Dogs are very different from humans, with their own distinct emotions and behaviors, yet it still seems pretty brutal to remove them from their families at such a young age. Is it really that bad, and do dogs remember and miss their moms?

It's only natural for dogs to be separated from their mothers at a very young age, right at the moment when they are ripe and ready for life with their human. While it may seem to us like a pretty traumatic experience to be torn away from your parents, is that the case for dogs? Do dogs even remember their parents? What about their puppies?

Dogs are quite possibly the most loyal of all domestic animals, but that doesn't necessarily extend to their own kind. While dogs will recognize their mother's scent, they won't necessarily have a strong emotional connection when meeting their parents once again.

The look and sound of their family members play little-to-no role in a dog's ability to recognize and reunite with friends and family members. Instead, recognition is almost entirely done through their sense of smell, which is far stronger than a human's, with an estimated 200-300 million olfactory receptors.

Despite spend very little time with their parents at birth, merely a few weeks or months until they can be weened off their mother's milk. Nevertheless, your dog's strong sense of smell will mean that it recognizes the scent of its mother and will respond to that scent when it appears, even years after leaving its mom's side.

This does not mean that your dog necessarily knows that the creature creating that smell is the same creature that created them. But they will still recognize the scent, so dogs can sort-of recognize their mothers.

Puppies will have a period after they have left the comfort of their mothers in which they will experience the pain of separation and seem quite unhappy. In general, this pain of separation will disappear within a few days and almost certainly will never return.

Dogs do not have the pictorial power of imagination and must rely on associations more than direct memories. Certain smells and feelings will awaken memories, but they will not have a longing for the past as we humans do. Instead, you can expect a newly adopted dog to quickly move on from its mother and draw a deeper connection with you, its new human.

Over time, a puppy's memories of mom will fade and become a distant echo. Their associations may stay the same, however, which is why the scent of their mother may evoke a reaction.

After around 12-16 weeks with her puppies, a mother dog will likely have them taken away and given out to different families as pets. Even though the period of childhood only lasts a very short period of time, a mother dog still has that maternal instinct we expect her to and will develop a bond with her pups.

That bond will strengthen the longer they spend together, and in many cases, a mother dog will be able to recognize and remember her kids, even years down the line. There is a prerequisite here, though, as a study by Peter G. Hepper shows that a mother dog will recognize her children for years, so long as they are kept together for at least three-to-four months to begin with.

This same rule can be applied to dogs recognizing their parents – if a dog has managed to stay with its mother for at least three to four months, it will recognize her for at least the following two years (assuming there is no direct contact during that time).

Try not to worry too much about separating your darling doggo from her puppies. While it may be difficult at first, and they may recognize each other even years later, this will not be a particularly touching or heartbreaking parting.