Why Do Dogs Prefer Their Own Breed?

[BostonBanker]

I think it probably has more to do with play and communication style than anything else. I know Meg has a "type" of dog that she vastly prefers over others, even though it isn't her breed. I've gotten better at knowing what dogs she will and won't interact with well over the years. She's generally a big fan of herding breeds, who often play without a lot of physical contact, which scares her. She loves the play-bow/turn and run sort of games. She actually got playing today with a beagle mix who played like a herding dog today - not a breed she normally enjoys interacting with, but her 'type'.

[FoxyWench]

the chis are definatly clannish, i dont know why but its very obvious they prefer the company of other chis over other breeds...
if no other chis will play they will settle for other similarly sized/small and GENTLE dogs.
vixie LOVES to play with ruby and rosie adores jasper. (the cresties) the chis down right REFUSE to play with or even acnowledge Charlie the cocker has a right to do anything other than be quiet)

the cresties dont seem to be quite as clannish as the chis but
jasper thus far doesnt seem to be too picky about playing, however its very obvious he perfers ruby as a playmate than the chis...
ruby...well ruby likes to play with jasper...she enjoys playing with vixie and rosie the chis, and at doggy daycare she woudl interact nicely with the maltese and there was one cavalier king charles ruby liked to play with but she was a very small, feminine (long legged and skinny built like ruby) king charlies.

[sillysally]

Jack thinks pretty much any other dog is awesome, but he ADORES labs. He definitely knows a lab when he sees one and is *all* kinds of excited about it. i agree with Gina--I think it is that he has someone who speaks "lab."

He also gets more excited with pitties than other breeds, I'm guessing because of Sally.

[ihartgonzo]

Gonzo is often intimidating to other dogs who aren't herding breeds. He has VERY hard eye (he stares/crouches), and often working/sporting breeds interpret that as a threat and are confrontational toward him. Most herding breeds understand it and aren't threatened by it. One of Gonzo's best friends is a BC named Jesse, and their favorite passtime is herding each other. Other herding breeds tend to be more attentive, with a more polite play style, which is mostly why I think he gets along with similar breeds. He HATES being rudely greeted/invited to play, which is just how a lot of breeds in other groups are, especially sporting dogs and bully breeds. But even more than other herding breeds, he adores little dogs, no matter how snarky they are towards him.

Fozzie isn't breedist, that I've noticed. He loves Beagles, JRTs, Poodles, Mastiffs, and Border Collies... that's a pretty vast assortment. He does play with other Corgis, but most of the Corgis we meet aren't very active and don't have the same play style. When he meets a Corgi who likes to herd/chase, it's definitely on.

The weirdest thing I've noticed about Gonzo and Fozzie is that both of them get curly tails when they're feeling playful, and both of them almost always love any other dog with a curly tail. Huskies, Shiba Inus, etc, are always their favorites.

[Laurelin]

Oh and Trey definitely prefers a papillon to anything else. We had to stick him at the breeders with all the paps and he was fine. He fit in perfectly, or so he thought. A group of any other breed would probably freak him out. Generally he hates other dogs.

[Pops2]

sonic (salukiXgrey) loves all dogs but since he was raised w/ a bulldog he like the rough & tumble play of bulldogs.

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by BostonBanker

I think it probably has more to do with play and communication style than anything else.

I would agree with that.

I've seen it in a number of breeds and in mixed breeds. My lab afghan mix really took to other afghans and my aussie rottie mix lit up when she saw other aussies.

There are exceptions - especially with dogs that are raised among a different breed. Tyr was raised with the corgis and he tends to think he's a big corgi. Which kinda leaves Nyx a bit left out, because she thinks that since there's another mal in the house, he should be able to understand her and he really doesn't.

[Ratboy]

Originally Posted by HoundedByHounds

Beagles are clannish. They speak one another's language...they do not get offended by long intense sniffing of privates or the need to be ON one another when sleeping. Many other dogs, and breeds...DO.

Doesn't mean they CANNOT interact with other dogs/breeds....you've seen mine. It just means they PREFER...to be with their own if they have an option.

I will go you one further S&S...my red Beagles always prefer to be with other Red's if given a choice...and my Tri's...with other Tri's. When I had a litter of 2 red and one tri girls...the 2 reds almost NEVER interacted with their sister...I always felt rather bad for her.

My Beagle loved Labs (Most of them, anyway), and any dog that was about the size of a Lab, with short hair, and he liked little dogs like Yorkies and JRT's, he seemed to have infinite patience with them, especially pups. He did have his insane Boxer hatred, too, but he really really really hated most, but not all, other male Beagles. He got into several fights with other Beagles, mostly at the vet's office. He had a reputation as a "scrapper", and the vet said he was by far the most "talented" of all the smaller dogs that got into fights in his office. I don't know why he developed the prejudices he had, when he was young, he got along with every dog in our neighborhood, except for the giant GSD who attacked him for no reason one day when he was about 9 months old. Later on, they were big buddies, but the other dogs he got along with originally ended up being "enemies" later on, especially a 50 pound Poodle mix, "Robbie". They got into it several times, with stitches required for both of them most of the time. Robbie ran loose most of the time, as did almost every dog in the neighboorhod, except mine, so it was difficult to prevent fights from starting. My mom hurt her back badly slipping on ice while trying to break up one of Robbie and Farfel's "dances". She wound up in the ER, and Farfel wound up getting stitches. About 2 years later, my mom had to have back surgery.

[Toller_08]

My Tollers really don't enjoy other Tollers at all for some reason. LOL, in fact, they seem rather annoyed by most! Spring turns into a completely different dog around other Tollers... and not in a good way. I find that kind of odd, considering that was the only breed she lived with for 7 months. And Dance, she ignores them for the most part. They do, however, get very excited at the sight of a Doberman!

Keira, on the other hand, adores her breed! Probably because there is no other breed out there that seems to play like Dobermans do. Not that I've been around anyway. She can spot one a mile away and she starts wiggling and gets all excited. Well, until she gets close to one.. then she's very respectful, but still very happy. She's much more reserved around most other dogs.

[grab01]

I have a variety of dogs, two of whom don't really look like any other dogs I've seen around (being mixes). However, I will note that for 7 years Jules couldn't stand any other dogs. He just tolerates the other dogs in his home, and even as a puppy he's never, ever played with another dog. I brought Grimm home, who is somewhat terrierish, and they play, play, play. We call it Tardy Terrier Play