Can Dogs Recognize Their Parents?

Studies show that dogs are capable of recognizing their parents later in life if they were around them during a crucial early period.

By: robinelaine

Here’s an amazing story, the stuff that movies are made of: A baby who was kidnapped at birth found her biological parents.

Carlina White, now a 29-year-old woman, says she always knew she wasn’t her kidnapper’s child. She didn’t have anything to base this on other than a vague sense of knowing that something wasn’t right.

I cannot imagine meeting the mother you were stolen from as a child. And this made me wonder: Do dogs and cats think about the parents and siblings they were separated from in early life? Do their mothers wonder what happened to them? And would they recognize them if they met later in life?


Recognizing Family


This means that a species will protect its close family members or others with similar DNA before aligning with strangers. For instance, you will protect your child before your sister, your sister before your cousin, your cousin before your friend and so on because the closer the familial relation, the more DNA that person will share with you.


So it stands to reason that nature will set things up so it’s easy for people to recognize who is close family and who is a distant cousin, whether by smell, sight or some other deeply subconscious biological method.

One study found that puppies could recognize the scent of their mother after a 2-year continuous separation. By: rhaarmans

Familial Ties, Canine Style

Is it possible that other species have the same ability to recognize family after a long separation? I don’t know about other animals, but I’m happy to report that, for dogs, the answer is yes.


Here’s what Lindsay has to say on the subject:


All of this makes sense — not just for kin selection (a fancy term for favoring your closest relatives first) but also to keep the species from inbreeding.

Watch this sweet reunion between a mom and her 4 adorable puppies:

The Secret Lives of Animals

Do dogs feel any sort of longing for their family once they’ve been separated?

That, unfortunately, we just don’t know. However, there are several documented cases of animals grieving the death of their young.


I’m not sure if Lulu ever thinks about her mother, but I would like to think that her mom is happily living with a nice family somewhere, quietly enjoying what must be her golden years now.


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