Just saw this article and thought, "So maybe that's why my male yorkie was afraid of smoke having never smelled it before nor heard a smoke detector."
Interesting...
BBC News - 'Memories' pass between generations Behaviour can be affected by events in previous generations which have been passed on through a form of genetic memory, animal studies suggest.
Experiments showed that a traumatic event could affect the DNA in sperm and alter the brains and behaviour of subsequent generations.
A Nature Neuroscience study shows mice trained to avoid a smell passed their aversion on to their "grandchildren".