I think they do. If you're looking for literature, I have no scientific references, only the testimony of a dog breeder, myself. I have a dog, Dima, who had had four litters of puppies. We kept one of the puppies from the original litters, named Drea. All the puppies from the following litters recognized Drea as having higher status. Dima's last litter all got adopted by one owner, my cousin, meaning they all went to the same household. After some time passed, we took Drea to my cousin's to see how the dogs would interact. At first, they treated her like any other normal dog, excited and curious to know more about their visitor, but after recognizing her scent, they reverted to the dominance hierarchy that they established when they were puppies, recognizing Drea's higher status. Some time later, we took their mother, Dima, to my cousin's house. Upon entering the yard, all the puppies from that litter instantly recognized their mother, all three of them peed on themselves and furiously wagged their tails. She recognized her puppies as she held her head up high and instantly disciplined them when they became overly enthusiastic about seeing her. It was as if she was reminding them about recognizing and remembering boundaries. After she calmed them down, she began meticulously grooming them and after a short while, all three puppies (now fully grown dogs) all took a nap with their momma. It was something else to behold...
Urchintexasyellow t1_janpp01 wrote
Reply to Nature-do animals know their offspring/parents? by StubbornAries
I think they do. If you're looking for literature, I have no scientific references, only the testimony of a dog breeder, myself. I have a dog, Dima, who had had four litters of puppies. We kept one of the puppies from the original litters, named Drea. All the puppies from the following litters recognized Drea as having higher status. Dima's last litter all got adopted by one owner, my cousin, meaning they all went to the same household. After some time passed, we took Drea to my cousin's to see how the dogs would interact. At first, they treated her like any other normal dog, excited and curious to know more about their visitor, but after recognizing her scent, they reverted to the dominance hierarchy that they established when they were puppies, recognizing Drea's higher status. Some time later, we took their mother, Dima, to my cousin's house. Upon entering the yard, all the puppies from that litter instantly recognized their mother, all three of them peed on themselves and furiously wagged their tails. She recognized her puppies as she held her head up high and instantly disciplined them when they became overly enthusiastic about seeing her. It was as if she was reminding them about recognizing and remembering boundaries. After she calmed them down, she began meticulously grooming them and after a short while, all three puppies (now fully grown dogs) all took a nap with their momma. It was something else to behold...