I've got back in touch with the man I got Ghost from nearly two years ago; he still has Ghost's mum and his brother too.
I’d love to organise a little family reunion and I was wondering if he’d recognise them?
Ghost isn't dominant, but sometimes he tries to act like a bit of a tough guy; he growls and tries to intimidate others, but he doesn't actually attack. I'm worried he might do that with his brother since they’re the same age, and I don’t know what his brother's temperament is like. Or will he just recognise him?
They haven't seen each other since he was six weeks old. It was a bit young for weaning, but he was the runt of the litter and hardly ever got a chance to eat...
That being said, do you think things would go okay with his mum?
Translated from French
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I think more than anything we just want to make them happy. I’m the same, I talk to him and keep an eye on how his brothers and sisters are getting on! I sometimes say to Moumouth, "That’s it, you’re an uncle again!" It’s totally daft, I keep him updated on everything his siblings are up to. In reality, I’m just enjoying myself and I like to think he enjoys it too when I talk to him about his brothers and sisters, his nephews and nieces, and their results. Anyway, as usual, I'm completely barking mad.
I heard on a show (The Secret Life of Puppies) something along the lines of dogs remembering their brothers and sisters for up to two years, even after being separated.
Ah brilliant, that’s exactly the info I was looking for! I couldn't remember where I'd heard it, but you're right, it was definitely in "The Secret Life of Puppies". It seems there’s a very specific window of time where a puppy remembers its littermates. It’s a scent-based memory, like a sort of hard-wired circuit in the brain. So, when siblings see each other again before that time is up, they recognise each other instantly and start playing just like they did as pups, as if they’d never been apart. It means that even at nearly two years old, they’ll revert to puppy-like behaviour if they’re reunited.
I heard on a programme (something like 'A Puppy's Life') that dogs can remember their brothers and sisters for up to two years, even after they've been separated.
As Misanthrope said, if they were separated as puppies (at 2 or 3 months old) and haven't seen each other since, they won't recognise each other.
On the other hand, if they’d kept seeing each other every now and then, there’s a high chance they would’ve recognised each other – maybe not as family, but at least as mates.
My dog made a great mate when we first adopted her; they saw each other pretty much every day for about a month or six weeks. Then we didn't see him for several months. Well, when we ran into him again, she recognised him straight away!
And if I just say her mate's name to her, she reacts immediately.
No, that’s just how we humans imagine things! If you had a brother but were separated at birth, you wouldn’t recognise him either unless someone introduced him as such. So, you have to approach it as if the dogs are complete strangers.
