Can Dogs Just Take A Dislike To A Certain Person

[Dory the Doted One]

Edit: Stupid Phone.

Edited May 4, 2013 by Dory the Doted One

[Loving my Oldies]

my little girl hates anything with a beard..male or female ( :) )

If she hates female with beards, stop taking her to the circus then. Problem solved!

In all seriousness, if I had a visitor whom one of my dogs disliked to the point of nipping, I'd be putting the dog in another room or outside. If I were a visitor to someone who had a dog who was growling and nipping at me and the person did nothing to restrain the dog, I would not be visiting LOL.

As W Sibs said: if it happened very occasionally, I'd be worried about the person.

[persephone]

I love that dogs can show dislike .... it comes in handy :)

At one stage , when I was interviewing people to be my assistant ..the final OK was given by my dog .... honestly .

..and he was absolutely correct :)

[corvus]

Dogs are experts at details. But that doesn't mean they always read them correctly. My Erik for example used to bark at people that came to the dog park without a dog. He has also barked at people sitting in cars not driving, and cars that are running but there is no one in them, and although people running laps or 100m sprints on the athletics field are fine, apparently people who run 20m sprints between two markers on the long jump run-up are highly suspicious. People who come into his house and make no eye contact with any of us are the devil, but people who we chat with when they come are obviously friends. One time my parents dogs came home late at night smelling strange and he seemed convinced the bodysnatchers had stolen the dogs he has known all his life and now they were in the house with him. He was extremely disturbed. He also barks at waves in the river but not waves in the ocean, and this week he found a dead mouse floating in the pool and felt the entire neighbourhood should know about this. He knows about mice, and they don't float motionless in swimming pools. So everyone needs to know there is something masquerading as a mouse in the pool. Through experience dogs learn to categorise things using a variety of signals. Like a mouse is small, moves in a particular way, and smells a particular way. If only some of the signals that define it as a mouse are there, it can leave the dog in this strange situation where the thing is mostly like a mouse yet not entirely like a mouse, which is more disturbing than if it was unlike anything the dog knows. The more familiar it is while still being different, maybe the more disturbing it is, which in humans is known as the uncanny valley. So a person who obviously looks and smells like a person, but has, say, an odd gait the dog has never seen before suddenly becomes something disturbing because it's familiar yet there is a detail that is all wrong. Some dogs notice details more than others, or maybe some just don't act on it as much as others.

So in conclusion, when dogs react poorly to a particular person on a first meeting/sighting, they probably are picking up on something people don't notice, but it's not necessarily something that indicates the person is suspicious or dangerous to us. They are to the dog, because the dog doesn't quite know if they are normal, but that quality in the person they are reacting to could be as harmless as an almost imperceptible limp or a glass eye or a habit to lick their lips a lot or something.

[Podengo]

Elsie is the sort of dog that LOVES everyone and is really happy and out going, except for one person! Funny thing is, he is one of my best friends and is a really lovely guy! But he was at my house looking after Elsie after she got spayed while I was in an exam, and she started trying to do zoomies across the back of the furniture so he gently got her collar and put her back in her crate to rest. My other best friend was there and saw the whole thing, no voices were raised and she was not manhandled... But from that day forward she won't even look at him when he enters a room, won't play with him, won't go over for pats! He moved to the other end of the country and we met up with him a good year after the incident, and she remembered him and wouldn't even go over to say hi... He is very sad about the whole thing!

[MsKatie]

Thanks for the replies everyone - great to have others insights. I think the size of the dog may be a factor contributing to the nervousness - very large breed male dog. I think the best case scenario is to keep person and dog separated to avoid any incidents.

[german_shep_fan]

If its the first time it has happened I would just trust your dogs instincts. Dogs seem to have a sixth sense about the nature of people. When I was a baby our GSD Tessie was going ape at a painter my parents got in to do the house. My father ended up tying her up and having to apologise to the guy as she had never been like that before. Dad said if he hadn't have tied her up he would of worried she was going to kill him every time he went near my room. They found out two weeks later he had just gotten out of jail for break and enters ect ect. She never acted that way again to anyone that came near me in her whole 15yrs of life. Dogs just know.

Edited May 4, 2013 by german_shep_fan

[mita]

So in conclusion, when dogs react poorly to a particular person on a first meeting/sighting, they probably are picking up on something people don't notice, but it's not necessarily something that indicates the person is suspicious or dangerous to us. They are to the dog, because the dog doesn't quite know if they are normal, but that quality in the person they are reacting to could be as harmless as an almost imperceptible limp or a glass eye or a habit to lick their lips a lot or something.

Interesting post, Corvus. And you're not wrong about dogs picking up a detail that's not part of their regular experience.

A neighbour used to be so concerned... he said to his horror he had a racist dog. Molly the border collie was very people friendly, but she took to barking ferociously at any member of a very nice local family, whenever they walked past. They had dark complexions.

When he asked his vet, she said exactly what you did. Dogs can 'take on' about some detail that makes a totally innocent person appear suspicious to them.

Edited May 4, 2013 by mita

[mixeduppup]

Ammo is funny that he wants to see people's eyes. He will remain on guard until they look at him and then he relaxes. I get dog people visit that avoid eye contact but I tell them to look at him and he settles. He's only had one person that after they looked at him he still hated them and I had to lock him up, I also find that person very suspicious and am not sure of his motives.

[BC Crazy]

Yes, totally agree with the 'taking on of details'. Sonny isn't a fan of men with big beards/hats/umbrella's. Stella's hates if strangers don't verbally engage her & approach quickly. She will definitely growl.

She is much more reactive to people approaching us when we are walking of a night. She is very ferocious then to most oncoming things in the dark.

Both my guys notice pretty much everything. Stella had a fit the other day. We walk past this house on a daily basis but they had put a small Buddha statue in their front yard. She went off her nut at it, growling

& carrying on for a good 5 mins. I stood still & silent. The owners had came out to see what all the commotion was about & said they had just put the statue there that morning. When Stella had got herself together,

she approached it very warily, smelt it & then was happy to continue. Got to watch out for those statue's you know, scary stuff :laugh:

Edited May 4, 2013 by BC Crazy

[Jed]

I understand that the reason for some dogs so actively disliking members of other races - Asian, Indian, Aboriginal etc, is because they smell different.

[disintegratus]

Thundercleese has fear aggression issues, so he just hates everyone :laugh:

That said, when someone is invited into the house, he has no issues at all with them. The one exception to this is one of my best mate's friends who I've never liked. He came over once and Thundercleese did not leave my side, not acting threatening or growling or anything, Just being indimidating by being there. The friend went to pat him when he first arrived, and Thundercleese turned away then gave him this look, like "go on buddy, you try it and see what happens"

[Bjelkier]

My Samoyeds and Havanese love everyone they meet and on the few occasions the Sammys have reacted badly to someone I've trusted their instincts.

[Trisven13]

I think dogs, like people, just don't like certain people and I honestly don't think it has anything to do with whether or not that person is good or bad. My friend breeds Siberian Huskies and she had one boy, who I really, really liked and yet he HATED me. I'd known him from puppyhood and everytime I would turn up he would bark and carry on in a way he didn't do for anyone else. I never did anything to him, all her other Sibes loved me but this boy hated me from day dot.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

There's a new jeep ad staring the red BC and "owner".

According to the ad - the dog character is not going to allow the owner character to date anyone.

I hope there's a sequel where the dog finds someone they can both love.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Nipping and barking can be signs of fear/anxiety. So I wonder if some of these dogs are actually just scared of the person. I know that Kenz will sometimes bark at people and then generally runs behind my legs or back to her crate. If I then go and speak to the person and ask her to say hello 90% of the time she will and all will be ok. But she is a somewhat nervous dog anyway.

There are times though that it seems to be a clear dislike. I listen when she tells me that, I think it is for good reason! There is even one person at work who she seems to have as dislike of, she will pretend say hello after a bark but I can tell she doesn't trust them at all. For that matter neither do i!!!

If Hamish tells me he's unsure of someone I always pay attention, he thinks everyone is his new best friend so the moment he doesn't think that it really makes me wonder why!

[Rosetta]

Dogs are experts at details. But that doesn't mean they always read them correctly. My Erik for example used to bark at people that came to the dog park without a dog. He has also barked at people sitting in cars not driving, and cars that are running but there is no one in them, and although people running laps or 100m sprints on the athletics field are fine, apparently people who run 20m sprints between two markers on the long jump run-up are highly suspicious. People who come into his house and make no eye contact with any of us are the devil, but people who we chat with when they come are obviously friends. One time my parents dogs came home late at night smelling strange and he seemed convinced the bodysnatchers had stolen the dogs he has known all his life and now they were in the house with him. He was extremely disturbed. He also barks at waves in the river but not waves in the ocean, and this week he found a dead mouse floating in the pool and felt the entire neighbourhood should know about this. He knows about mice, and they don't float motionless in swimming pools. So everyone needs to know there is something masquerading as a mouse in the pool. Through experience dogs learn to categorise things using a variety of signals. Like a mouse is small, moves in a particular way, and smells a particular way. If only some of the signals that define it as a mouse are there, it can leave the dog in this strange situation where the thing is mostly like a mouse yet not entirely like a mouse, which is more disturbing than if it was unlike anything the dog knows. The more familiar it is while still being different, maybe the more disturbing it is, which in humans is known as the uncanny valley. So a person who obviously looks and smells like a person, but has, say, an odd gait the dog has never seen before suddenly becomes something disturbing because it's familiar yet there is a detail that is all wrong. Some dogs notice details more than others, or maybe some just don't act on it as much as others.

So in conclusion, when dogs react poorly to a particular person on a first meeting/sighting, they probably are picking up on something people don't notice, but it's not necessarily something that indicates the person is suspicious or dangerous to us. They are to the dog, because the dog doesn't quite know if they are normal, but that quality in the person they are reacting to could be as harmless as an almost imperceptible limp or a glass eye or a habit to lick their lips a lot or something.

That is interesting. I wonder if that is why my dog barks at the street sweeping truck but has no problem with the rubbish trucks. That is, it looks familiar but the sound and speed is different?

[flame ryder]

My Oh used to drive trucks doing hay deliveries for a fodder store. They had a big greatdane who lived there. OH loves dogs and dogs love him...this one was no exception...until one day when OH was tying up a load onto the truck, he reached back behind him to toss the rope over the load and the greatdane was behind him and got hit with the rope. After that the dog hated him with a passion, I think for sure he would have tried to attack him after that and had to be tied up everytime OH entered the yard. He tried everything to make it up to that dog but the dog hated him forever more.

[persephone]

My Oh used to drive trucks doing hay deliveries for a fodder store. They had a big greatdane who lived there. OH loves dogs and dogs love him...this one was no exception...until one day when OH was tying up a load onto the truck, he reached back behind him to toss the rope over the load and the greatdane was behind him and got hit with the rope. After that the dog hated him with a passion, I think for sure he would have tried to attack him after that and had to be tied up everytime OH entered the yard. He tried everything to make it up to that dog but the dog hated him forever more.

Ahh .. I used to go to a country fodder store with a dane in the yard .. it had a kennel just near the gateway :)

I can well understand why your OH was not popular after the rope incident ... :/

[fainty_girl]

Many years ago my friend had a pet duck. On one occasion I tapped on the glass door when the duck was outside and from then on, that duck hated me with a passion. Whenever it saw me through the glass door it went totally nuts :laugh: .