Do dogs have dog best friends?

Sometimes owners ask if a dog has best friends among dogs. Let’s figure it out.

Dogs are intelligent, social creatures. Under natural conditions, they live in groups, and roles in these groups are distributed among individuals, depending on who can be most effective and useful in a given situation.

Naturally, this would not be possible if the dogs did not distinguish each other. That is, they have individual recognition of relatives. And, of course, every other dog perceives each dog as a person.

And dogs treat different relatives differently, that is, they form individual relationships with each of the other dogs. A dog may treat some well, others dislike or be afraid. They also develop a history of relationships, and with those with whom there are more positive interactions, they communicate more readily. And, accordingly, vice versa.

So it’s perfectly normal for dogs to perceive their relatives differently. And if puppies are often ready to communicate with anyone, then as they grow older, the selectivity of communication also increases. Friends, enemies and those who are generally indifferent appear.

So the answer to the question “Do dogs have best dog friends” is yes, of course they do.