i was wondering if anyone one has had a problem with a child leaving home and returning after a few years,will i have to prepair for a dog who needs to be reintroduced to a stranger or will she remember him?

 Quote: Danita Phillips

i was wondering if anyone one has had a problem with a child leaving home and returning after a few years,will i have to prepair for a dog who needs to be reintroduced to a stranger or will she remember him?

The dog will remember him when he comes back to the same house and the same family; it will all be familiar to the dog. If there is some small strangeness, it won't matter -- the dog will re-bond enthusiastically. And happily.

I agree 100% with Connie on this, the dog will most definitely remember!

I'll share what happened with my female shepherd as an example.
My dad left our family when I was 15 years old, and Moka (my dog) was about 3-4 years old at the time. She'd been with us since she was an 8-week-old puppy.

Anyway, Moka is now 11 years old. A few months ago my dad was back in town and we decided to have him come over to the house to see if Moka still remembered him. She hadn't seen him a single time in almost 7 years and she's an old dog now.

Well Moka recognized him. Instantly - before we even got to the door (she recognized him by sight alone, before even getting a sniff). We saw her pant, hyperventilate and act all excited while she was still inside the house (very unusual behaviour for Moka - she only does this with close family members who return after a long trip).
In fact she went nuts and started whining and screaming as she licked him and circled around with tail wagging like crazy.
So not only did she recognize a pack member that she hadn't seen in over 7 years!!, but the memory was still very fresh in her mind and she was out-of-her-mind happy to see him again.

We always knew of a dog's incredible memory and loyalty (who could forget the story of Ulysses and his dog? lol), but I have to say, Moka's behaviour astounded us both.

I'm sure your child will be just as enthusiastically greeted when he returns home, even if a few years have passed

thanks for the reassurance as it would break his heart if she responded badley.

Since dogs are so acutely aware of scents, leaving a shirt, towel or something with your son's scent on it with the dog will keep the memory of him fresh in her mind.

In fact, whenever possible he could even send home a small piece of clothing with his scent on it and you could give it to his dog. It might make him feel better knowing that he can give that kind of physical "reminder" of himself to his dog... good luck to your family, I hope your son stays safe.

great idea , it will be fun to see how he gets the stuff off the sub to his shepard ha