Do They Recognise Family?

[Brandiandwe]

After Bennys departure, we decided to foster a grey or two to help out. The first foster arrived on Friday. He's a big goofy boy if two- still very much a puppy. He's gorgeous, if shy, and is fitting in well here.

 

But most interesting is Paige's reaction. She's his aunt (her mother is Waylin's mother's mother so Paige and his mum are half siblings). Paige came to us just after Waylin's mum was born, and she never met him(she's been here for four years now).

 

But they share so many mannerisms and quirks. Waylin has all of Paige's strengths, but none of her difficult quirks. They move their heads similarly, the body language is the same, they even think alike. It's uncanny.

 

But really weird is how they interact. Paige is quite aloof and a dominant, domineering bitch. I do love her, but she isn't an easy dog for anyone. However, Weylin is allowed to put his head on top of her without an issue. They're lying together no problems. Trotting together on walks. It's like she recognises something about him.

 

Is this possible?

[Hubcitypam]

Perhaps. I've had littermates reunited that bonded and others that couldn't care less. We had Toni the Pony (Creme White) who raced as a big girl at 74#. One of her grown puppies later came through adoption and Toni totally ignored her. We were all ready for the Kodak moment that never happened.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Hubcitypam

[Mercsmom]

I took Mercury to see his foster dad and one of the hounds he was fostered with.... nothing.

But, I do think that they meet other hounds where there's just some sort of "click", a recognition that the other hound is safe to be close.

[GeorgeofNE]

If she never met him, no, she doesn't recognize him as family. I think we can see what we want to see sometimes.

 

Most greyhounds get along likes peas in a pod anyway. It would not be all that unusual for two dogs of the same breed and background to share similar mannerisms.

[GreytHoundPoet]

There are genetic traits (temperament and structural) that can get passed down family lines. It's not unusual to see dogs that resemble and/or act like relatives. I don't believe that she would recognize him as family but they may share similar genetic traits and mannerisms due to similar backgrounds. Also, some dogs just "click" and some don't.

Edited July 25, 2016 by GreytHoundPoet

[Guest Scouts_mom]

She may be recognizing him as a puppy and treating him as such. I know my dogs put up with a lot from puppies that they would not take from adult dogs.

[Dawnnziggy]

I don't know. Dawson and Myrtle are related. Dawson's dad is her grandpa. They are very similar in personality and both are a hoot to be around. They love to play together and lay together. The walk side by side on walks. She is black with a little white. He is white with black spots. Their personalities are just so much alike! Sounds like you have the same thing at your house.

 

You know, there is a thing called foster failure! That is why we don't foster!

Edited July 25, 2016 by Dawnnziggy

[greysmom]

Whiskey, our boy now, is related on the male side (half brothers I think) to our boy we lost to osteo in 2011. They never met, had different mothers, different breeders, different trainers, everything. But they do share a lot of very similar traits to the extent that we sometimes call him by the wrong name. I do think breeding shows up in certain strong lines.

[krissy]

Kili is Kenna's half aunt and they get on like gangbusters, but they just both really like to play. They don't know they're related.

 

Kili also met her litter mate sister last year. They weren't allowed off leash to interact because of where we were (at a dog show), but there was no recognition from either of them really. They share a lot of traits in common, but that's just genetics.

 

I think to recognize one another they'd have to have spent a lot if time together. Siblings that grew up on the farm together for 18 months for example.

 

I know an agility competitor who owns a mother/daughter pair. The mother still treats her puppy like a puppy, but doesn't recognize any of her other puppies that were sent to other homes.

[rascalsmom]

Any GT old timer (like me) remembers the story of bumper(?). Can't recall names but a gt'er took her female dog to a meet and greet hoping to choose another. Her dog would not leave the side of an older female, despite the owner not wanting an older female; she eventually decided to adopt this older dog whom her dog seemed drawn to. After awhile she did some digging on the dogs background-- it was her dogs momma!

 

I had littermates and I am pretty sure they remembered each other. Found out that they were 'inseparable' as pups, raced at the same tracks till one retired, then the other one retired a year later and came to live with us. Those two were never far from each other. They did meet up with one of their brothers a couple of times a year and showed no recognition ....but the woman who raised my girls said they just played with each other, not really with the rest of the litter. They were awesome together.

[Guest k9soul]

I would think it probably depends how long the siblings were together when younger. If they went to the same tracks and spent time with each other beyond puppy-hood I definitely think they might remember. Otherwise it could be that they are genetically similar and like is drawn to like.

 

Rudy met his littermate brother and sister at an event and didn't show any different behavior towards them compared to other hounds there. He's always pretty indifferent to other dogs as a whole though. It's interesting to think about.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

Jayne's met a lot of half-siblings and a couple nephews, no indication that she sees them any differently than any other greyhound.

[teri_d]

Our rowdy jill came to Oklahoma and the peeps who had her momma, surprise plan, said they would get them together and if they acted like they recognized each other or had a special bond they would adopt jill too -- you can guess the outcome since jill was adopted by us . I do have pictures of Jill with her momma that are pretty special - -- but they had no attraction to each other. I have always wanted to have siblings or momma baby tho....remains on my bucket list.

[dante2zoe]

I had littermates and they had been apart for about two years when Maverick came home. It was obvious to everyone that they recognized each other immediately, walked off shoulder to shoulder and synchronized peed. They were opposites of each other in every way imaginable and were best friends. Lost them within 4 months of each other, too.

 

Dante met one of his brothers. They looked exactly alike and their temperaments were similar. His brother had space issues, but when he met up with Dante, he immediately laid down next to him and shared treats. They acted this way when we met up annually for several years.

 

I know others that met with siblings and they could have been different breeds according to the reaction.

 

I am glad mine worked out the way it did. It is very special to have that.

[robinw]

Phoenix met his litter mate Radar a few years ago. Nothing.

[Brandiandwe]

Interesting. Because there seems to be something there, perhaps just a recognition in terms of communication styles or body language then. Odd.