Anyone who has a pet or is professionally involved in animal husbandry is well aware that these dumb faces are not guided solely by instinct, but that they too have a soul, and especially a heart. This is due to the fact that animals need different things in life than we do, and their brains work accordingly.
Even though dogs and cats have lived with us for thousands of years, the instincts and desires they inherited from their wild ancestors have not yet disappeared, so it is no wonder that most of the intelligence and skills of the animals we keep have always been related to what they have always needed, and that is mainly No wonder, then, that most of the intelligence and skills of our domesticated animals are related to what they have always needed, and needed primarily:
– surviving in the wild
– surviving in packs
– foraging
Moreover, about three quarters of the dogs and cats on the planet, for example, are semi-wild animals that spend their lives in slums in large cities or on the periphery of developing countries.
In addition, about three-quarters of the planet\’s canines and felines are semi-wild animals that spend their entire lives, for example, in the slums of large cities or on the periphery of developing countries. The skills they have inherited from their prehistoric ancestors are therefore highly suited to their daily strugglefor survival.
Episodic memory
Both cats and dogs have so-called episodic memorywhich is linked to us humans. Thanks to this kind of memory, animals store different experiences in their brains. This information is very important for them because it is related not only to life in a human pack, but also to how they communicate with their pack leader or master and, last but not least, how they manipulate their master. For dogs, it is related to experiences such as:
– food
– survival
It is based on episodic memory that our pets remember where their favorite treats are at home. They can also quickly discern who is the strongest in the family pack and who is worth listening to. In addition, pets reflect on their experiences,
and they can even remember the most important events in their lives.
