Humans recognise and appreciate pure breed in dogs. Yes i understand that these breed characteristics have been done to suit humans more than dogs but dogs of a ceertain breed have a prized look which in most cases is good looking to human eyes.
So from a dogs pov, isbreed recognised. Do breed dogs treat mutts differently. Do pariah types treat breeds differently or with deference?
No.
My understanding is animals recognize symmetry (for mating) but it’s highly unlikely they recognize breeds.
Judging by the way a very small dog will bark at a very large dog, they don’t even notice an order of magnitude or two difference in mass.
Anecdotal:
My boxer dog would visibly react differently to seeing another boxer dog, as compared to other breeds or mutts. He never made a distinction between pure breeds and mutts, though.
I always wonder about this.
My hound (a beagle) never views beagles differently from any other dog. She’s not the kind of dog to even recognize a mirror, so I’m not sure if she even knows what she looks like. It could be innate I suppose, but I never gave her that skill.
I seriously doubt it. The best I can say is that my dog seems to recognize dogs that look like Australian shepherds. There is one in my neighborhood that hates my dog and constantly barks at him. In turn, my dog barks at anything that looks like an Australian shepherd that gets too close. Conversely, my dog’s best friend looks something like a small orange husky. If my dog hasn’t seen his friend for a few days, he’ll give extra attention at the dog park to the butt of any dog with a similar tail.
In my judgment, every dog acutely notices the size of every other dog. You might expect dogs wouldn’t bark at or pick fights with much larger dogs. In truth, dogs on leashes can’t flee so if they are afraid of larger dogs, their only response is to bark and express willingness to fight or perhaps at least to warn their protective owners of the threat. The smaller the dog, the more dogs they have to bark at. Since the large dog they bark at eventually goes away without killing the small dogs, the behavior is reinforced.
Anecdotes in point, my generally-friendly medium-size mutt, Wally, doesn’t bark at or otherwise care about small dogs that bark at him. He is not even remotely threatened by them. Medium-sized dogs that bark at Wally get barks in response. Large dogs he doesn’t know sometimes get a preemptive fusillade of barks. Wally has never gotten the chance to meet the very tall, very friendly Great Dane in my neighborhood because Wally won’t stop barking at him. The Great Dane doesn’t care.
In turn, the Great Dane has never gotten to meet the very friendly, giant brindle mutt. Both are large, powerful dogs and neither owner knows how well either dog would respond to another dog it might see as a threat. They always have to keep their distance. Both dogs eye each other warily, perhaps due as much to their owners’ anxiety as their own.
This general pattern of dog size recognition is repeated with every one of the eight or so small to medium sized dogs I’ve cared for and I’ve witnessed similar evidence of dog size recognition with hundreds of dogs at many dog parks.
I have seen this in dogs that also. I wouldn’t say it’s breed specific though, although maybe it is for any one dog. I think dogs just have their preferences, and individually they may be attracted to dogs like themselves. But overall, most of the dogs I’ve known either like other dogs or not, without much distinction between breed or any other physical aspect. I’d say it was more about personality than anything else.
My dog - a poodle/King Charles cross - definitely identifies other poodles and poodle crosses and has a greater affinity for them. I suspect this is more by smell than by visual appearance. But I seriously doubt whether she would in general distinguish between purebreds, crosses and mongrels, or have any general preference for purebreds over mongrels.
I’ve never seen any dog act in a way that shows they recognize breed or really any visual differences. But in my experience they all recognize puppies (and also usually kittens and infants) and treat them accordingly.
It’s cute watching an old dog play with a puppy. It’s like watching a grandpa with his grandkids. They’ll act a lot younger and play like a puppy, and then get sore and wander off and be grumpy after they’ve had enough. But they’re almost never aggressive towards them at all, and often will let the puppy walk all over them, literally, in ways they would never allow another full grown dog to get away with.
one of my dogs didn’t recognize me when I came into the house with my hood up - and she’d seen me in that parka many times.
this is called a “puppy pass”
More anecdata:
My Newfie loves every dog, everywhere, ever. Medium and large dogs freak right the heck out at the dog park, because he grew up with dogs that size and so he charges right in to playing, just like he does with his buddies. They would rather ease into things with something the size of a small bear. He ends up playing with the small dogs. They climb on benches to play with his head. He crouches down to allow play attacks. They get along great. He’s never made a friend with a bigger dog at the dog park. I stopped taking him a while ago. He just followed me around and didn’t romp.
We’re on our third boxer and I agree, they seem to know another boxer. They love all dogs, but they go crazy (excited) when they see another boxer.
I think our dog makes some distinctions among breeds sometimes, though can’t rule out it being our imagination. She, a ‘pit bull’ type*, does at times seem to show more deference to ‘her kind’. And she seems to specially detest Boxers, interestingly. Then again she hates other dogs generally, especially as a function of greater size and other females; she’s marginally OK with small males of any breed.
It’s obvious dogs very much know what’s another dog (as in people assuming a dog like ours might mistake a kid for a dog: no way, totally different reaction, all humans are friends, little humans must be treated especially gently). Doesn’t seem far fetched they’d figure out other details. Then again as was said, it’s clear a lot of small dogs don’t realize they are small, from all the ones which growl and howl and try to get at mine.
*not a purebreed but not just a vaguely ‘pittish’ mutt either as is common where we live. Her parents might have been relatively pure APBT/Am Staff and Dogo Argentino, best guess but not a rare mix nowadays.
Our basenjis definitely recognize other basenjis. Because they instantly want to kill them.
Lots of people with ugly little Chi crosses think their dog looks like a basenji. They don’t. And our basenjis never think they do either. LUCKY FOR THEM.
Personally, I don’t think so. I think dogs don’t discriminate like people do.
The meanest dog I ever had was a 4lb Chihuahua…she would attack any, I mean ANY other dog…we spent alot of time at the vet with her…A vet tech told me little dogs are sometimes really insecure and that is why they have anger issues…on the other hand my Yorkie now loves any dog with hair…she is obviously impressed with poodles and bichon types. And she acts different if she has just been groomed with the bow and perfume and painted nails. …I swear she knows when she’s looking good
Interesting anecdote – the dog originally bred for bull- or bear-baiting (yeah I know, their appearance has been thoroughly altered away from being blood sport capable) recognizes peers it might need.
Maybe not the way people do, but they have personalities and preferences. And as Arkcon noted, a particular breed might instinctively recognize it’s own kind. I think dogs can be taught to discriminate the way people do also, because that’s just learned behavior in humans.
Not exactly the way people do. But I think it’s well known some dogs discriminate among people in a kind of cartoonish version of the way people sometimes do, by skin color, though that’s seldom really all there really is to it with people. Or maybe that’s not all there is to it with dogs either, but some definitely do it. Our last dog had distinct prejudices among people though they were more complicated. Our current dog seems equally friendly to anyone who shows her attention, and not unfriendly to anybody, though she’ll try to run over to people who resemble (look, smell?) family members and friends.
Again doesn’t seem far fetched dogs could have opinions and prejudices about other kinds of dogs if they can about people. They definitely can have differing opinions about other dogs by sex, even after being neutered.
We had a rat terrier who hated certain people with a passion…the ones she liked…she really REALLY liked…She wasn’t very dog friendly,though. When we got her the breeder said you cannot have cats around that breed , that turned out to be wrong. I have decided dogs can be discriminating…mine sure have, for various reasons.