Can Greyhounds Tell "good" People From "bad" People?

[GreytNut]

Riley loves it when people come to the door. It doesn't matter who it is. If the doorbell rings that dog is all gleeful, wriggling exuberance. He can't wait to see who it is and offer himself for petting. He has never met anyone he didn't love.

 

Except for today. The doorbell rang and Riley scrambled up and ran for the door as usual. But then he stopped about six feet from the door and stood still. The hackles went up on his back. He curled his lips back in a snarl and let out the ugliest growl I've ever heard. It made my blood run cold. He stood staring fixedly at the door, alternately barking and growling. I decided not to open the door. Eventually the person went away. But I was scared and jumpy for the rest of the day.

 

So this makes me wonder.... Can dogs really tell if someone is a "bad" person? I mentioned it to a neighbor and she said that "When dogs hate a person it means they have a defect of the soul." That was a more poetic version of what I was thinking. But how the heck would they be able to tell if a person was bad news from behind a closed door?

 

Then again, maybe Riley just had a bad day and scared the bejeebers out of an unfortunate Girl Scout.

[Guest rdoyle225]

My mothers rotties is the same way. She hated my ex I did not know why until the lies and the money going missing. She was try to tell me to stay a way. They might e smell to them also. There was a druggie that used come by my mother house befor we got her. One day she was sbout 6 months he came by and e try to est him through the fince just say has not been back. They just seam to know some how. maybe a 6th sence

[Guest greybookends]

Bill was not a lovey dog and was very stand offish to most people but he just stayed away from you not because he thought you were bad, he just wasn't social. HOWEVER, there were a couple of people that literally made the hair on his back stand on end and he would growl and bark and snarl at. I know them and thy are bad news but they are related to my friend Lee and would come looking for him. they generally just knocked on the door and then stayed outside, which was just fine with me.

[Guest Jacks_Human]

I think Jack is a good judge of character. My previous dogs have been as well.

[Scooby172]

I pay attention if my dogs do not like men I date, they are usually right.

Linda, Jack and Keeva

[VinnieAndRexsMom]

I believe dogs -- not just greys-- can tell good people from bad and dog people from folks who are not.

[DesiRayMom]

IMHO, I also think dogs in general have a 6th sense about people. Years ago I had gsdx that was the happiest soul on this earth, and loved, loved,

LOVED everybody he met. We were on a walk (I had 3 dogs at that time) and a young man walking toward us wanted to stop & talk "good lookin dogs."

Nicky put his 70 lb of muscle between "his pack" and that young man....all the fur on his neck stood up and he growled the ugliest growl I have ever heard.

 

I took the hint, told the fellow that Nicky wasn't all that friendly & he really shouldn't approach him.....then got out of there fast.

I don't know what he sensed, and didn't want to find out. I'd trust their gut instinct before my own.

[Guest greyaspet]

One of my greyhounds loved everyone and I took him every where I could. One day I had a yard sale and Angel was out with me having a blast with all the people. A man showed up with his son and Angel did the same thing hair went up he was growling then barking at the man. I took him inside I had never seen him act that way. My husband said as the man was getting in the car with his son he was using every cuss word in the world talking to his kid. Don't know what Angel "saw" in him but it wasn't nice.

[msjpk]

A couple of years after I got Lou, he started showing signs of really not liking a certain neighbor. I unfortunately thought this would pass.

When this neighbor walked in the neighborhood I thought that walking with her would take the fear out of Lou. We walked together for a little while and then all of a sudden Lou sprung up and bite her.

SHOCK!!!! Long story but everything worked out, we are still friends, I paid for her bills, Lou was quarantined for a couple of days.

Lou never showed any aggression towards anyone. I blamed myself for not picking up on his signals.

 

I truly believe he felt some "bad" in this person. Have never been able to explain it. To this day we do not cross paths with the neighbor as Lou still barks at her.

 

So a yes for me.

[Guest june]

IMHO, I also think dogs in general have a 6th sense about people. Years ago I had gsdx that was the happiest soul on this earth, and loved, loved,

LOVED everybody he met. We were on a walk (I had 3 dogs at that time) and a young man walking toward us wanted to stop & talk "good lookin dogs."

Nicky put his 70 lb of muscle between "his pack" and that young man....all the fur on his neck stood up and he growled the ugliest growl I have ever heard.

 

I took the hint, told the fellow that Nicky wasn't all that friendly & he really shouldn't approach him.....then got out of there fast.

I don't know what he sensed, and didn't want to find out. I'd trust their gut instinct before my own.

 

I had a similar situation with one of my greys too. I believe they can tell.

[OwnedBySummer]

I've had things like this with various dogs and I believe in (and trust) their judgment.

I also believe that they can sense other things. By that, I mean during our nursing home visits. There are sometimes people that Summer won't approach and rooms she refuses to enter. Other times, she'll literally pull me towards someone. It doesn't happen all the time, just enough to make my skin prickle.

[schultzlc]

I too trust a dog's instinct with different people. My hound is extremely timid around pretty much everyone, but for the most part she'll just quickly shimmy off to hide behind me. There are some people who we have come across though, who she has just not liked for one reason or another.

 

Back in September, one of my best friends moved into a house across the street from me. I was over at her house helping her carry some boxes, when her Directv guy showed up to install the dish. There was just something really creepy and off about the guy, so I told her I would stay with her until her BF got home. Her typically happy-go-lucky border collie mix just couldn't handle this guy poking around his house and was not happy. Once her BF came back, I actually ended up taking him back to my house with me until the install guy left just because he couldn't relax.

 

I would like to know what dogs know and we don't!

[EnzaFerrari]

No idea how they know, but they know. There is a rather weird crazy guy in the neighborhood that just gets and wanders but Enza is very very gentle with him. She will lick his hand and lean against before moving on. The group of young men some might consider hoodlums - Enza will run straight at them with her butt wiggling for joy. She loathes this one woman in the neighborhood near us and based on the rather horrific racists things she says, I don't blame Enza. And twice, Enza has stopped dead in her tracks, stood in front of me, and started growling deep in her chest at random people walking towards us.

 

I did have one date come by the house and Enza walked into the bedroom - I knew then it was going to be an unbearable date and it was.

[JAJ2010]

I pay attention if my dogs do not like men I date, they are usually right.

Linda, Jack and Keeva

I did the same thing when I started dating again! LOL they love the current BF but made him work hard to get a coveted spot within our pack. ;-)

[Sambuca]

While I agree it's possible, it doesn't always happen. I had a relationship with a guy for awhile, Bu seemed to really like the guy. Sailor, who doesn't like strangers petting him, let this guy pet him quicker than usual. That night the guy attempted to rape me. Bu slept through it. Sailor jumped on the bed and stood between us between us the second there was space. But, neither gave me any warning about this guy.

[GreytNut]

While I agree it's possible, it doesn't always happen. I had a relationship with a guy for awhile, Bu seemed to really like the guy. Sailor, who doesn't like strangers petting him, let this guy pet him quicker than usual. That night the guy attempted to rape me. Bu slept through it. Sailor jumped on the bed and stood between us between us the second there was space. But, neither gave me any warning about this guy.

 

Talk about system failure!

 

So I guess we humans shouldn't always bet our safety on a dog's Spidey senses, even if they are often right. They make mistakes just like people do. I wonder if maybe your bad guy came into the house without nasty intentions but changed his mind later.

 

I can see how they might be able to judge a person based on scent, appearance and body language. But I'm still stumped as to how they would do it from behind a closed door. It does seem almost like a sixth sense.

[Guest grey_dreams]

Yes. Dogs can definitely sense people's energy/intentions (and no, I'm not a Cesar fan in any way, but animals are not machines or automatons). They have some abilities that humans lack, and humans have some abilities that dogs lack. Not surprising at all.

 

But sometimes they can also make mistakes, just like people make mistakes, as the story from Sambuca shows. Maybe the guy didn't originally have bad intentions at the beginning of the date? Don't know, but glad that Sailor's instincts did kick in so that he jumped between you.

[JohnF]

I can see how it can be a scent-diven thing if someone under stress comes to the door as they will be sending out fear chemicals. Dogs can scent thousands of times more effectively than we do so the scent could easily come in a keyhole or draft around the edges. Then there is the method of approach and the way the person walks... even I can tell a suspicious or furtive set of footsteps from a normal one. Stressed people breathe differently too. So not really necessary to have sixth sense... just a supersense.

 

Peggy has a very deep growl that is guaranteed to be raising the hair on the back of the neck of someone who doesn't know her, but only uses it for bad dogs. She seems to think she can easily outmanuever bad humans anyway. Our old Great Dane just used the 'Eye' on suspicious people and it was more than enough. They know for sure.

Edited February 17, 2013 by JohnF

[Sambuca]

Major system failure. I think I even had a foster at the time who slept through it all.

 

Yup, we all made mistakes with that guy. He was probably drunk or high (or both) and didn't seem to remember what happened the next day. Honestly, as great as it would be to blame to dogs, this one rests on my bad judgement and the guys bad intentions.

 

Sadly, the situation with me traumatized Sailor and he didn't tolerate me having cheese with anyone for a long time.

[AZGreyGirl]

I can see how it can be a scent-diven thing if someone under stress comes to the door as they will be sending out fear chemicals. Dogs can scent thousands of times more effectively than we do so the scent could easily come in a keyhole or draft around the edges. Then there is the method of approach and the way the person walks... even I can tell a suspicious or furtive set of footsteps from a normal one. Stressed people breathe differently too. So not really necessary to have sixth sense... just a supersense.

I'm betting that this has something to do with their abilities to "read" people which to us seem uncanny. I was watching The Science of Dogs on Netflix a couple weeks ago and apparently there are dogs who can detect cancer in patients by its smell and even microscopic traces of drugs that are hidden in multiple layers of luggage. Since they take in so much through their noses, it makes sense that they are picking up scents with people that equal danger. Likewise with body language since so much of their communication is non-verbal.

[Guest karilynn]

I do believe that dogs are a good judge of character. Might be an old wives tale, but I believe they have a lot of intuition. I think you did the right thing by not answering the door!

 

I know my hound has people that he doesn't care for, and mostly it's the people I don't care for, funny enough. I have a friend I've known for years and years who I'd like to "break up with" if only I felt like I could, but it's easier not to, so I just see her once and awhile. But when she comes over, Bullet wants nothing to do with her. He doesn't like her! And honestly, I don't blame him because there isn't much to like, but he wont approach her, doesn't wag his tail when he sees her, nothing! Now, when my other friends come over or my mother comes over, he's estatic and beside himself with excitement. Makes you think!

 

Oh, and my cat who I believe is incredibly smart and intuitive, hated my exboyfriend long before I ever had a reason to. She NEVER liked him. In fact, when he came home, she would run under the bed. I should have paid attention to that because she was truly right about him - he was a scumbag.

 

Animals know!

[kronckew]

adolf (youknowhoo) had two german shepherds that he loved and who loved him. go figure.

[racindog]

Yes they DEFINITELY know when a person is evil. I have never known them to be wrong actually. It makes perfect sense to me-it is just energy IMO and that is what they pick up. Even the Bible says ⁷“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you." Job 12:7 (NLT)

The smart person listens when their dog says someone is a threat and should be avoided. My soulmate Slim would actually attack such people without warning and as a result had to be VERY carefully handled when having access to the public-like on a sidewalk etc.

[a_daerr]

I find Henry to be an excellent judge of character. He especially understands how evil children are!

[Guest zombrie]

One night on a walk Doolin and Minerva, my two happy go lucky dogs freaked out and stood their ground in front of me barking, growling, snarling and their hair stood up on their necks and back. I've never, ever seen them act aggressively. I listened to them and turned around. The next morning on the news I heard that a girl my age was assaulted on my street around the time we were out walking.
When my parents adopted Mira I was in high school. My best friend at the time had a boyfriend who always made me feel uneasy. He never did anything wrong but for some reason my stomach was in knots when he was around. The first time he came over when we got Mira (who is the sweetest little girl) her hackles were up and barked and charged at him and cornered him into our mudroom. Needless to say he left quickly Clearly Mira felt the same way he made me feel.
When I was little my mom rescued a German Shepherd named Heidi. She was a shy girl who was so submissive, she would fall onto the ground and pee whenever my dad came near her for about a year. One day some guy came into our yard and Heidi lost her mind. She was snarling and growling and standing her ground between him and my mom, he left and didn't look back.

 

I'm a firm believer that the dogs are a pretty good judgment of character. I will always listen to my dogs if they act unusual around someone.