"Episodic memories": Why dogs are more self-aware than you think

Researchers from the MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group in Budapest found that dogs draw on “episodic memory,” rather than “semantic memory.”

Episodic memory is defined by the study’s authors as memory of personal events and specific episodes in one’s life. This means dogs can recall past experiences that might not have been particularly eventful or meaningful at the time, allowing them to associate emotions to places and prior times of their lives.

This type of memory is linked to self-awareness—the ability to distinguish oneself as a separate and individual entity—something the researchers claim has never been studied in dogs before.