can dogs sense a person's true nature?

belanna_rules210 · **Mon Sep 18, 2006 1:38 pm can dogs sense a person's true nature?**

my chiwawa is a generally calm little dog but when i brought my boyfriend to the house she went crazy on him. she insisted on sitting between us and hated to let him near me. anytime we kissed she tried to attack. i just couldn't understand it. when he asked me to go to the truck to talk to him, she bit into my pant leg and i had to shake her off. she was determined for me not to leave with him.

once we got outside to his truck, he tried to rape me. i have wondered since if she knew of his intentions somehow. she has never acted like that since. she did chew the phone cord in half when he tried to call later, though.

has anyone had an experience where a dog didn't trust someone and it turned out you shouldn't have, either? and does anyone believe that dogs have a sixth sense about that sorta thing? please reply with comments or stories.

Leo Wyatt · **Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:09 pm**

I had a situation once a few years ago. About nine I say. I was pregnant with my son David and this stray lab dog took up my place. She wouldn't go away. Everytime that I walked up to the store, she would follow me. One day my ex-boyfriend was walking towards us and she attacked him. She bit him in the you know what. He ran away and didn't bother to come near me. I say they have a sixth sense. Some are very protective of their owners. I got attached to her and kept her. I called her Guardian Angel.

TrekkieMage · **Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:15 pm**

Yeah...Although there's probably a scientific reason for it. I'd be willing to bet it has something to do with their sense of smell - they can probably smell certain indicators of aggression (on either their master or the other individual involved).

My little dog doesn't usually take kindly to men (she was an abused street stray - we think a man kicked her), but some men she inexplicably got attached to very quickly - usually very close friends.

squiggy · **Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:22 pm**

I know alot of animals are keen to sensing people, and other animal's state of mind. I know that a bee is more likely to sting you if you fear it, and more likely to go run and hide if you get REALLY mad at it. However, a cat is more likely to come cuddle up to you if you are angry or mad, unless it senses you are angry or mad at it, but if you are scared, or simply depressed, a cat will still come cuddle up to you. Provided, of course, it's not siamese. Dogs, likewise to cats, react differently to emotions. I've noticed a dog knows what anger is, and they will either return it with anger, or the sweetest puppy-dog face in the world, which, 98% of the time, turns thier owners into jello. I've noticed that PEOPLE seemed to have lost this ability, though.

Untitled · **Mon Sep 18, 2006 11:56 pm**

Lord Borg · **Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:53 am**

^Ah....Same, Dogs bark, see nothing, but they did. My dogs will bark at anythng that moves

webtaz99 · **Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:22 am**

Dogs can be territorial, and sometimes they think that they are protecting their "owner(s)" until they get used to a certain person. They can even be jealous of anyone besides their "owner(s)", because that distracts attention from them.

It is also well documented that a person who is scared gives off both visual cues dogs can see and a chemical that dogs can smell.

squiggy · **Tue Sep 19, 2006 6:46 pm**

As to dogs barking at nothing, perhaps they are simply barking at things that they can't see, but they can smell. You have to remember that smells will linger for quite a while, and dogs are very acute to noticing them.
I'm one of those odd people who believes in ghosts, and things like that, and I've noticed that dogs are often the best way to sniff out ghosts, real or not. That's probably why dogs won't enter my apartment building. Too much... creepy/odd presence here.

webtaz99 · **Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:09 am**

It could just be the neighbors' cooking.

squiggy · **Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:49 pm**

Entirely possible. I've also noticed, while talking to some of the customers at work about this, that the region of the world also has something to do with it, perhaps electro-magnetic and magnetic fields. After becomming EMF hypersensitive, I'm learning that walking 20 meters in any given direction will change the magnetic and electro-magnetic fields around a person, so I suspect that the environment any animal, or even any person may affect this ability. I know it affects PEOPLE's moods. Sometimes people are having a bad day until they walk into a certain place, and it's instantly better. Maybe it's the place's atmosphere, or maybe it's not, lol... I dunno... amateur research sucks when your not a scientist. lol

Untitled · **Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:14 am**

Ziona · **Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:24 am**

I think they can because if someone comes into my house that my parents don't like, my dogs starts growling and starts barking at them.