Another Explanation: Heterozygosis. They did space out the inseminations and found that when there were two sires 90% of the bitches actually gave birth to one or more puppies. I mean they generally are loyal and devoted to their human family, but when it comes to mating, they are much more like free-spirited 'swingers.' If your female dog is in heat and is exposed to more than one male dog it can happen and it happened with my dog. Also, by comparing the DNA of the pups with the DNA of the suspected fathers you can match up the puppy with his daddy. Why Would a Serial Killer Appear on a Game Show? But as mentioned before, one puppy cannot have two different fathers. The term for two or more eggs from the same heat cycle being fertilized by different sets of sperm is called superfecundation. Dreams have been described as dress rehearsals for real life, opportunities to gratify wishes, and a form of nocturnal therapy. Jess nodded and noted, "You know some breeders actually purposefully breed a female dog to two different studs. Miracles happen, but they can … While you won’t find puppies taking paternity tests on the Maury or Jerry Springer show to help solve a family … If two purebred dogs mate but some of the resulting litter are obviously not that breed, the owner can figure there's another sire somewhere. Inbreeding, which is also sometimes called linebreeding, is the term used when animals who share close genetic traits mate, such mother and offspring or siblings. Unlike people (who tend to only have one egg per cycle), female dogs release multiple eggs when they're in heat, and if more than one dog mates with her, then sperm from different males can fertilize the various eggs. Can puppies from the same litter have different fathers? No need to employ a lie detector machine; genetics may provide a reasonable explanation. She was here to look at one of my cows, but since Kate [Marion's dog] had a litter a few weeks ago, Jess thought it might be convenient to give the puppies their first round of shots while she was here.". They argue that it's beneficial because it will result in additional genetic diversity in a single litter, and I would expect that the increased litter size is another positive outcome (especially if there is a concern that one of the sires has low sperm count or poor quality semen). This won't happen in controlled breeding, but it can easily happen in feral dogs. Kittens in same litter having different fathers? As you might expect, the genetic variation among puppies with different fathers is greater than that of those who share the same father. They were interested in the issue of multiple sires and explored it using both natural and artificial insemination. Mean.” And I’d make this face :( Actually, that’s not true at all. … A female dog can have a litter of puppies with more than one father. This is common, especially in stray dogs. I have two dogs who are sisters, but they look nothing alike. As a result, puppies from the same litter may actually have different fathers. This means that a puppy cannot have two fathers, but each puppy can have a different father. The Biology Behind Superfecundation Now one single puppy cannot have two different fathers. Litters with different fathers. However, two of the pups looked quite different, with short hair, a sort of Beagle-like parti-coloured coat, and ears that appeared as if they would ultimately develop into the pendant shape ear flaps common to hounds. It can theoretically be any number of puppies (one per every egg released at the time) that have a different father, not just 3. Copyright SC Psychological Enterprises Ltd. May not be reprinted or reposted without permission. To further ameliorate the process, male dogs produce sperm known for remaining well alive for up to eight days. However, if we could identify the guys involved and test their DNA, we could then tell which of each of her pups belongs to which father, and afterward, we could unveil that information on a salacious episode of our very own canine Jerry Springer Show!". Hollinshead FK, Ontiveros M, Burns JG, Magee C, Hanlon DW (2020). Bitches can actually have a litter of puppies that have two different sires, and while this is not massively common, it is still worth bearing in mind! The answer is no, but the litter can be sired by different fathers. Yes, a litter of puppies can have multiple fathers. So, your next question may be, how does this happen? A single puppy will constitute of one father and one mother only. On average, siblings who share the same parents are approximately 50% genetically related. Although not likely, it is theoretically possible for every single member of a litter to have a different father. (This is, in fact, significantly higher than the whelping rate of 76% when there is only one sire.) Stanley Coren, Ph.D., FRSC., is a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. So breeding one puppy from the first litter with a puppy from the second litter is exactly the same degree of incest as simply breeding two puppies from the same litter. Get the help you need from a therapist near you–a FREE service from Psychology Today. Who's your daddy? It requires the DNA profiles of all of the parents and all of the puppies so that the specific sire and dam can be noted on the pedigree form for each pup. So if Princess was purposely mated with Beethoven the Saint Bernard, and then Scruffy the mutt secretly found a way to enter Princess's yard while she was out, about 63 days later she may give birth to a part purebred, part mixed-breed litter. Have you had or seen any litters of puppies with multiple fathers? A full litter of 6-8 puppies can have different fathers, but each puppy will only be the offspring of one male and one female. In other words, if Sophie mated with Theo the poodle, and then she had an affair with Scruffy the mutt, she may have three poodles and then the remaining four may be mixes. So, for example, the gene for blue eyes is recessive, meaning a male and female cat who both have blue eyes can only produce a blue-eyed kitten. Does anyone know if this is true or not? Is that really possible?". Possibly, however, while kittens can have different fathers, litter mates can look completely different from one another but have the same father. Why is that? However, the evolutionary adaptation is far from perfect, and it is not uncommon for puppies in … Who’s your daddy, little pup? Now add on top of that the polygamous behavioral components in domestic dogs, and you have the perfect recipe for a litter of pups that look quite different. What If You Achieved Your Wildest Dreams But Felt Miserable? Nevertheless, the path to registration is a lot more complicated for the MSL pups than for those born into the more common single fathered litters. Two puppies from the same litter (or different litters) raised together during their first 6 months are more likely to: Have problems bonding with their human (they bond more closely to one another than to humans) Have problems doing things independently of one another (they become hyper-attached to each other) Be scared of strangers and other dogs (nervous … Really?” To you, I would say, “Awww. You may wonder at some point if a puppy can have two fathers. How can you tell if a litter of kittens has more than one father? Yes a dog can for sure get pregnant by multiple male dogs with the same litter. If Sophie mates with multiple dogs, then yes, she can easily get pregnant and the litter of puppies can have different fathers. If a female dog is inseminated by more than one sire, especially if the semen from both sires is deposited at nearly the same time, the likelihood that the puppies in the resultant litter will be born by different fathers is less than 1%. I've heard many many times from reliable sources (like cat breeders) that a pregnant queen can have two different fathers to the kittens in the same litter -- NOT that a kitten would have two fathers, but that a kitten can have father A and its littermate have father B. Simple, she gives life to a multi-sired litter, which simply means the pups have different fathers. Obviously a puppy cannot have more than one father. Answer (1 of 2): Anoelle, ALL the different litters of puppies born from the SAME PARENTS ,the sire and dam , are FULL SIBLINGS , just in the same way as all the individuals in each litter are FULL brothers and sisters too. This means that if you failed to closely supervise Princess while she was in heat, she may have mated with Rover the purebred golden retriever, Oscar the phlegmatic English bulldog and even Scruffy the stray mutt from around the corner. What type of mix are they and could they have different baby daddies? It is not unique to cats, but is also common in dogs. Marion, the farm's owner, was standing in the yard next to another woman with a long ponytail. (lol) I've included a pic of each of them at 5 months old, a cute one of them play fighting, and a pic of them a 4 weeks just because it's so cute! In other words, a few puppies may be sired by one male and the rest may be sired by another. Do Dogs React to the Scent of Human Fear? Then once the litter is born, different puppies will have different fathers. Superfecundation is the technical term for litters sired by more than one father. My mom said she once heard Dogs from the same litter can have different dads. However, female dogs produce multiple eggs at one time and that's why they typically give birth to litters rather than to single puppies. A Social Audience, 5 Thought Patterns that Fuel the Fear of Failure. The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. “You can tell if puppies in the same litter have different fathers by the characteristics, sizes and colors,” Dr. Shellenberger says. (and you can … Puppies from the same litter can have different fathers… Posted on February 21, 2008 by Peter DeWolf. Since there are a bunch of eggs that are released at the same time, that means that if a bitch has multiple partners different eggs can be fertilized by different sires. I was there to pick up a couple of boxes of blueberries since my wife wanted to make blueberry pies and to freeze them so that we could have them over the winter. Genes can be dominant or recessive. It doesn't just occur in dogs and cats -- although rare, it's even possible for fraternal human twins to have different dads. Geneticists call this process heterozygosis, which simply means you're dealing with a broad mixture of genetic variation. You may wonder at some point if a puppy can have two fathers. "However philandering with multiple partners doesn't always result in a litter with mixed parentage. If you're suspicious of your dog's mating behaviors and really need an answer, skip the lie-detecting machine and buy a DNA testing kit instead. Yep, a female dog in heat can get pregnant by several different male dogs. Different pups in the same litter can have different fathers. This test will ultimately reveal if Princess had an affair with more than one dog. Jess smiled and commented, "It looks like Kate is a bit of a party girl. The world of animals is populated by several romantic examples of monogamy coming from beavers, otters, foxes, bats and wolves , but dogs, even though related to wolves, are far from being monogamous beings. But bear in mind that two pups from one litter can be very different also. The Power of Superbowl Ads? No, they cannot. This effect is compounded if the parents themselves are mixed breed. It was no surprise to us to have kittens of the same litter from different fathers, but one kitten in particular recently drew our interest to genetic anomaly. ", Marion looked surprised and asked, "You don't mean to say that the puppies in this litter have more than one father, do you? They look so different to me that I wonder if 2 dogs can be from the same litter but have different fathers? It means that yes, the litter of puppies will have more than one father. A puppy cannot have two fathers, but each puppy can have a different father. Well, it’s science. It turns out that there is an interesting reason for this. I’d probably just say, “Fuuuuuck yoooooou” and write you off FOREVER. If you had a litter of 6, the mother could have mated with say, 9 different males and be able to have multiple fathers to the litter. A final interesting fact which came out of that study was that the litter sizes were actually significantly larger when there were two sires. “You can tell if kittens in the same litter have different fathers by the … Each pup will therefore have either Beethoven or Scruffy as a dad. "You've got to understand that dogs are not the best representation of 'fidelity.' Factors influencing parentage ratio in canine dual-sired litters, Theriogenology, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.08.030. The answer is no, but the litter can be sired by different fathers. I think I saw on Animal Planet along time ago the one litter of puppies can have two fathers if the female dog is mounted by two males within a short period of time while she is in peak of heat. She must've been carousing with the neighborhood dogs because I'd bet that this litter is the result of matings with more than one sire. Only one male stray, a pale grey tabby, has an abnormally short tail (most likely a manx mix), so we were giddy when we saw that three of the new kittens from two different litters had short tails (as short as two inches). Don't be too quick to label your dog as a party gal; if her pups looks quite different from one another, chances are she just mated with just one lucky dog of a different breed. General Dog Discussions » Can puppies from the same litter have different dads? Most of the kennel clubs traditionally did not allow the registration of puppies coming from multi-sired litters. But to each their own. Closely related animals, such as dog siblings, share many similar genes because they have the same parents. In other words, a few puppies may be sired by one male and the rest may be sired by another. While it is usually the case that all of the puppies in a litter look very similar, occasionally you will find a litter with some puppies that look different and out of place. This way you can pinpoint the biological father of each pup, register the multi-sired litter if applicable and provide this proof to any potential buyers. Even experienced breeders who breed closely related dogs stumble on problems, because every time you breed … Kate was some kind of poodle cross (the sort that designer dog breeders call "doodles") and she had blonde curly hair and medium-sized V-shaped ears. Canine littermates therefore are more likely to share a father. "Well, each puppy only has one mother and one father, of course. The appearance of a single pitch-black pup in a litter of immaculate white puppies might have people wondering whether it’s possible for puppies to have more than one father. I'll link some pics, what do you think? She waved me over and introduced me to her companion: "This is Jess, and she's our veterinarian. Dr. Kathryn Primm, DVM, owner of Applebrook Animal Hospital and the “ Animal Stuff You Wonder About ” blog, explains: “Because as litter bearers, they ovulate more than one egg and they lack morality about who they mate with, each … One odd finding in this study is that when you look at the mixed parentage litters, you find that the sire that inseminates the female second, compared to the first sire, is apt to father a larger proportion of puppies (73% versus 27%). Can puppies from the same litter have different dads? So this got me thinking. Unlike wolves, who are known to have annual breeding cycles and tend to be monogamous, female dogs tend to have bi-annual breeding cycles and seem to have no problem whatsoever in readily mating with multiple partners. We walked into the mudroom next to the kitchen where Marion had set up a wire pen for Kate and her puppies. When two different purebred dogs have puppies, the resulting litter can have a wide spectrum of looks. In my dog Dave's litter, two of them look very much like collies, they are all different #5 PoisonGirl, Aug 29, 2011 I wonder if having the same stud, but breeding twice, 24 hours apart would increase the whelping rate compared to single breeding. Usually, one sire's sperm wins and he successfully fertilizes all of the available eggs. One litter of puppies may very well have different fathers, especially when female dogs are strays or are unsupervised by a human caretaker. ", Jess laughed, tousled Kate's head, and said to her, "But of course our Katie is not going to tell us who she had her amorous affairs with. A friend asked us to watch his female dog as they went out of town. For the successful breedings after insemination by two sires, it turns out that only 31% of the litters showed evidence of mixed parentage, meaning that in the remaining 69% of the litters the sperm competition resulted in only one successful father. If a female dog is inseminated by more than one sire, especially if the semen from both sires is deposited at nearly the same time, the likelihood that the puppies in the resultant litter will … Though you won't find dogs on the Jerry Springer Show conducting paternity tests, a single white pup in a whole litter of pitch-black pups may leave you scratching your head in disbelief. Because each puppy comes from the encounter of a father’s sperm cell and one of the mother’s eggs, if the female is penetrated by several males and she holds their semen inside her uterus, she may have her eggs sired by different males. A new theory aims to make sense of it all. So for a litter to have more than one sire each insemination needs to be spaced out by 24 or 48 hours, and even then the results are not always predictable.". Puppies from within the same litter but different fathers will generally be similar sizes unless the respective sires were significantly different sizes, but the colouration, conformation and physical appearances of the puppies might vary considerably. So some puppies would have one father and some have the other father, but born in the same litter. I haven’t been feeling very funny lately. At that point, I pointed out that I had just read a recent article done by a research team headed by Fiona Hollinshead from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Furthermore, bitches remain in heat (meaning that the eggs are available for fertilization in the uterus) for around 10 days. This occurrence is called superfecundation, and often results in a premature “runt” who requires special attention. For instance, should your Saint Bernard mate with a Rottie, about 63 days later you may get some pups looking like Mama, others looking like Papa, and some with some mixed markings. Yes, they can. That is because when semen from one male is mixed with semen from another dog sperm competition results. The Age of Parents Predicts the Sex of Puppies in a Litter, Trading Semen: The Tale of Artificial Insemination, How to Create Emotionally Stable and Fear-Resistant Puppies, An Easy Way to Prevent Food Aggression in Dogs. What happens when Princess mates with multiple dogs? So it was not surprising to see that four out of her six puppies also had light-colored curly coats and similar ears. I found myself pulling into the driveway of a farm owned by a friend of my wife. This happens because female dogs produce several ova that remain available for fertilization for several days. However, in 1998 the American Kennel Club decided that Multiple Sired Litters (MSL) could be AKC registered if the mother and both sires were registered purebred dogs and other kennel clubs soon followed suit. So can this … Each puppy will get half of it’s DNA makeup from Mom and one Father, but since often dogs have litters it’s possible for two puppies from the same litter to have 2 different sires. 100% Breeding dogs from the same parents but different litters is not something that is recommended, especially if you are new to breeding and not very knowledgeable about genetics and how breeding closely related dogs may impact the puppies produced. Example a dog can have 5 puppies and those puppies are from 2 different dads. Some of you may be asking, “Were you ever funny? While dogs and wolves share the exact same number of chromosomes (78 arranged in 39 pairs) they are quite different beings, courtesy of the thousands of years separating the… The Part of the Brain That Stops Anxiety and How to Use It, Psychology Today © 2021 Sussex Publishers, LLC, Fend Off the February Blues With Your Kids, How to Make a Great Impression on a Date: Wear a Mask, Cultivate Key Character Strengths to Combat Chronic Pain, New AI Tool May Speed Up Drug Discovery Using Images, Why Some Bad Dog Behaviors Are Hard to Fix. Sometimes it can be hard to believe the puppies are related going solely off their appearance. This occurrence is called superfecundation, and often results in a litter of kittens has than... Dogs, then yes, she can easily get pregnant and the rest may be, how does happen! Sisters, but it can easily happen in feral dogs owner, was standing in yard! Eggs from the same father dog as they went out of that study was that the litter of puppies multiple! 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Sure get pregnant and the rest may be, how does this happen get the help you need from therapist.