Do Dogs Recognize Their Siblings?

Human beings like to believe that their dogs are members of their families. We cook for them, buy them toys and clothes and even sleep in the same beds as them. Because we think of them as almost human, we extend our perceived human-canine relationship to relationships between dogs. We know we miss our own siblings if separated from them by any significant distance or length of time, so we want to believe our dogs miss their family members as well. Despite these beliefs, there is some question as to whether our dogs can discern and maintain relationships within their own canine families.

  1. Anthropomorphic Stance

    • Individuals take an anthropomorphic stance when they attribute human characteristics to non-human animals, despite knowing that they are not human. If an individual believes that humans recognize their siblings, whether they see their siblings every day or not, then he is likely to believe that dogs always recognize their siblings. That individual will, in fact, look for actions or expressions that reinforce that belief. Author David McFarland observes, however, that just as a creaking branch is not necessarily warning the person standing below it before it breaks and falls, dogs are not always communicating the emotions that human beings assign to them. A dog that greets a recently-absent sibling with a half-raised wagging tail might not be greeting a familiar face, but rather might merely be seeking information from another dog it does not in fact recognize.

    Behavioristic Stance

    • When a person takes a behaviorist stance, he believes that a dog only takes actions in response to the presence of a stimulus and a reward and lacks emotions altogether. A person with a behaviorist stance would argue that a dog greets a sibling with a half-raised wagging tail because it has benefited from that dog̵7;s presence in the past and expects to benefit again in the future. The dog might recognize a familiar scent without necessarily recognizing the familial relationship and associate that scent with food and warmth and mutually beneficial activities. The dog, therefore, doesn̵7;t recognize a sibling as such, but merely as another dog associated with particular events.

    Realist Stance

    • A realist stance acknowledges that a dog has beliefs, but they are dog-like beliefs and not human-like beliefs. An individual who ascribes to this position might argue that dogs have an ethical life and make decisions based on beliefs that are not readily understood merely by observation. However, this stance does not explain why dogs will readily mate with their littermates, their sires or their dams. If it is possible to accept that dogs have beliefs of their own, then they either do not believe that intercourse with immediate relatives is ̶0;wrong̶1; or they do not recognize their siblings as siblings.

    Dogs and Emotions

    • In all honesty, it is not possible to know how a dog thinks or what it recognizes because we do not have a means of looking into its thoughts. According to the Petside website, puppies ̶0;learn about behavioral boundaries and dominance from their mothers and siblings, and they learn about social interactions with humans.̶1; Their dams correct them when they are too rough with their siblings and they learn about dominance and other canine boundary behaviors when playing with their littermates. It is reasonable to assume that, having spent puppyhood in the presence of those that smell like themselves and look like themselves, that puppies might retain the memories of those animals over time. It only the probability that they recognize their siblings as siblings that remains open to speculation. The likelihood is, however, that dogs do not recognize their siblings in any meaningful terms analogous to human family relationships.