Possibly stupid question from non dog owner.

[Goldenbug]

I don't own a dog, or ever looked after one. I know very very little about them, but I was wondering the other day...

Can a dog of one breed recognise that a dog of another breed is a puppy, and if they do, do they treat them differently? In particular, how would a Jack Russell react to a Great Dane puppy towering over them?

Yes, they do. Breed is little to do with it. I have a 12 year old little Jack Russell who has no issue at all recognising a big old springer puppy (who was the same size as her when he was 8 weeks old) and telling him off if she sees fit. He listens to her.

How? I am guessing a mixture of smell and the way they move, i.e. they won't smell of adult hormones because they don't have any and move in an erratic manner.

Up to about 3/4 months old most dogs give a puppy a large amount of licence to misbehave and be rude without any serious repercussions. Much like adult humans might allow a human baby to reach out to their face but wouldn't easily tolerate it from an older child.

Dogs might growl or snarl at a boisterous puppy but are unlikely to hurt them. After about 4 months the pup's free pass expires and the tellings off get increasingly loud and serious - though by then many pups have learned the basics of good manners.

All that said, that relies on the adult dog knowing the basics of good socialisation themselves. If they didn't get the same treatment when they were pups themselves they might struggle to tolerate a puppy so each dog needs to be closely observed with puppies at first to see how they might react.

Interesting question! Since dogs work in a world of scent almost as much as sight and hearing, I think they immediately recognise another creature as dog even if it's far larger or smaller than them. They'll also be able to tell if it's male or female or neutered. Behavioural clues will probably tell an experienced older dog how the other dog is likely to act, so not so much age.

Yes my mini Schnauzer recognises puppies even if they are twice her size, she cuts them a lot of slack.

Yes. I used to have a small breed dog that was happy, a social butterfly, loved other dogs BUT when he got into his twilight years (12+?) he became a grumpy old man with boisterous puppies - he just didn't want them anywhere near him. You had about 30 seconds before he started snapping - though he had lost all his teeth by that point anyway so couldn't do any damage!

Current DDog (JRT x) wasn't socialised properly as a youngster so came to me with issues regarding a lot of other dogs. He's come a long, long way though and recently ignored a puppy that snapped at him recently, and a couple of adult chihuahuas that were barking quite aggressively. I was very proud! For him it's not puppies vs adults, there are other factors that come far higher up the list of what might cause issues.

Yes older dogs recognise puppies regardless of the breed. I have a puppy and it is her body language that gives her away - she is playful but always defers to older dogs, bouncy and clumsy but never challenges another dog except to play.

Yes - body language has a lot to do with it and scent as a pp said.

Thank you everybody. That's a new thing I've learnt today!