with us for 7 years. And over the years we noticed that when anyone entered our house who had been drinking alcohol, our little lady would run and hide behind the settee. I'm not talking drunk, just the slightest smell of alcohol would send her hiding. Even if someone had been in a pub and the smell was on their clothes.

So we can only assume, that she remembered the smell of alcohol with getting a beating, (she had bone fractures that had badly re-fused themselves to prove physical abuse).

But I hope she had a good life after that with us. We were blessed to have her.

But I can never bring myself to forgive the b*****d that mistreated her for the first few years of her life. I hope a big dose of Karma was dealt out.

My uncle's dog is usually friendly enough but if I have a decent beard on he'll go for me after cowering a bit. So it's not all just scent-based I reckon. :P

FrostyJack

My spaniel who was rescued after she "escaped" and was not wanted back apparently, met her original owners at an event organised by the rescue. After meeting them she was tramastised for about a week. Was not her self at all. Her foster parents are a different story, she is always delighted to see them.

Ms Doubtfire1

no most likely not. My rescue Lurcher is still terrified of men - even after being with me for 2 years. he's shake violently and cower on the couch. Had people over yesterday and had to remove him from the living room he was so scared.

ShaShaBear

I always remember going to visit my ex's mum (his sister and I were good friends) and hadn't seen our dog Lexi in well over 2 years. The reaction as soon as he got the sniff of me was heartmelting - I was a sobbing wreck. Not one inch of me went unlicked and he made such a pitiful whiny bark I didn't know what to think! He definitely remembered me!

Incidentally, the people who adopted our last foster lurcher have suggested coming to Ireland for a visit and asked if we would like to see her again. I, of course, said yes! I'd be very interested to see if she has any memory of us. Although, she was only with us a month and hasn't seen us in 3 years, so