Today I’m reposting an article I wrote almost ten years ago to the day, (January, 2010) with a few additions and revisions. I find it is as relevant today as it was then. I’ll love hearing your comments now as much as I did then.
Clients often tell me that their rescue dog must have been “beaten by a man” when the dog was younger, because the dog is afraid of men. However, almost all shy dogs are more afraid of men than women, even if men have been kind to them their entire lives. We’ve always speculated that it had something to do with the way men walked (more assertively?) or their bigger chests, larger jaws, and/or deeper voices. But we’ve never really known for sure what it was–perhaps it is related to scent: Obviously men smell different than woman, could be that just ‘maleness’ is more intimidating?
A recent study reported in Scientific American Mind might have shed some light on this topic. (Actually, I read it and jumped up exclaiming OH WOW and then had to tell Willie that everything was alright.) Research published in Current Biology (Brooks et. al, 2008) asked volunteers to guess the gender and direction of motion of figures represented only by points of light placed at critical joints. (Similar to the motion capture process used to make movies like Avatar in which a real person moves around with points of light attached to hips, elbows, shoulders, knees etc, and a computer records the movement of the lights.)
Minor changes in the way the points of lights move (especially the lights attached to the hip joints) had already been found to accurately inform the viewer of the gender of the walker. This study found that “stimulus manipulations that made such walkers appear more female, also had the effect of making the walkers appear more often as if they were walking away (my italics) from rather than towards observers.” Changing the movement of the lights in such a way that the hips moved more like a male created the impression that the figure was walking toward the viewer. You can read more details about this study here, if you are interested.
Did I say Wow? Yes, indeedy, I did. We all know that in general men walk differently than women, in terms of being more forceful. Just google “walking through city as a man or a woman,” and you’ll be bombarded with studies and stories of women side stepping men who are about to walk right through them. Of course this is in general. (Anyone else feel compelled like me to defend their beloved husband or male partner? Jim would never run over anyone !) But the fact that figures moving with a women’s structure appear to be moving backward, while males appear to be moving forward, has a lot to say about why dogs are more afraid of men.
What to do about it is clear: When approaching unfamiliar dogs, men need to be especially aware of how they are using their bodies. Turning sideways helps. Going slowly helps. As does not looming, avoiding eye contact and not reaching forward to pet until the dog has clearly asked for it. It also means we all need to use counter conditioning to help dogs who are uncomfortable with unfamiliar men, using a step-by-step process in which dogs learn to associate the approach of a man with something good. (At one now infamous seminar, while describing using ball play to help a shy Border Collie, I said “And so, for several months, all the men that Pippy met have had balls in front of them”.)
I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories on dogs being more afraid of men, I’m sure you’ll have some to tell. I’d especially love to hear from the guys . . .
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: It’s warmer this week, temps in the 20s or 30s, which feel down right balmy after several nights dancing around zero. I am loving the snow, although it does make working sheep a bit difficult.
Today I’m delighting us all with the photographs of a dear friend, Meg Boscov. She is a woman of many talents, but her photography is out of this world. She picked up a camera about 6 months ago, and the rest is history. Her photographs have already been in numerous exhibits, and she graciously is allowing me to use a few today. They cheer me up immensely, so much so that I begged her to let me buy the first one. It’s in my study and it makes me happy every day.
You can see more of her work on Meg Boscov on Facebook, or on her Instagram page, megboscov. I know of no better cabin fever reliever than these stunning pieces of art. Stay tuned, there’s a website to come and, be still my heart, a book coming out in spring.
Inside
Terracotta
Meridian
Dreamscape
These inspire me every day, I hope you have lots of inspiration in your life right now too.
Dorte Nielsen says
Given that humans are a species driven by sight, a dogs are a species driven by scent, I think we should study scent more than appearance. And one thing is for sure. Men smells more of testosterone than women who will smell more of oestrogen.
Male dogs also smells of testosterone, and bitches smells more of oestrogen, at least when they are in heat.
So in the dog world testosterone is linked with Adrenalin and possible aggression.
We / they simply are more cautious when getting near a male dog than a bitch.
An individual smelling of testosterone simply is more likely to fight.
But humans are also biased by their species assuming what is a critical factor for us (appearance) is also the critical factor for dogs.
Actually I think more factors might be critical, but we probably shouldn’t be so sight-focused, when we study other species.
Helena James says
What beautiful photos! Especially if you revel in and NEED color in your life.
About dogs and men…Why has my 6 year old female (retired from breeding and now spayed) started ‘alarm barking’ at my husband, with whom she has lived her entire life, and who has always treated her well? Yes, she is more alarmed when other men come into the house than she used to be, which I have attributed to her becoming more protective of her space as she matured…but why my husband?
So I have no answers, only questions…
Cristina says
Our dog is afraid of most men. He wouldn’t stop barking at my husband (while basically burrowing into my legs) the first time we saw him. But I wonder if maybe size and shape don’t play a part into it as well. Let me explain. I come from a family of mostly short people (an exception is my brother, who is tall). I’m 1.63m (5 ft 4) and my dad is only a few cm (maybe 2 inches) taller than me. My sister’s even shorter. My husband’s family is half-and-half in terms of height, but his mum is tall and his dad is short. Luci was much less afraid of my dad (short, but male) than he was of my mother-in-law (tall, but female). He is also not afraid of young boys (short, but male). Of course, our dog is only one data point, and maybe he’s an outlier, but I do think that height and shape does matter with some shy dogs.
iben fals says
Hi 🙂
I have a Bouvier des Flandres now 6,5 years old. Unfortunately she didnt leave the breeder before the age of 16 weeks, she wouldnt have contact with anyone exept for me but when time went one it became better and better, more and more social with a lot of training….exept for men in the forrest!…what I did was that I asked all men to take her ball and throw it….very very soon men was the best in the hole world :)… I used the ball because this is the very best she knows not balls in general it is one paticular and only this, she is not a “ball adicted” when the ball is in my pocket she forgets all about it 🙂 …when she got more and more faith in women I gave them treats to give her without “pushing” her in anyway …the result now is that she takes contact to everybody, sit om their feet, looking at me- “look at me mum, see what a good girl I am” 🙂 …..(and people just love her- soooo charming 🙂 )
Best Regards
Iben and Pippii/Denmark
Rolly Brown says
8 years ago, I adopted a 4 year old female Cattle Dog cross. She had been in the rescue facility for 2 years, adopted twice and brought back within a day each time. She was fairly aversive to men; not prone to bite, but very aggressive muzzle-punching. For some reason, she took to me, and she’s been our baby ever since. Certainly, the rescue facility was very patient and intelligent in making our introduction, but I’ve always thought that her acceptance of me might have had something to do with the fact that, about 2 months previously, I had quit eating meat. Knowing the importance of olfactory info for dogs, I’ve always had a hunch this might have helped.
Alexia Cochrane says
I agree with this completely, Patricia. My Lily was abused by a man as a puppy, and we worked hard to overcome her fear (although we never worked with men who always had balls in front of them — hahaha!). Now, she befriends men much more easily when they lighten the pitch of their voices and crouch down to meet her. As for men and their self-confidence and force — YES to that. Now that I’m at that “invisble” age of 67, I consciously try to expand myself and my “chi.” And use my voice to remind people — mostly men, but sometimes women — that I’m there. Thank you for such a thoughtful blog.
Cynthia Vanaudenhove says
Hi yes this is a topic that’s always interested me. I have a permanent foster who has many anxiety and fear issues… Especially in regards to men. Though in the four years he’s been with me he has built a relationship with my husband and a few men who visit regularly. But any new man he’s especially barky and fearful of. Runs away and keeps a great distance from them.
Women he will warm up to it within about five minutes and actually start asking for attention and then if you give them an inch he’ll take a mile and climb up in their laps.
With men, if they simply ignore him and don’t give him eye contact, he will begin to calm down and he will keep a great distance from them for a time but slowly come up from the side or from behind and start to touch them with his nose and at some point he will ask for some attention. So he has gotten better… we let everything happen on his terms. Sometimes he’ll retreat to his crate where you feel safe.
I’ve always wondered what happened to him to cause this issue. And we just don’t know… But according to what you’ve Written here he may not actually have had a specific bad experience with a man? Am I right in thinking it could simply be the differences he Perceives from men to women, and that those of men might just feed his anxieties and his fears?
He loves other dogs and he is super submissive with them. My 10-year-old female can dominate him with a glance. If he’s on the couch with me and she comes over and wishes to take his place all she does is stand there and look at him and he slithered off.
Many dogs are anxious at a vet visit, but my poor Robbie is much worse if he has a male vet And male techs. When I request women handle him he’s a whole lot better.
The only other problem that I have with him is when people get up to leave he suddenly sound the alarm and jumps up and barks and barks and barks fiercely. If left to himself he will come up behind the male he has concerns with And really bark and almost snap… So to help prevent those situations and stopping them from escalating I asked people to let me crate him or remove him from the room or the area before everybody gets up to leave. That behavior I don’t understand. But he In a nanosecond goes from the most timid dog you’ve ever met to Cujo. It’s almost like with the persons back turned he gain some confidence and it’s like he’s yelling “and stay out!”. And he even does this to some degree the people he’s come to know… I find it a little weird that I’d like to try and understand further.
Thank you for your postings I find them always instructional an interesting
KC Wilson says
My shy, small dog Tula would have nothing to do with my husband for the first year and a half of her life. His bonding with her came through frisbee play. He threw and threw and threw until one day it landed in her mouth and from that day forward she was hooked and they became friends. She never was a snuggly dog in all her 16.5 years living the good life, but she made up for it with tons of personality. Tula Wilson, 7/4/03-2/1/20.
Christine Johnson says
As a breeder of Pembroke Welsh Corgis, I valued my husbands interaction with the puppies from birth until leaving home at ten weeks. Puppy owners have all reported that their puppies were forever comfortable with men. Now that he’s passed away, my most recent litter was raised without that influence. I had many men come to visit the puppies but it’s not the same as that daily interaction. So far this litter has not shown shyness towards men, so perhaps just a little bit helped.
LisaW says
There are men of a certain age that Olive reacts to strongly. Young bucks, I call them. Men in their 20’s or 30’s, especially if they have hats on (she doesn’t like hats on anyone). She gets stiff-legged, her hackles go up, and her bark gets short and staccato. She also responded very negatively to a friend who just had surgery. She wouldn’t go near him and did a lot of back-up-barking.
It took her a few years to be completely comfortable around my husband, who is a thin, medium height, gentle soul. He learned to announce he was coming into a room with a soft “It’s just me, Olive.” He would wait for her to approach and then give her a gentle butt rub. We also learned not to surprise her at all, and we kept the lights on at night outside the bedroom for a long time. Nighttime was her worst time, and she would react to him more strongly after dark. One day, when they were having “quiet time,” she fell onto him with a big sigh, and they both had a long nap. They are a bonded pair now.
When repairmen or service men come to the house, we put Olive someplace safe. It’s better for everyone that way.
Charlotte Kasner says
I have just been working with a client with just this problem. They had complained about their six month old crossbreed exhibiting “aggression” towards her male owner in the evening so I asked them to video it. It was in fact attention seeking vocalisation and mouthing and she was dividing her attention between both owners pretty equally.
Our practical session showed that her male owner was making prolonged eye contact with her and she vocalised in response. It was the same vocalisation that I had noticed when she became frustrated.
She is at home all day with her female owner who has also been undertaking the bulk of the care and training. She is definitely less confident with her male owner when his partner is absent and we have been working on this too.
I did not know about the movement and have forwarded the link already!
Chris says
I rescued a bloodhound who was terrified of men. and wanted to eat them. He also hates guns. Just the sight of a shotgun sends him off to hide.
When I picked him up, Frisco was seriously underweight with a mouth of broken teeth. Although probably not quite 3, the shelter contacted me about a senior. Frisco was also 20 + pounds under weigh and showed developmental signs of a poor diet.
A guy friend, used to wandering into the yard with my dogs, initially ignored my warning about Frisco. Then he realized I was not joking. Derek worked really hard with Frisco and was able to create a bond that worked not only with Derek, but also the male vets and vet techs he initially tried to bite. Now around 8, Frisco is generally good with men, but still terrified of guns.
In the south where I live, hounds are often dumped if gun shy. The ones I have, both male and female, if gun shy also show a pronounced fear of men. I can’t but wonder if dogs are more afraid of men, because the male culture can be more aggressive to dogs.
Bodie at 130#, is a really big bloodhound. He likes to sleep on the bed next to me. Bodie will warn men off. He makes it clear he does not want you in his space. My bond with Bodie is strong to provide security and he is OK with the neighbor or vet. can be near him
Ellen says
Funny you should post this today. My rescued standard poodle, Miles, has always been more timid most men but I’ve learned that his nerves have a close correlation with a persons size and voice level. I’ve had a couple male housemates since I adopted Miles; both had fairly broad builds and deep voices and even after years of living with them, Miles never totally accepted either.
However, Miles is generally happy to see my both my boyfriend and my dad. Those two each have less imposing figures and softer voices.
We also encountered a new vet several months ago who really terrified him. The vet’s office is already scary, but this tall young woman and her powerful voice sent him shivering to the door.
Marcus says
Dear Dr. McConnell,
My wife and I were so pleased with the work you are doing in this area of dog behavior. We have two rescues and have had many over the years. Our preference has been to rescue adult Retrievers, perhaps 3 to 4 years old and the larger the better. We have always been keen observers of our dogs and our experience supports the views in your article.
One of our dogs is a Labrador/Great Dane mix, approximately 100 pounds and 7 1/2 years old. As with many rescues, we know little of Ranger’s history before joining our family about 2 years ago. From the outset he has been a very nervous and reactive dog around new people, particularly men. He is always hyper-vigilant, reacting to sudden movement of any sort. I offer this as context for the following scenario.
Several weeks ago we had a new service man in our home. Ranger’s reaction (off-leash) was typical for him; barking and backing away. The visitor asked if he (the service man) could sit. Upon doing so Ranger stopped barking, approached him without pause, and smelled his hand. Since this event we have suggested all visitors, particularly men, to take a seat. Ranger’s reaction has been the same. Adopting this approach has reduced the stress for Ranger and the visitor. Our conclusion, unscientific as it may have been, was that the visitor standing posture has been the trigger to Ranger’s nervous reaction.
Tucker Margaret says
My dog is afraid of strange men, unless they have a dog, then they are OK. Once he knows them, he is their best friend.
Elizabeth says
Daisy has always been more fearful of men, especially my older son and the bigger of my two brothers. (None of these men live with us). I speculated that it was the way they move – my younger son was trained as an actor and moves much more fluidly than either of the others, who are large men (my younger son is, too, but he definitely moves differently.) But she has become much less fearful of my older son over time – my brother is very short-tempered and swears at things (computers, his phone, doorknobs) and she really doesn’t like that. She’s trained me to swear much less, actually, the f word in particular makes her leave the room!
Gayla says
What a wonderfully thought provoking topic. I tend to agree with Dorte that more studies focusing on the influence of scent would be really helpful. But we should remember that it’s probably the combination of ALL of their sensory data that leads to their conclusions. And which sense do they ‘trust’ more? Do they necessarily trust their noses instead of their eyes, just because they have so many more olfactory receptors than we do?
I know it’s a topic for a different blog, but I’d also love to see a discussion on the subject raised by Cynthia…
Amy Cook, PhD says
It’s worth noting that human babies are also more afraid of strange men than of strange women. We need to consider the evolutionary (distal) story in addition to the experiential (proximal) one.
Pat says
I added Meg Boscov to my Facebook page – and how wonderful to see that she is a Cavalier lover!!! We are also – love our little Samantha – she brings joy to our lives every day. And the pictures are beautiful – so a double blessing.
eris says
I am a woman, and have multiple times had dogs act afraid or aggressive around me as their human says, “Huh, s/he only acts that way around men?!?” I’ve wondered what it was about me that triggered them. Yes, I’m pretty dykey in the way I move (assertive, confident, direct) but have also wondered if it was a smell thing.
Shari says
A related topic (I think) is that I’ve noticed many dogs seem to respond more quickly and respectfully to a man giving a command than a woman, even if the man is not an experienced dog trainer. Trainers have frequently tried to coach me on being more clear and assertive when I ask a dog to do something; many men seem to come by this more naturally. I’ve wondered if it’s a result of the different ways men and women are socialized in our culture…men seem to turn out more assertive, in general (to be clear, I’m not saying *all* men do this and *all* women do that, nor am I referring to force-based training…) I used to get frustrated by this, but now I just laugh and try to be more clear and “commanding.”
Terry Murphy says
I have discussed this with owner of adopted dogs many times and questioned the idea that they had been abused by a man just because they were submissive to them.
I have a friend (man) who could walk into my home today, never having met the current crew living with me, and in no time they’d be “his.” He has found his niche by fostering the difficult to place dogs. He is a large man, 6 foot or so and weighs in around 190 pounds. He uses his body language beautifully. If YOU saw him you would initially feel he’s larger than life. Dogs don’t think so.
While I agree that the nose is a powerful tool I feel the visual is the first assessment they makes the majority of the time.
Thank you for sharing this article.
Andy says
I’ve gotten a lot better at approaching unknown dogs, in part because of the approaches I’ve learned here and elsewhere, but perhaps also because I slouch and have a good falsetto. I have to constantly remind myself not to push it though, and I rely on short, regular, predictable encounters with very fearful dogs with the understanding that I may never be buddies with them.
We have a pretty great volunteer pet trapping group that has a high success rate. Not surprisingly, they’re all female.
It’s a drag to be scary to dogs you want to be friends with solely because you’re male. The flip aide, though, is that some dogs really seem to enjoy toy play with men and think we’re pretty special.
Christopher Disch says
This is a good article covering the bio-mechanics of men and women, but also how we perceive those differences. When it comes to dogs most of what we deal with when training is nervousness with meeting people in general. The best results we have seen to improve this relationship is to ignore the dog when people are meeting, and when the owner is ready to introduce the dog they do so in a controlled way. Early in the meeting they need to reinforce that they need to ignore their dog until they say its ok. Now does this work for every owner and dog, no. Some owners are more receptive to this method, and this produces the best results.
Please keep up with the great articles.
Jenny Haskins says
I’ve never found that my dogs are more afraid of men that women. In fact my very very timid bitch surprised me one day by approaching a man (albeit with his back to her) whom she’d never seen before in her life, and smooching him.
I apologised like mad, and he told me never mind, dogs are always doing this with him.
on the other hand “the Klutz” loves Men — they can throw so much better than woosey females.
I suspect it depends on the people who have been around the dog since puppyhood. Many men have little to do with ‘caring’ for dogs, especially puppies, and they can be reluctant to use coochy-coo talk.
Or it could be that their female owner/handler is afraid/wary of men and the dogs sense this?
Then all my dogs have been very nervous around people who are afraid of them
Or it could be that the men’s ‘personal care’ products smell all wrong
Jenny Haskins says
PS. Another thing is that most dogs are very very wry of strangers who ‘look them in the eye’. Maybe men are more likely to do this??
Kyla Jones says
Hi! Excellent article! I’ve had dogs for 25+ years and have always been interested in how they interact with other species, humans included. From Freya, the female Belgian Malinois mix that was so timid around adult men (older men, if they had gray in hair or beard, or male children under 12 or so, she had no problems with at all) that she wouldn’t bark or growl, just crouch down and try to slink around and bite, to Sammy, the pug boy that was everybody’s new best friend, to my current bada** guard dog, Bentley, who’s not afraid of anybody. He’s also an 8″ tall chihuahua who has no idea he’s not a Tibetan Mastiff. He was originally raised in a house with mom, dad, and three little boys, and was a serious daddy’s boy. I’ve had him for 3 years now, and I can see him looking to me for how to react to new people, but any timidity seems to be based more on sound level than sex, and he absolutely adores my nephew, his “uncle.” Different dogs, different reactions, always fascinating.
Meg Boscov says
I am truly honored to have my photographs on your always outstanding blog! Reading you blog, and seeing your wonderful photographs is a highlight of my week.
xo,
Meg
Laura says
This is very common conversation in my shop as well. Although I got a new customer who told me their dog is fearful of women. That was a first for me in 10 yrs. The dog is fearful, I agree with that. I’m not convinced it is fearful of women. They told me he is clearly not fearful of me. I am very thankful for that.
lin says
A dog I know from the dog park will gravitate more towards strange men than women. While she ignores women for the most part, she will go right up to men and solicit attention. She is a beautiful little spaniel mix, so she usually gets it. 🙂 Her owner speculates that because she spent the beginning of her life with a homeless man, she has good feelings about men.
Kat says
When we adopted Finna she was supposed to be my son’s dog. He was 12 years old. It was fascinating observing her as he grew. He had pretty dramatic growth spurts where he would be noticeably bigger in the morning than when he’d gone to bed the night before. She would be trotting over to greet him, stop dead, measure him with her eyes, sniff and then move in for some affection. If he hadn’t gotten taller in the night she’d just trot over for morning affection. The visual cue of size was definitely something she noticed immediately.
Ranger loved everyone, at least that was the neighborhood perception. When a woman into power walking moved into the neighborhood she heard about this awesome dog and was looking forward to meeting him. She was sadly disappointed the first time she saw him and he was backing and cringing away as she approached. Once we got her to simply stand still for a moment he approached checked her out and decided she could pet him. I’m sure it was her posture of leaning slightly forward and taking big powerful steps that put him off. She probably looked to him as if she was charging in for the attack. From what I’ve read and seen quite a few men move in a similar fashion to the way this female neighbor did. If someone came at me like that when I didn’t know them I’d be nervous as well.
So far D’artagnan hasn’t met anyone he considers intimidating. I think he’s got a healthy helping of the Pyrenees large and in charge attitude.
Stunningly gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing them.
Terry Albert says
I would be interested in why some dogs are afraid of children. My sheltie has this problem and has reacted aggressively.
Cate Taylor says
With respect o talk a out bias as humans to “appearancee” over “scent”, I would agree that we must be vigilant always to the potential of bias. However, I would say in the study discussed here, it is “movement” that is key. And movement as a critical element t is t always recognized because of our bias towards “appearance”.
Tasmil L. says
This research is regarding mice, but may be pertinent? https://www.nature.com/news/male-researchers-stress-out-rodents-1.15106
Trisha says
We have a Canon Rebel T4i, but I bought a new 18-400 mm Tamron lens last year for it. It is a huge improvement over the lens we had before, which came as a package deal from Canon when I bought it many years ago. I’m happy too with the quality we are getting from it; at least for the price.
Trisha says
Well that’s just fascinating, and follows so much of the research that shows the significant impact of researchers on an animal’s response (including their expectations of whether the rodents are “smart” or “dumb”. Remember that study?
Vicki in Michigan says
I only judiciously yield my right of way. When I don’t, I brace and have my elbows ready.
Men are surprised when they run into a pointy object they thought was going to dodge them. >:-)
sign me Smashing the Patriarchy, one jerk at a time
ps — we had a dog who was afraid of boys, and things with wheels. Not girls, not toddlers, not men, just boys (and things with wheels). Gee, I wonder what happened to him before we got him? With many treats (and the help of our other dog who wasn’t afraid of anything, and some gentle and kind neighborhood boys), we were able to convince him he didn’t need to be afraid of boys or wagons/bicycles/tricycles.
soyoung says
that is fascinating!! paco had a severe case of fear aggression towards men, which is why the rescue placed him with us -my sister, her two daughters and myself. he eventually came to know some male friends whom he loved and trusted, but i remember once my sister was dating a man, and paco could not accept him–we often had to put him away in my room when he came by. it didn’t matter that we made the correct introduction, gave him treats galore when he came by, had him throw treats for him when he entered–he was cujo whenever he came to the house. it reached a head where paco actually bit him. we found out after my sister broke up with him that he had beat his ex wife, and his new girlfriend had to put a restraining order on him. i was very grateful my sister got out of that relationship early on. and we joke now that paco will vet any boyfriends her daughters introduce to the family.
Nicole Levesque says
I will never forget even though it was about 15 years ago, when my good friends very social young Border Collie reacted very strongly to the male judge in the ring during her agility run. She was very well trained and lived in a household with several men and had never shown any signs of ring stress. Outside the ring, following the run, the very kind judge spent time getting to know the dog with out any apparent stress on the dog’s part at all. Once back in the ring the dog reacted once again as if the judge were sent from the devil himself. Then I noticed that the shading from the leaves from one of trees covering part of the ring cast shadows across the man’s head, face and chest, almost making him sparkle like Edward in Twilight series! The more he moved, the worse it was. Such a learning moment for me…never assume. Once the shadows were gone the dog was totally fine.
Adrienne says
My husband and I recently adopted a 1.5 year old pitbull mix from a shelter. While he loves my husband, he has to make sure that he gets between my husband and I if I’m seated or in a reclining position. He’ll even bark at him if he feels my husband gets too close. We’re working on counter-conditioning. Good thing he’s easily appeased with food! We also discovered that he got especially upset with fireworks this Fourth of July. I assumed it was the loud noises, but he was not reactive to them when I wasn’t in the room, or if he was just alone with my husband and other dog. It seems protecting mom is a duty he takes seriously.
Rona Gregory says
Super interesting and certainly going to take a look at the study. Whilst I agree with others’ comments regarding scent being a huge possibility given our dogs’ superior sniffers I don’t think we should discount movement. Although our dogs have (I believe) 20/70 vision as opposed to our (possible, if good) 20/20 vision and may not see detail as well as us they are very good at seeing/detecting movement. Add to that anxious, hyper alert/vigilant dogs may be even more sensitive to subtle movements that we may miss, for me it makes absolute sense! Looking forward to digesting the study although I confess I often struggle with research papers and all the sciencey speak!
j. fisher says
do dogs fear shirtless men more than men wearing shirts
Trisha says
Uh, don’t think so, but a lot of women do.