DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... A question about dogs

years ago, I was leaving a tennis court with a friend of mine and we saw a man walking a yellow lab across the street. My friend stopped in his tracks and said "I'm scared of dogs. He knows it, too."

This dog spotted my friend and started barking ferociously ( keep in mind it was a lab, a gentle dog as much as any breed).

The dog's owner said his dog had never acted like that before.

I consider myself a dog lover even though I don't have one (life circumstances) but whenever I encounter one, more often than not they look me in the eye and take a liking to me.

Do you believe dogs can sense when someone loves dogs? I do, but any thoughts you'd like to share?

I think they look at your body language. A person who loves dogs has different body language towards them than a fearful person.

I think your friend might be Satan. Dogs freaking hate Satan.

Short answer to your question: Yes.

I go to a lot of homes for work. I can tell about a dog just right quick. I can almost guarantee a dog can tell about me just as quick, if not quicker.

Dogs are smart. Even my dog, who I call Dummy.

I think that dogs read body language to a point, but they really understand scent more than anything else.

Yes.. just like we do as people with each other... You know when you first meet someone.. you get an opinion of them.. That feeling... Eventually in time You may change your first impression...

Just like a dog... I have met dogs that come tail wagging happy towards me and some that growl and act like they are going to bite me...

And in time..once the dog got to know me... it was friendly to me... it works with most living things....

Even with the posters on here

I only tried to bite you that one time geez

and he tasted like deisle.

Nope tasted like beer

Of course we were drinking at the time

Certainly seems to be the case for dogs and cats (and big cats).

I had a similar experience one night in Thailand. Riding on my motorbike having weird anxiety for some reason, saw a street dog and thought, well crap I'm all nervous, this dog is gonna chase me now, low and behold..made eye contact (mistake) and got chased by a dog for a little bit.

In your friends case... it's not like it is the dog's fault or something inherent to your friend. He is nervous around dogs and probably makes eye contact in a specific fearful way. This triggers some predator / prey stuff in mammals and the cycle continues.

Weirdly in the wild you can have animals which are typically predator/prey end up playing together. It seems to have a lot to do with whether the potential prey views the predator as a threat or not. If your friend was so inclined he could get some either talk therapy or basic exposure therapy to get over his fear reactions and dogs would like him again. Seems like a worthwhile thing to do, dogs are fun.

Per Tulsa:

The proprietors of this establishment have deemed me unfit to recognize a mistake has occurred and while I could take care of this easily enough of my own volition, it will have to wait for others in power to execute this post adding to their already over-burdened work load considering all the crap in pure football lately.

Thank you.

Well there's that old axiom, dogs can smell fear. As mentioned above it's more of a body language thing I think but the axiom generally holds true for most dogs. For overly friendly dogs, they just want to hug you and squeeze you and kiss you and name you George.

For me that old axiom holds true for kids too. I always steer clear of children, give them a wide birth, don't look and just keep on going.

I love dogs, and I also find myself loving little kids more and more the older I get ...... since I can have fun playing with them for a little while, get them all worked up, and then send them home with their parents. ;)

Definitely.

They can also sense when someone is fearful of them in a nanosecond.

I walk my parent's dog Gunner (Gunner Number 2) pretty much every day. They have always owned purebred German shepherds.

Before Gunner Number 2, there was of course Gunner Number 1. I LOVED Gunner Number 1. He listened to me REALLY well. He was intimidating as all hell. He had what I call a "dead end glare" and would stare at people to intimidate them. It worked very well! Everyone always got out of my way when I walked him.

I was walking him around Shore Center in Euclid one day. A black lady walked out of one of the businesses up there. She saw Gunner and immediately walked backward, against a storefront window, and then put her hands in the air. Without missing a step Gunner Number 1 looked at her and growled/barked at her. She was freakin' scared to death. I told him "bad boy!" in front of her and continued walking, without missing a step. As soon as we got out of her view I stopped walking, patted him on the head and told him good boy! lol!!!! I loved that dog. I've always thought if I make it to heaven, he will be there waiting for me. That's MY dog!

P.S. Unless you are around my parent's house, Gunner # 2 is a big sissy. The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan said some dogs are "Fight or Flight." Well, Number 2 is definitely flight. Always ready to run back to his mommy and daddy. Can get fearful away from his house. But that's his personality.

Gunner Number 2:

That is one beautiful animal.

Thanks, Clemdawg. My parent's are in their late 70's and really cannot walk him far, as they have a problem controlling him when they walk him, so I'm the official dog walker. I live right down the street from them so I don't mind one bit.

Dogs can sense vibes. My dog is terrified of adult males. However, if that adult male is a dog owner or a dog person, she eventually warms up.

I also find that if you crouch down to their eye level, you have a better chance at them being friendly.

Along with having a better chance of being bitten in the face.

I agree. Unless you own a dog and/or are VERY sure you will not get bitten, Cesar Millan says, "No touch, no talk, no eye contact." Let the dog warm up to you first.

It sure is a georgeous animal. My favorite breed. I never truly appreciated how intelligent my GSD was until he was gone.....and we got these idiot beagles(whom I love very much). They're now getting up in age and I'm definitely getting another shepherd when they pass.

We are a rottie family, but I would totally entertain a German Shepard.

I like big, protective, loyal dogs. The kind that wouldn't hesitate to take someone's head off if a family member were under attack...but outside of that are just gentle giants.

Yeah, I wanted a big dog, IF we were getting a dog. Something that would offer more than a "bark" if need be. We ended up with a 16-17 lb. guard dog. He does very well alerting us to any abnormality in the sense of "this isn't a normal time for my dog ears to hear someone". But, the one time he woke me up in the middle of the night by barking about an unusual noise, he followed me out of the bedroom.

He FOLLOWED me out of the bedroom.

And one other time, I was upstairs with him. I was expecting a person to show up (repairman), and Dummy the dog barked and let me know someone was here, but he followed me down the steps. FOLLOWED me.

2 good things about him: He doesn't shed, and his crap is easier to pick up than a big dog.

Edit: He also rides on the 4 wheeler with me better than a big dog, and he rides in vehicles "easier" than a big dog. So, he has that going for him also.

Big and loyal is the way I roll as well. I too would consider a Shep down the road.

Bella is 1/2 Rottie, 1/2 Doberman... and bears the best traits of both breeds. Slimmer, less stocky body than standard Rotties, but more muscular than any Dobe I've ever seen. Beautiful proportions.

Smart, super protective, and possessed of an indomitable will. AND... gentle as a lamb with anyone who's welcome in our home. Gets on great with other dogs, as well. Just a fantastic dog.

Haven't updated her thread for awhile, so here's the quick rundown:

1. 3-4 walks per day now. We hit the trails near our house, and she torches them to ash. Pulls me like a sled dog.
2. There is still some mild stiffness in her hind legs, and the nerves are still regenerating/re-learning how to fire, but there is no quit in her game- at all.
3.Almost all her hair has re-grown: you almost can't see where she was shaved for the surgery.

It's humbling and inspiring to see how much she attacks life. This dog was a true paraplegic (total paralysis of the hind legs) just 12 weeks ago... and she's back to about 80% of her pre-injury abilities. When she was admitted for the 2nd surgery, I did not like the talk I was hearing from her doc. He was trying to prepare me for the worst. I remember telling him: "If you can do your job, this dog will do the rest. You don't know her like I do."

Two days later, he was on the phone with me for her update/prognosis. "I've been doing this for 20 years, and I've never seen a recovery like this. You really do have a very special animal here."

Yup.
I know.

(pics coming soon, once I figure out how to upload them)

I just have to say that for dogs, they bark for different reasons. Their body language is the best way to understand the intention of their bark.

My last Pit, Tanni Bone, aka.. Che' Bone, would bark like crazy when someone was at the door. The reason was two fold. One was to let us know someone was there, the other so we would open the door so she could greet and love on someone new. Her tail would wag as she barked and her head was lifted. She was super friendly and loveable.

There were only two people in her entire life that she ever growled at and did not accept as her friend and it was shown later that both of these people were of very questionable character. It was simply an intuition on her part. She never moved aggressively towards them or attempted to hurt them. She was just very stand offish and showed her teeth as she growled at them.

While dogs do bark and growl, their body language tells a lot more about their reasoning that explains the sounds you are hearing.

Yes, a dog's body language tells me quite a bit. (I'm sure mine tell's them quite a bit as well.)

In my job, I get to a lot of homes. Many of those "lot of homes" have dogs, and no one is home.

The tail is one of the first things I notice. The next is the ears. A wagging tail is good. I straight out tail is "danger". Floppy ears, or laid back ears, is good. Pinned back ears is bad.

I've been "nicked" twice in over 12 years. Enough to draw blood. Once was a lion sized dog that didn't want me to go to the door. It pushed me away. (the owner had said "ah, he's easy") I decided to not go in, but head back to my vehicle to call the owner. On the way, I guess the dog decided to take my hand and escort me. I pulled my hand out of his mouth, and in the process, his tooth sliced me open.

The other was a lab that didn't really care - till I walked in the garage and knocked on the door. He had been following me, tail wagging, all good. Right until I knocked on the door. He/she then barked and lunged. I put my hand out and met his mouth. Blood, again. That one, I don't know what would've happened had the owner not been home and opened the door.

I simply feel that dog was friendly right up until it saw a stranger trying to get into the house. It did what a territorial dog would do. It tried to stop me.

And it varies from dog to dog, as well. There ARE some universal behaviors that we've all come to know, but each dog is his own unique individual too- and some of those behaviors only the family would know how to interpret.

When B is at the gate and a neighbor walks by with their pup, she's a barking machine. I've seen folks hustle their dogs along like she's some kind of threat (she is intimidating, for sure), but I know those barks as excitement... and an invitation to "come play with me."

There are 2 dogs in the neighborhood that she simply cannot stand- both owned by my former boss. When she was a wee li'l pup, he'd allow his boss Shepherd and other 2 dogs to bully her at out back fence. Watched the asshat do it more than once. Problem is- she didn't stay 16 pounds... and she never forgot. About a year ago, he stopped me at work (yeah... he still hangs around even tho he's retired), and asked me if my gates were secure. I told him: "You know- you're the only neighbor who's ever asked me that question. Probably because you're the only neighbor who needs to ask that question. My gates are fine. Keep your dogs on a leash, and there'll be no trouble."

I would truly hate to see what would happen if either of us slips up one day.

I always trust a dog's opinion for first meeting.

Your friend is obviously a werewolf.