[Clough]

Hi, All!

Okay. Some of us love or like dogs and some of us might be afraid of them for one or more reasons.

Maybe you or someone you know has been told that he or she (the dog), knows that you're afraid of him or her (the dog).

I know that I've been told that on more than one occasion. However, because of being in a lot of contact with dogs over the past many years, I rarely have a problem when meeting one for the first time in the home of a customer or friend anymore.

What might be some reasons that a dog knows when a person might be afraid of them, please? Body language of the person, like facial expressions, positions of the legs and/or arms, movements when walking, etc.

Perhaps dogs might even be able to tell the emotions of the person without there being any body language involved at all?

I don't really know...

Thanks!

[Aurora_Bell]

This is a complicated argument, I have been reading a lot of studies that are saying that although dogs feel fear, happiness and anxiety,they hey are un capable of sophisticated secondary emotions.

I don't agree with this theroy, I know from personal experience that dogs feed of energy they feel from other beings. Especially while they are on a leash. Hence the term leash aggression.

I would argue that dogs can observe your posture and appearance as submissive and, almost reflexively, approaches to investigate or respond to the new situation. Maybe even seeing you in a submissive posture, the dog feels it has to grovel to remain below you in rank. Yeah, right. I know when I am upset, my dogs are constantly putting their heads in my lap, licking my hands, following me around.

Fear-aggressive dogs are more often aggressive to people who fear them. They gather from a person's behavior that the person is uncomfortable around them and feed off the perceived weakness.

[Clough]

So, would you say that it might be possible that a dog could react, in a certain way, to the way someone is at a moment, even though the way the person is can't be seen by the human eye?

Thanks!

[Alty]

I have to add to Bella's post.

Dogs have a fantastic sense of smell, even dogs that aren't used for their scent abilities still have a sense of smell far greater then any human.

When we feel fear we sweat, we release odors that we may not notice, but a dog does. They can literally smell the fear.

A dog, while going on a walk, usually has its nose to the ground. When they come across a frequented dog pee spot they can smell that urine, even if it's days old, and tell you what mood the dog was in, what he had for dinner, whether it's a male or female, whether that female is in heat, and so much more.

A dogs nose is an amazing thing.

[Aurora_Bell]

I would definitely say that. I have a 10 year old 120 lbs Am Staff. He is the biggest baby you would ever meet. I have an aunt who is terrified of him. Luckily he is not an aggressive dog at all. He sucks up to her. He sits at her feet, with his head lowered, and looks up at her with nothing but love in his eyes. She does not show her fear, still comes to our house, sleeps there, she is just very un comfortable with such a large dog.

I also think he senses no danger from her based on our feelings and actions towards her.

Same dog, can pick up on our feelings with some one who makes us uncomfortable. When I was pregnant, there was this awful drunk at our camp. I was alone with the dogs in our camper, and this man came and knocked on the door. He kind of propped open the door so I couldn't close it, and started asking me really inappropriate questions. I was nervous, scared, and un sure, Max growled and showed his teeth. NOT in his nature to do things like this.

[Aurora_Bell]

I have to add to Bella's post.

Dogs have a fantastic sense of smell, even dogs that aren't used for their scent abilities still have a sense of smell far greater then any human.

When we feel fear we sweat, we release odors that we may not notice, but a dog does. They can literally smell the fear.

A dog, while going on a walk, usually has its nose to the ground. When they come across a frequented dog pee spot they can smell that urine, even if it's days old, and tell you what mood the dog was in, what he had for dinner, whether it's a male or female, whether that female is in heat, and so much more.

A dogs nose is an amazing thing.

Had to spread the rep, but that is so true. It's been reported that dogs can smell one drop of urine in a gallon bucket of water.

[Clough]

I have to add to Bella's post.

Dogs have a fantastic sense of smell, even dogs that aren't used for their scent abilities still have a sense of smell far greater then any human.

When we feel fear we sweat, we release odors that we may not notice, but a dog does. They can literally smell the fear.

A dog, while going on a walk, usually has its nose to the ground. When they come across a frequented dog pee spot they can smell that urine, even if it's days old, and tell you what mood the dog was in, what he had for dinner, whether it's a male or female, whether that female is in heat, and so much more.

A dogs nose is an amazing thing.

I had totally forgotten about the sense of smell thing!

Thanks, Alty! :)

[Clough]

Hey!!!!

I can smell one drop of water in a gallon of urine when I don't flush the toilet for awhile! :D :eek:

[shazamataz]

A friend of mine has a Siberian Husky. They 'rescued' him at 4 years of age from another friend of mine.

That dog was untrained, unruly and aggressive.

I am the only person that dog has not bitten. Why? Because I am the only person who hasn't been afraid of him.

When people know he is aggressive they tend to act very carefully around him, slow movements, soft touches etc.

One incident I remember was when they first got him... he took off down the back of the yard and wouldn't come back when called. His owner walked down there and went to touch him, very gently and tried to coax him forwards. He went to bite her so she just went "nope" and came back.

I then went down there and went to grab him... he tried to bite me. I grabbed his collar and give him a swift tap on the nose followed by some very loud and aggressive swear words.

He came with me back to the house.

If you show a dog you are afraid of them they will always get the upper hand.

[J_9]

It's called Pheromones.

[Alty]

Well fear is a sign of weakness, a sign that you're not dominant, and in the dog world that's key. Fighting for dominance is normal.

So, if you show fear, you're likely to get bit.

I've been bitten twice, but not because I was afraid, in this case it was the owners fault. One was a German shepherd that had been left tied up outside without shelter, food or water for 4 days. I didn't know that, went to go pet him, his tail was wagging the whole time. I think he snapped when he realized that I wasn't bringing food or water. When I found out that he hadn't eaten or had water I got him some, went back outside, still bleeding from the bite, and walked right up to him with no problem.

My friend ended up taking that dog. He was actually Indy's Uncle. I have some great pictures of him with Indy and his litter mates when they were little. I'll have to dig them up.

[hheath541]

I've never been bitten by a dog (out of aggression. I've had puppies use my hands as teethers before.). I've only been in a situation where it was a real possibility MAYBE a handful of times. Maybe it's because I'm not generally afraid of dogs. I can just tell if a dog is being truly aggressive, or just barking for show or because it likes to bark.

My neighbors have a pitbull. He's big. Comes up past my waist. He's also very vocal and likes to bark at people and show his teeth.

He was out when I was looking at the apartment. He was barking and baring his teeth and generally doing all of the get-off-my-property posturing. As soon as one of the neighbor's came out and told me his name, I went right up to him, let him smell my hand, and scratched his ears and belly.

My neighbors still can't believe that I'm not afraid of him. He's just a big sweetheart. I guess it's the bad rep pitbulls have that make most people afraid of him.

People can sense fear the same way dogs do, we just aren't conscious of it most of the time. The first thing you do when you're afraid is freeze. Even if it's only for a second, all movement stops. Then your heartbeat and breathing start to race as your blood pumps adrenaline through your entire body. I think it's those two things dogs pick up on the most. The sudden complete stillness as your body tenses and readies itself to either fight or flee, and the drastic increase in pulse and breath rate.

By instinct, dogs are hunters. All you have to do is watch ANY animal hunting and watch the actions of their prey. The first thing they do it freeze and tense up. Then they usually flee, and sometimes fight. It's that reaction that triggers the hunt and chase instinct.

On the rare occasions an animal doesn't react with fear, the hunter usually has no idea what to do for at least a little bit. Their noses and eyes tell them that it's prey, but their instincts tell them it's not ACTING like prey. They NEED to be able to sense fear so that their instincts and senses can agree that it's prey.

Many dogs have either lost that ability, or never learned how to use it. The ones who act aggressively to fear have either had to harness that ability for protection or food, or their instincts are closer to the surface due to breeding or training.

At least that's my personal theory.