Do Dogs Recognize Other Dogs Of The Same Breed: A Behavioral Discussion

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kalila courban
Mar 1, 2022 4:00 PM EST

Sometimes a random thought turns into a full fledged Reddit discussion with hundreds of opinions and responses. This is one of those cases. OP writes that he became interested in this question after noticing that his own Aussie Shepherd always seems to play well with other Aussies. Could there be some instinctual knowledge that comes into play when doggos of the same breed meet up?

All doggos are different, this is true, but some are more similar than others. Doggo breeds often are characterized by physical attributes, place of origin, and overall moods. There are so many unique breeds of dogs, and nowadays it seems as though every dog (especially rescues) are mixed with one thing or another! We are super curious to see where this discussion goes, let's dive right in and find out. 

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  • 01
    Font - Do dogs realize when they meet another dog of the same breed? [Discussion] Kinda random thought I had. Curious if when a dog meets another dog of the same breed there is some built in instinctual knowledge that makes them know the other dog is the same. I ask this because my Aussie shepherd always seems to play much better with other aussies. 858 362 1, Share + Award
    via shedgehog

    That moment when a random thought inspires hundreds of people to chime in and offer their own two cents! That's why we love the interwebs, y'all, anything can happen. 

  • 02
    Font - R Wolverine78 · 15h Apparently a study revealed that canines use both visual and cognitive cues to identify others of their species no matter how different the breeds. They may not recognize the difference between breeds but they do know they are dogs and they do know that humans are not dogs. Particular breeds may behave in a certain ways with other dogs , humans and other animals depending on the genetics of their breed. Its extremely impressive considering dogs vary so much in their ph
    via Wolverine78

    Hmmm. A very interesting take by Mr/Ms Wolverine here. We sure would love to see some data behind the referred to study. Though, we knew some of this already. Breeds do tend to be characterized by overall mood of the dogs. So it would make sense that doggos with similar moods would get along well together, no?

  • 03
    Font - SquashlsVegan · 16h Completely anecdotal like everyone else here but I feel like they must... I had one German Shepherd who was mean as all hell and the only dogs he ever got along with were other German Shepherds. Like, literally the only ones besides one obese brown lab who just lay on his stoop chill af. And we lived in a neighborhood with tons of other dogs so pretty large sampling of "data." G Reply 1 25 3 +
    via SquashlsVegan

    Everyone has that one friend that's a bit different from all the rest but just as awesome! For SquashIsVegan's doggo, that friend is an obese brown lab who lays on his stoop and just chills tf out all day long. 

  • 04
    Font - Cursethewind · 17h Champion; Mika NTD/Sebastian NTD My shiba absolutely loves meeting other shibas. He knows. Reply 1 510 +
    via Cursethewind
  • 05
    Font - snugglenoodle · 15h Same here with my Shiba-- she makes a point of being extra friendly to other Shibas. 1 54 baevard • 13h We have two shibas. They had a blast at a local shiba meetup. Usually they hate other dogs but they had so much fun being with their kind. 金 50 new2bay · 9h Wow. Many fun. Such shiba. 6 4 20
    via snugglenoodle
  • 06
    l
    via chestypocket
  • 07
    Font - chestypocket • 4h Great Dane, Rottie/Border Collie Anecdotally, my Great Dane was colored like a Boston Terrier, just like his mother. Not the most common coloring for the breed, so we didn't run into many others. While he did seem to get rather excited when meeting other Danes, he seemed to get even more excited whenever he met a dog with the same color pattern, regardless of breed. He was dumb but so sweet, and it was just adorable when he would follow around a male Border Collie like i
    via chestypocket
  • 08
    Font - TealTemptress • 17h My French bulldog thinks he's a Husky and will whine if no Huskies show up to the dog park. G Reply 298 + IChooseYouSnorlax • 15h Our Blue Heeler is absolutely convinced she's a husky also! Our older doggo is a cream husky. She tries to sing along with the sirens like he does, it's hilariously awful and I love it. She goes mental at the sight of another husky, just over the moon happy to see one. Really adorable. 6 4 119 ...
    via TealTemptress
  • 09
    Font - magmainourhearts · 15h Lol what is it with frenchies and huskies? Both my french bulldogs ADORE huskies, it's definitely their favorite breed. But they love other bulldogs, pitbulls and pugs as well. And other breeds are kinda meh to them. 1 34 3 + ...
    via magmainourhearts
  • 10
    Handwriting - robincat • 16h Every dog l've known well has gravitated toward their own breed, sometimes to the point of ONLY wanting to interact with their own breed. 6 Reply 1 256 +
    via robincat
  • 11
    Font - Skyfish-disco• 16h I think a lot of it has to do with associated behaviors and play styles. Certain breeds act/play more similarly to each other than dogs of a very different breed. My Dane mix play style was very different to my schnauzer play style. Dogs can associate certain appearances of dogs with certain play styles and therefore be more receptive to it. For example, my current mutts play style is chase me, now I chase you. She does not like being boxed, tackled, or slammed. She has
    via Skyfish-disco
  • 12
    Product - SeizeTheFreitag • 18h I've always had Schnauzers. Minis and Standards. I noticed that they always seem to distinguish between other schnauzers when they are out for walks. They're more 'friendly', less 'exhuberant' and less 'chatty' .But maybe that's just me anthropomorphizing those thoughts onto my dog? G Reply 100 BywydBeic · 17h My schnauzers do the exact same thing. Almost impossible to get the one away from other schnauzers and he shows almost no interest in other dogs. 4 32 ...
    via SeizeTheFreitag
  • 13
    Font - maryplethora · 16h Artie: Retired Racing Greyhound My greyhound absolutely knows other sighthounds. He doesn't necessarily like them any more than other dogs, but he definitely knows his kind. 6 Reply 1 20 4 + PipEmmieHarvey · 14h It makes sense that our greyhounds prefer other greyhounds, at least the ones who have raced. They stay with their litter mates until it's time to start racing, and they live and interact with other greyhounds. Our guys love getting together with their friends.
    via maryplethora
  • 14
    Font - MyPeeSaclsFull • 15h All I can tell you is that my Saint Bernard seems to be uninterested in other Saint Bernards, but a tad bit jealous if I love on them. He friggin loves young female pit bulls though. If he were a cartoon dog, his eyes would turn into pounding hearts when he meets one of them. G Reply 1 18
    via MyPeeSaclsFull
  • 15
    Font - extremeborzoi • 17h I've noticed this mostly in breeds who come in only a few or one color varieties, like Goldens, Labs, Berners, Collies, etc. The similarities to their littermates is probably where the recognition comes in G Reply 1 45 janesfilms · 13h I think this could be true. My Yorkie generally doesn't like other dogs but he loves meeting other yorkies. It's actually pretty remarkable to see, he acts aggressively to most other dogs and then the rare occasion he sees another yorkie
    via extremeborzoi
  • 16
    Font - RavishingRedRN • 17h They MUST. All my huskies always seem to have different interactions when meeting other huskies compared to other breeds. Maybe it's smell, maybe it's appearance but there's definitely a "oh hey! You look like me! Let's play" 6 Reply 1 70 3 john_dune · 14h Lexi - 8yr Husky floof The husky playfight scares other people lol 30 RavishingRedRN · 13h Tell. Me. About. It. Me at every dog park: "She just growls when she plays." Other dog breed parents: "Oh. Ok." Husky parent
    via RavishingRedRN
  • 17
    Font - RegalBeagleBouncer · 17h My little beagle definitely prefers to play with other beagles. My beagle/ coonhound/ husky mix prefers coonhounds and huskies. She is down right cold to doodles. 6 Reply 1 13 3 ... +
    via RegalBeagleBouncer

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