Do you think dogs sense bad people?!

[constantlyconfused]

I have a very quiet friendly pup who usually wags tail and craves attention.
Anyhow twice we have seen the same man and both times she's gone crazy snarling barking lunging plus refused to walk past dug her feet in! She has met plenty of other men but she really hates this man its quite embarrassing .
So she's a phyco or he is She is very well socialised !

No.

No

He probably has a dog/pet she can smell on him.

No. But I think some dog will bark if they see something that seems unusual.
Embarrassingly my GSD rescue barked at black people for the first few months I had him because he'd only seen white people before. He's fine now. He recently growled at an old man with a walking stick, and no dog, in dog walking area. Most likely because it was unexpected not that he was a bad man.

Maybe but not always. Our old dog (rescued as a small pup) was absolutely terrified of one of our closest friends. One of the nicest, kindest, sweetest, tallest, stockiest men. She came round eventually with him, though, it just took time. We wondered if he reminded her of someone.

The only times my dog has ever growled at people -

• the mother of my boss. She's 86 and absolutely the most lovely woman you could ever meet. I was mortified.

• a group of Chinese tourists. Full on, ears flat to head, crouchy growling. In fairness to her, we live in rural wales and all she has ever seen are welsh people, but again, I was mortified.

To this day, DP maintains we have a racist dog

All she has ever seen are Welsh people
That really made me laugh, and I don't know why.

And deffo not being Welsh ist.

I worried how that sounded after I posted it.

She's just led a very sheltered life...

I think they can tbh.

I'm sure there's a saying that if your dog doesn't like someone then neither should you.

But I'd say that goes for dogs who are usually friendly and love everyone. Not scared or aggressive dogs.

My Grandma's rescue dog used to hate anyone with a walking stick, broom, mop etc. I dont think they were bad people I think dog had probably been hit with a stick at some point.

She is usually very waggy tailed and kissy ! She just HATES this man .He did smell rather offensive so maybe it was that.Her tail goes between her legs and she is very jumpy after seeing him.Odd as shes so laid back she was out in the garden watching the fireworks !!

Timmy from the Famous Five could always smell out a wrong'un so I vote yes!

My dog loves everyone apart from one man we sometimes see on walks. Ddog is never aggressive towards him, he stands stock still and watches him, and won't move until the man is some distance away from us. I found out after a couple of years that the man is a convicted sex offender, and it did make me wonder whether Ddog is picking up on some unpleasant vibe he's giving off.

I don't think so. I knew a dog that absolutely adored my abusive, rapist ex and barked like mad at my lovely softy of a DH. She was a nervous dog and didn't like most people, but adored ex.

Maybe she was evil...

Many people assume that dogs who growl or bark at someone have "had a bad experience". This might be true sometimes, but much more commonly the dog hasn't quite had enough socialisation and there's just something different about the individual (maybe they're tall, bearded, have a deep voice, wear glasses or smell funny, who knows) that they are unfamiliar with. After about 14-16 weeks of age most dogs will default to being suspicious of novel things, some more so than others, so it doesn't always mean they have any reason other than fear of the unknown.

With out judging on appearances he doesn't look like a nice man ! Pup goes crazy she is like a dog possessed tries to scarper if i try and make her pass she lunges.I like to think shes physic .
sweettea she must have been a phyco dog .
On another quick dog note does anyone fill kongs with anything other than kong paste?! Its a ripp off!

My dog nacho loves everyone he sees even strangers passing in the street he wants them to clap him but my ex "partner" he just didnt like him at all he would bark and growl every time he came to visit from when he got here to when he left. So yes i do think that dogs have that sense in them

No!

My dog shakes, sticks his tail between his legs and pants if he hears an Irish accent. He's an ex racer from Cork so presumably he didn't have good experiences during his time in Ireland

My last dog I got when she was two, from a breeder who'd kept her in a kennel in that garage. She was socialised with all different people, though as she had been a show dog and toted all over the UK winning shows for that two years.

She was a gentle, sweet and friendly dog despite her bad start in life. Although always a bit sensitive. But loved everyone she met; male or female, young or old. Except... my ex. The first time she met him, she was shaking and stressed and just not herself. From the moment I saw her, I loved her and she loved me - total mummy's girl. So even that first week I had her, when she first met him, I already knew she was protective of me. It was a disastrous relationship and she was absolutely right to distrust him. Not long after I got her, a few months, I left him. The man ended up sending me abusive and threatening emails - for over ten years and was eventually convicted for harassment .

She lived to be 14 and she never disliked a single person she ever met, after that. Not even people who are physically very similar.

After I left him, he was diagnosed with Paranoid Personality Disorder. I think dogs can sense some very deep things about people, and sense a person who is 'off' in some way.

Dogs can be wary of someone for all sorts of daft innocent reasons - beard, hat, glasses, high vis, other animal smells, combination of unrelated things etc. I don't doubt occasionally they spot an unpleasant person but it would be tricky to untangle their reaction and understand whether your dog was just being daft or whether there was genuinely something threatening to be cautious of.

Definitely. My gorgeous girl has only really barked at religious door to door people who had been quite scarey, and my friend's twat of a boyfriend.

And she's always lovely to people who are sad.

My mums collie hated men in hats.
We had him from 9 weeks old.
BUT he also slipped the lead once when dad was meeting me from school aged 9 and chased a man who had ran up behind me.
Dog had never slipped the lead before and dad reported the man to the police