Memory

"Today I saw she had mud on her paws, I got a bit worried because I thought she was digging up my mom's flowers." Field notes 10/31. When she saw me she went running back to where she had been digging, there was just a tiny hole. It made a big mess because the dirt was wet. I saw Tyara grab something and the first thing that came to my head was that it was one of her dog bones. Once she went to the grass she dropped what she had in her mouth and yes, it was an old dog bone. We gave her that bone like 2 weeks ago. That just made me think, how does she know where her bone is after she buried it?

With this question wondering in my head, I decided to do some research. According to Rena Sherwood, dogs use "visual markers" in order to know where it would be easier to bury their bone. The visual marker can be something like a plant, rock, or anything that is near that will stand out to the dog. Something else that Sherwood states that a dog uses for memory is their sense of smell. Dogs can smell a bone even if it's buried down piles of dirt. Since a dog's nose is way better than a human being, they can smell a bone that has been buried for months. But in the end if a dog can't fine where they buried their bone, Sherwood says they will just start digging in random places hoping to find something new. This came familiar to me, because Tyara will sometimes be digging different holes in different places, I always wondered why she did that. I thought it was because she likes to dig and has fun doing, but now I see it is because she is hoping to find something new.

After I saw what Tyara had found (her old bone) she just went back to playing with it again. There was still some mud stuck on it, but that didn't seem to get in between of her and her bone. Field notes 10/31.

Tyara chewing on her bone pic taken 10/31

Work Cited

 

Sherwood, Rena. "How Dogs Know Where They Buried Their Bones." eHow. N.p. n.d.    

 

       Web. 1 Nov. 2014.