Though inbreeding is never encouraged because of the risk of genetic abnormalities, it can happen naturally if a dog is in heat and their only option is a family member.5 But this doesn’t imply that a dog doesn’t recognize their kin. There is no taboo in the dog kingdom. Anyone who has been around a dog in heat knows that there really is no stopping that mating instinct.
To better understand if dogs remember their siblings, let’s first take a look at dogs historically. One thing that scientists know for sure is that dogs descended from wolves. Possibly somewhere around 20,000–40,000 years ago, humans domesticated these animals. They then evolved into domesticated dogs. The “how” is still up for debate, but it irreversibly changed the future friendship of man and dog.1
This question was first posed by a study at The University of Belfast in Ireland – a very thorough project that involved a number of dog litters.
They then did the same experiment with the puppies’ siblings, mixed in with other puppies of the same age and breed. The test puppies showed a preference for their own siblings 67 percent of the time. Understandably, the puppies showed a stronger result towards their mom than their siblings. Whether this indicates if dogs remember their siblings isn’t clear, but they do seem to prefer their litter mates.
But some people would argue that domestic dogs have become so far removed from their ancient ancestor that they’ve lost their “pack” instinct, having no need for such recognition of family.
Signs a Dog Knows Their Relatives
We cant assume that just because dogs cannot talk that they are not able to recognize and greet one another. They have many behaviors and body signals that communicate their friendliness and recognition of dogs, people, and things in their environment. If you pay close attention and get to know the temperament of your pet, you can usually predict how they are reacting in social situations.
This is good insight for you, as the owner, to keep your pet and others in the situation safe and interacting in positive ways. Watch for signs in the other dogs as well to determine if you need to allow the dogs to enjoy some time together or lead your dog away from potential harm.
Dogs are social creatures. With their propensity to enjoy the company of others, they send very clear signals as to who is the boss and who will need to be more passive in the dogs social order. Social dogs are friendly and will invite one another to interact.
You can see a friendly invitation to play with the play bow, in which the front legs are extended and the hindquarters are up. You will see the tail up and wagging, usually to the right. The dog might make a happy, yippy bark as if to say, “Lets play”. The mouth will be open and the dog may even appear to be smiling. The dog will then leap and bound into a run, then turn and look to the playmate to see if they are going to take turns in joining in the fun.
Dogs will greet one another, and sometimes people too, by sniffing the hindquarters or crotch. It is usually a quick sniff. From there, it can be determined if the dog will take a dominant or submissive stance by the body posture.
The dominant dog will have a more forward pose, up on the toes. The dog will have ears up and forward. You may see the dog standing over the more submissive dog and even nudge at the other with the nose.
The submissive dog will be low to the ground. The dog may roll over and expose the stomach. The dog will look away from the more dominant dog. These dominant and submissive behaviors are common in the dog community.
Signs that your dog is reacting positively to their relative include:
More signs to watch for when your dog meets a relative are:
Dogs Recognize Relatives Early On
Current research suggests that dogs can recognize siblings and parents under specific conditions later in life.
If a pup spends the first 16 weeks together, theyre more inclined to identify those “pack members” later in life. Unfortunately, dogs often spend less time together as families when theyre in the puppy phase, making them less likely to remember family members later.
Unfortunately, this is all theorizing, with minimal evidence to support these findings either way.
While the answer isnt precisely clear-cut, there are several theories on a dogs ability to recognize siblings.
Dogs are likely not able to distinguish between a sibling and another pup that isnt genetically related to them.
This means a dog wont rationalize another animal as family, nor will they treat a littermate differently from another dog.
Scents and smells can sit within memory for a long time, making it technically possible for
canine siblings later in life, especially within the first few months (or years, for some breeds).
A sibling will often hold a familiar smell that likely stems from core memory.
While they may not remember the other pup as their brother or sister, they may remember the smell and feel comfortable with them.
Do dogs recognize their siblings, and other questions about canine emotional intelligence
It’s no secret dogs are clever and loving creatures, but can they recognise a doggie relative later in life? Dog-friendly holiday letting specialist Canine Cottages turned the question to dog trainer Joe Nutkins…
Depending on when the pup is rehomed, dogs can recognise their relatives later in life. If puppy littermates remain together for the first 16 weeks of the puppy’s life before being rehomed, chances are they’ll be able to recognise their family later on, at least for a few years.
But there are exceptions. Pups that are rehomed before the 16-week mark are less likely to recognise one another later on and, even if pups did live together for the full 16 weeks, if they don’t meet each other for the first six or seven years afterwards, it might result in them being unable to recognise their relatives too.
Littermates develop a very close bond in their first few weeks together and it takes a great deal for that bond to be broken. When families have two puppies from the same litter, they can do everything with the puppies separately, but they will still gravitate to each other at any opportunity and a big part of this is because of their close bond since birth.
It’s less likely sires (the father) and pups will recognise one another as they don’t spend much time together during the pups’ crucial formative weeks. If the pups are able to stay with the dams (the mother) for the first 12-16 weeks of their lives, it’s likely they will remember their mum into adulthood, maybe even further than that.
The longer they stay together, the better the odds of them recognising one another are. If they are rehomed sooner, they might not be able to remember their mum and forget her scent.
A sire and dam would be able to recognise their offspring after a few days apart. In fact, a mother would be likely to recognise her offspring up to a few years, and the puppies would recognise their mother’s pheromone scent for years. For male dogs, they are more likely to associate a puppy with the mother’s scent so a puppy that has been apart from both mum and dad for a period is less likely to be recognised by the sire, or vice versa.
The natural bond with the dam will be stronger due to the time spent together after birth as well as the scent. However, if the period apart has been many years, there is less chance of recognition as so many changes will have occurred with scent, sounds, hormones etc.
Chances are that if your pooch recognises a relative, they will be smelling them more, and most likely calm down and be more relaxed than they would be with other dogs they’ve just met.
Signs dogs recognise their relatives can often include playful nuzzling, sniffing each other’s faces and mouths and circling with friendly body language such as play bows, tail wags and small barks. If dogs used to play or interact in a certain way previously, they will often revert straight to this upon meeting again.
You might find that a dog recognises a sibling, parent or puppy from a distance and so may stand still and watch quietly while they are subtly scenting the air to really use their olfactory system which will help with recognition.
What might come as a surprise is that dogs might recognise other dogs they’ve met during the formative 16-week period, whether they are a relative or not. In fact, they’re just as likely to recognise this dog as they are their siblings, if they’ve been together for the same period growing up!
This is a guest essay by Joe Nutkins. Want to write for us? Visit www.dogstodaymagazine.co.uk/essay-submission or email [email protected]