Will the dogs remember?

[klmno]

I'm not sure which forum this goes on but you ladies have probably started figuring out by now that difficult child and I are getting antsy (although still excited) about his return home. He loves his dog so much- and has had her for over 8 years, since she was a pup. WE have a second one who is a rescue dog that they think is about the same age as the female- we've had him about 4-5 years. difficult child has asked many times if they will remember him and I've always said "yes"- am I right? Do you think they will? (He's been away from home a little over a year. Our dogs are spoiled, they are inside dogs, and the female slept in his bed.) They bark at starngers- if difficult child comes home and they bark at him instead of wagging their tails he will be devestated.

 

[donna723]

I think they will. I know mine would!

We got my first Boston, Ms. Rudy, when my daughter was about 15 and my son was 10. After she finished school, Allison went to nursing school, worked at a local hospital about a year, then moved back to Florida. We went down there to visit several times but she had been gone for over five years before she finally came here to Tennessee to visit. As soon as Allison walked in the door Rudy recognized her instantly and was all over her! The whole time she was here, Allison couldn't sit down without having Rudy in her lap! And that was after not seeing her for five whole years! I'm sure your dogs will recognize your son - even if he looks different now they will still recognize his voice.

 

[GoingNorth]

Shortly after husband died, when I lost the house, I wound up having to place my German Shepherd in a foster home for nearly six months.

Not only did he remember me, but he was so glad to see me that he nearly knocked me flying launching himself at me.

If his relationship with the dogs was positive, he might get barked at until he gets in the house, especially if he looks/sounds different, but the dogs should remember him with no problem.

 

[jal]

They will. They don't forget.

 

[klmno]

Thank you, Ladies! I guess we are just nervous about this transition. I will talk to difficult child tomorrow and tell him it might take a short while before the dogs act "normal" around him, but surely it will come back to them- especially with the female who thought she owned him before for several years.

 

[flutterby]

They will remember.

 

[runawaybunny]

 

[Shari]

Growing up, we took in some dogs for poeple that couldn't keep them. The video pretty much shows how those dogs reacted when their previous owners stopped by to visit thru the years. Maybe not quite that wild.

They'll remember.

 

[klmno]

Thank you all! Fortunately, although the dogs witnessed some explosive behavior, they were never abused or harmed or terrorized by difficult child. And they do need him- he can and will walk them around more than I will because we have a fenced yard and I just let them out there- he is more interactive than I am- especially with his "girl".

 

[flutterby]

My grandparent's dog, Athena, a shepherd/husky mix, lived to be 18 years old. I was 15 when she died. I moved out of state when I was 11 and only came back sporadically. So, she was old - 14 - when I moved away. She lost most of her vision and most of her hearing, but she still remembered me every time.

They'll remember.

 

[flutterby]

Cheryl, that video made me cry.

 

[KTMom91]

He may look and sound different, but he will smell the same. They'll remember.

 

[Hound dog]

They will most definitely remember. Dogs have long memories, and they love completely.

Odds are you're going to have trouble getting the dogs to leave him alone. lol

 

[DammitJanet]

Jamie was is dogs Puppy. Or so she thought! When he left for bootcamp she actually mourned his departure as much as we did. She sat at the edge of the driveway and she stared at it waiting for her puppy to come home. When he didnt after a bit, she came back inside and moped awhile but got on with life. When Jamie came home about 5 months later she was ecstatic! But then he left again. This time she just moped and moped.

He didnt come back for over a year. She didnt forget him at all. He came home and she was over the top happy. He had to go back. I think her heart just broke. She stopped eating and stopped drinking and went out into the woods behind our house and died. She lost her puppy.

 

[Marguerite]

Something to bear in mind - the dogs may act aloof for a while, to "punish" him for going away and abandoning them. If they do, explain to him that they are behaving like kids who have been dumped in an orphanage by a wanderlust parent and who are wary of forming a relationship again until they are sure they won't be abandoned again. and also possibly resentful because he did go away.

If they do this, it won't last more than a few hours, a day at most.

Marg

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

Wow, Janet. Do I sense an unspoken metaphor in your story? It's very touching.

Dogs are so faithful and loyal to a fault. I'm suddenly remembering "Where the Red Fern Grows" and REALLY need to lighen this up before I cry.

Back to the question. We're talking about a female dog, right? A ? I've always wanted to type that word on this forum, and now here's my chance!! The day's already a little better! I'm really hoping the mods won't ruin this for me.

Truly, since I've had both a male and a female dog now, I've noticed some definite differences. The rules the roost but is also the caretaker. She notices everything and remembers all of it. Yes, a will also hold a grudge for a while, but she'll also get over it.

 

[Suz]

After exDH and I split up there would sometimes be a year or two between times he would come to the house. Even so, sweet Miss Molly and Chelsea would get as excited as Gracie in Cheryl's video when they saw him.

They weren't as happy when Rob would come by............I think they remembered the yelling and chaos that usually surrounded him so their first instinct was to protect me.

Suz

 

[klmno]

That's so sad, Janet! She literally grieved herself to death- I bet Jamie was heartbroken.

The story did remind me that when difficult child left, the dogs acted just as dazed and lost as I did for a few weeks. It's like our compass was gone. Yes, difficult child's dog is the female and that description about a typical female dogs instinct/behavior fits her pretty well!

Marg- thanks for bring up that the dogs might punish difficult child. I've had dogs in the past who would punish me if I had to come home late or something but hadn't thought about the possibility of difficult child's dog punishing him by ignoring him or something when he comes home. I'll tell him that today. She likes to sleep with her legs stretched out and "locked" and moves her legs a lot when she turns over, seemingly kicking whoever is next to her. So I have teased difficult child and told him that she is probably going to kick him a whole lot when he comes home to punish him for leaving- but she really might hold back some before warming up to him. Very good point!

They both sniff me a lot when I come home after visiting difficult child. I think maybe they can smell his scent on me since he and I hug each other pretty tight at the end of every visitation- maybe that will help.

Suz- it's sad that your dog remembered the yelling and so forth from Rob so much that they reacted that way. Our dogs have stayed away from difficult child for hours at a time after one of his explosions in the past. I'm hoping that the last incident went so quickly- with me just going to the car and calling 911 with neither of us yelling- that the dogs won't remember difficult child as a source of chaos or fear. He never hurt either of them, but you know, they would fear his explosions anyway.

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

I will be interested to hear how this turns out. I see I crossed the line in my canine terminology in the previous post. I'm deeply ashamed....

 

[witzend]

Yes, they will remember him. M was gone for almost 6 years before Bubba saw him again. I think it is the same for our dogs as if they went away to college and became a doctor. They don't judge. They just love.

M wasn't always nice to Bubba, but he took care of his needs quite a bit. M came to our house this weekend to change clothes before husband's B-Day party. Bubba sleeps on his sofa which is free-standing right inside the door from the garage. Bubba is nearly blind and deaf these days. We walked in and he barked - that's what Dalmatians do - and then he sniffed, and he figured out that M was there. Bubba nearly crawled over the back of the sofa to see him. He would have if he hadn't known that he would have hurt himself doing it. He can barely get down the 8" step to the back yard to go potty anymore. He often doesn't go because it's just too difficult. But he was so excited to see M! It warmed my heart. I had to make M go around to the front of the sofa to see Bubba so that Bubba wouldn't get hurt. From that moment on it was Bubba vocalizing his happiness at seeing M, following him around, etc.

It'll be crazy for you, but your dogs will be thrilled to see your difficult child.