# Dogs recognizing dogs



## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

I've thought the same thing! Maybe they just take an interest in all 4 legged animals. Hard to tell as not too many other animals are being walked around. Maybe if people were walking goats, deer and sheep they'd react the same way? Although I know when he see's cats, squirrels, and rabbit's his reaction is not the same as when it's a dog🤷‍♂️.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

I believe they can tell they are dogs, but I'm also baffled by how they recognize them. Misha easily spots a dog out the window when riding in a car, so his image search must be pretty good. I do wonder how he would react to something like a full coated puli or one of those 1lb teacup dogs if he saw it from a distance.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Oona definitely reacts differently to certain unusual-to-her features of dogs we encounter. For example ,the first time she met an old english sheepdog, she was very vigilant, and she reacts similarly the first time she meets very large dogs, like the newfoundland or the st bernard. She quickly learned it was just a dog though. I agree that their visual acuity for dog-shaped (or other animal-shaped) things must be very good. Oona also is very very suspicious of dog statues/toys/decoys if they are life-sized. In real life I usually encourage her to go sniff and she realizes why it's not moving is because it's inanimate. But initially, I think she finds the stillness threatening (which makes sense if her assumption is that it is a dog).


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Oonapup said:


> Oona definitely reacts differently to certain unusual-to-her features of dogs we encounter. For example ,the first time she met an old english sheepdog, she was very vigilant, and she reacts similarly the first time she meets very large dogs, like the newfoundland or the st bernard. She quickly learned it was just a dog though. I agree that their visual acuity for dog-shaped (or other animal-shaped) things must be very good. Oona also is very very suspicious of dog statues/toys/decoys if they are life-sized. In real life I usually encourage her to go sniff and she realizes why it's not moving is because it's inanimate. But initially, I think she finds the stillness threatening (which makes sense if her assumption is that it is a dog).


That's interesting about statues. Galen had a similar reaction as a yearling. He would stand staring, sometimes barking, while rocking on his feet in a way that indicated he was torn between approaching and retreating. He stopped doing that once Ritter got big. I'm not sure if he has figured out that statues aren't golems, or if he is simply confident he and Ritter can tag team a golem.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

I think a lot has to do with smell. My understanding is dogs can smell things from several miles away. As we know, their sense of smell is one of the most sensitive in the entire animal kingdom. They can smell fear, sexual status and all sorts of things about each other. I would think they could smell any dog, at least to some degree, from blocks away. And even though dogs are very different looking they do have a fairly universal dog language. And when you pair scent with body language I think that would definitely enable dogs to recognize dogs as dogs in most situations. I’m sure there are many variables but I think smell and body language are big ones.


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

They certainly recognize dogs on the TV, so it's not about smell. My first Giant Schnauzer knew every commercial that had dogs in it. She could be in another room, and when she heard the music for a dog commercial she would come running and glue her nose to the screen. Her favorite shows were about sheep dogs herding sheep.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

reraven123 said:


> They certainly recognize dogs on the TV, so it's not about smell. My first Giant Schnauzer knew every commercial that had dogs in it. She could be in another room, and when she heard the music for a dog commercial she would come running and glue her nose to the screen. Her favorite shows were about sheep dogs herding sheep.


Wow! This is interesting because I think some dogs are more visual, auditory etc. I have a friend whose poodle is so alert/reactive to visual stimuli they can barely watch tv with him in the room. Oona could care less about what is happening on screens and doesn't take note of dogs on TV/movies either. She does care a lot about dog sounds in the neighborhood, though she doesn't tend to be bothered by them when they are recorded or coming through a speaker. She doesn't respond much to people interacting with her on the computer (ie on zoom, FaceTime etc) but I believe she may have become accustomed to their voices (and possibly images) because of how calm she was when meeting family members in person for the first time. But that could just as easily have been her 'reading' our familiarity from body language, or perhaps recognizing the smell of people who are related to each other.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Dogs hearing and sense of smell is way better than humans.
My old girl Flower hadn't seen her mother Fannie in 3 years but flew off the couch h to greet her when I brought her mother home.
My poodles know their favorite people and favorite dogs and know that the rascally neighborhood cats are nearby sooner than I do.


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## Tulsi (Jun 8, 2021)

Rusty is very aware of dogs on tv and often barks at them. Jojo doesnt take the slightest bit of notice!


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

One thing that surprised me is how they remember dog’s they have met years ago. 

The first class Babykins took for Novice Obedience, the trainer brought one of her dogs (West Highland White Terrier) to demonstrate several training techniques. Babykins and that dog never got closer than 6’. But they saw each other once a week for several weeks. Four years later I was in a proofing class with Babykins and someone else had a new puppy of the same breed. This trainer visited the class with her Westie to meet the new puppy. There were 12 dogs in this class. This Westie has no interest in any of the dogs except Babykins. Both dogs were so excited to see each other. You would have thought they were best friends who had played together for years.

They also recognize poodles or many poodle mixes from a distance. I‘m guessing they recognize the prancing gait. Twice I’ve experienced other poodles (dogs we have never met) pulling their owners to get to Babykins. I have never had this experience with other breeds. I do have this experience with other dogs she knows such as the dogs she sees regularly in class, but not strange dogs.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

I think poodles recognize poodles, mine certainly do it's like they are saying "These are my people!".


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

None of my other dogs have been much interested in TV, but Ritter definitely sat down to watch when my husband discovered we had access to a trial subscription of a dog channel. Poor guy. I think he really wanted to join the group walk on Mount Tamalpais.


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

We have a lifesize metal dog in front of the fireplace (Rex the WonderDog). Each of our dogs as puppies ignored Rex until the day they actually saw him. Then the barking always begins.

And there are those moments when they catch a glimpse of that other dog in the mirror.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

We have a leather footstool in the shape of a hippopotamus. When puppy Peggy first saw it, she marched right up and sniffed its rear end.

But any upright animal statues make her nervous.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Noelle barked and growled at a dog in a video game. I think she was even more upset when I laughed at her.


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## Miki (Dec 25, 2021)

Every poodle who's visited my backyard has alarm barked at this poodle at first sighting. Once they understand it's goofy yard art it becomes just another vertical surface. 🤣


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## Wooster Tim (Nov 11, 2021)

Lol, when we had a toy farm for the kids to be in 4H, we used to bring the baby goats home and walk them like dogs. So many people commented on how cute the dogs were and how different their coloring was. We had Saanen and Nubian Goats.


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## Cariboo Poodle (Nov 17, 2021)

Just one of my Poodles shows any interest in dogs on TV and barks and charges at the TV.
It always startles me but she shows no interest in any other animals and only started doing this in the past year and she is 5 years old.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Wooster Tim said:


> Lol, when we had a toy farm for the kids to be in 4H, we used to bring the baby goats home and walk them like dogs. So many people commented on how cute the dogs were and how different their coloring was. We had Saanen and Nubian Goats.


My horses used to live with some miniature goats. The does were all pretty skittish, but we could definitely walk the wether like a dog. Once in an emergency we actually took him out wearing Pogo's martingale!


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## PennyDog (Dec 23, 2021)

I’ve wondered about this too. There are so many types of dogs out there, big, tiny, fluffy, skinny, and some of them are just plain weird looking, compared to the “average” dog shape.

I was thinking, maybe dogs’ ability to recognize other dogs despite the variation has something to do with body language or gait? Body language and movement are visible from afar and those are universal among dog breeds. Dogs move and behave differently from deer, cats, squirrels, possums, foxes, etc.
Maybe that factors in?


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## Meisha (Sep 21, 2020)

Meisha notices other dogs and wants to approach but will "leave it" when I tell her. But she once went on full protect barking mode when she saw a statue of an ice cream cone.


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## Pavie (May 4, 2021)

Interesting question, but I suppose the same questions can be asked, how we, humans, recognize dogs when there are so many varieties? How do humans know that a chihuahua and a St Bernard are the same species? Or that a dog on TV, a dog statue, a dog painting are also dogs? And we know that a dog is different from a cat (also a 4-legged furry creature). So how do humans do this in the first place? 😃


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Pavie said:


> Interesting question, but I suppose the same questions can be asked, how we, humans, recognize dogs when there are so many varieties? How do humans know that a chihuahua and a St Bernard are the same species? Or that a dog on TV, a dog statue, a dog painting are also dogs? And we know that a dog is different from a cat (also a 4-legged furry creature). So how do humans do this in the first place? 😃


🤔


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