Recordings analyzed

Dog moms recognize their puppies by their whining

Beagle dog mothers recognize their offspring by their whining.(Bild: dager)

Dog moms recognize their offspring by their whimpering - and they react particularly to the sounds of the little ones. This is reported by a French research team in the "Proceedings" of the US Academy of Sciences.

A team led by Mathilde Massenet from the French University of Saint-Etienne analyzed 4400 sound recordings of 220 whimpering beagle puppies from 40 litters. The recordings were made in four breeding stations in France.

The scientists then used small loudspeakers to play 16 female dogs whimpering to their offspring and to other beagle puppies. The mothers reacted more strongly to the sounds of their own puppies, which resulted in more care and feeding, among other things. Some mother dogs even dragged the loudspeakers into their baskets with the other puppies.

With their own offspring, the mothers also reacted more strongly to high-pitched sounds. These tend to be produced by smaller puppies. Massenet's group concludes from this that their squeaking motivates female dogs to be particularly caring.