How Long Do Dogs Remember A Scent?
How Long Do Dogs Remember A Scent?
So, how long does a dog remember a scent? Forever! A dog can remember the scent of someone for his entire life if the association with that person was friendly or not so friendly. The association remains stored in the dog’s brain related to how that person made the dog feel. Your dog may remember any specific event associated with any particular gesture, voice, movement or smell with the emotion.
One of the biggest instances of a dog’s memory of scent is even when you return home after a year or more the dog will recognize you from far by your scent.
There are many examples where a person is even greeted by their dogs even after they return back after several years.
This is the sheer example of how they can remember a person’s movement, voice or scent associated with their emotions with him/her. Maybe that is the reason, dogs are termed as man’s true best friend.
This is backed by science and evidence. According to a report by PBS.org, the dogs possess about 300 million olfactory receptors inside their nose whereas humans have only 6 million.
Also, a part of your dog’s brain is completely devoted to analyzing the smell which is about 40 times greater than that of the human’s.
Since dogs have olfactory memory, they can remember the scent when they are exposed to you often. Even if your face changes due to any reason, your dog will be able to remember you with your scent.