‘Can dogs sense bad people?’
I had this question for my friend who happens to be a dog trainer. The reason why I asked her this question was that my dog – Coco – always barked at some people but not at others.
Coco always barked at the cleaner we had hired to come in once a week. No amount of ‘training’ or desensitization helped her adjust to her.
Later we heard that this individual had been fired for petty theft at a previous employer. (Needless to say, we fired her too after we heard about it).
My friend, the dog trainer, confirmed what my dog had already proven: yes, dogs can sense bad people. They have a gift for sniffing out the bad apples from the good ones.
Let us find out more about ‘can dogs sense bad people’ and how they do it.
Can Dogs Sense Bad People?
New scientific studies have confirmed that dogs are able to sense bad people. Dogs are intelligent and sensitive beings with highly developed senses. These qualities make them good judges of characters. Some dogs may take an instant dislike towards some people but love others because their instinct allows them to differentiate bad people.
Why Can Dogs Sense Bad People?
Here are the reasons why dogs can sense bad people.
1. Power of observation
Our dogs are gifted with great observational skills. They observe everything around them. This note down the tiniest of details. It is also the reason why they are so attuned to their owners’ every move. Anything out of the ordinary and your dog will know it.
This power of observation also helps dogs understand human body language and facial expressions. A person with bad intentions might have a peculiar body language which a smart dog can easily sense.
2. Powerful sense of smell
Dogs also are gifted with a highly developed sense of smell. Their olfactory sense is nearly 10000 to 100,000 times greater than that of humans.
As a result, they can pick up on human pheromones, subtle chemical changes, and stress hormones. A negative or bad person might give off smells of fear, sweat, and/ or stress which could alert a dog that something is amiss.
3. Some breeds are inherently great character judges
There is a reason why some dog breeds like German shepherds made great police dogs and guard dogs. Years and years of training have helped such dogs excel at judging human beings.
Likewise, some breeds like Beagles can detect drugs and smugglers at airports. These dogs have retained what nature has given them thousands of years ago. A dog’s instinct is a powerful tool that they use to know whether a person is a good person or a bad person.
4. All dogs understand the language of love
All dogs easily understand the language of love. A dog can easily pick up a person having good intentions. Usually these people may be dog lovers and most dogs can pick up on the good vibes.
A person who has something to hide might give off bad or negative vibes. Dogs can sense that with ease. Even if a person does not like dogs but tries to show that s/he does, the dog will know deep down that the person isn’t a dog lover. You really cannot fake anything when it comes to being judged by a dog!
What are Some Signs that Your Dog Doesn’t Like Someone?
Dogs show their feelings in several ways. If they do not like someone, they might show the following signs:
1. Barking
Most dogs will bark at all strangers. However, once the dog owner has relaxed and allowed the stranger in, the dog will relax too. Some might continue growling, whining, and may even have raised heckles.
2. Alert stance
If a dog does not trust someone, it will have a different body language than when it is a relaxed. A relaxed dog will have relaxed ears, tail, and body. On the other hand, an alert dog will have perked-up ears (to listen better), and also raised tail, and tensed body.
3. Other signs
Depending on how you have trained your dog, it might also show other signs. Some dogs may display aggressive behavior with a person they do not like. This includes snapping, growling, snarling, etc. Other dogs might be shy and may back off fearfully.
Can Dogs Sense Bad Vibes and Negative Energy?
Yes, dogs can sense bad vibes and negative energy.
In fact; dogs have the ability to ‘smell’ bad vibes. Do you remember the Beach Boys song Good Vibrations? It is a song about someone picking up negative energy and good vibrations – something which dogs are so good at.
You yourself might have experienced it at some point or another. Sometimes, we meet people and something just seems off. You just cannot trust them. They give you a bad feeling and you just don’t want to get involved with them.
The same is true with our dogs. Dogs can pick up bad vibes and negative energy. Dog expert Cesar Milan writes about this in his book: Cesar’s Way . He says:
- Dogs pick up on human energy and human emotions. They will be calm around someone who is calm and assertive.
- With calm and assertion, dogs feel ‘taken care’ of. They know that someone around them is in control and can protect them. Dogs can relax around such people and go about their business.
- Likewise, dogs can sense anxious and aggressive people. Around them, they feel unstable and unbalanced.
- Our pets are happiest and calmest when they sense our energy is in balance.
Do Dogs Have Sixth Sense?
There are reports on animals extra sensory perception and they include incredible stories about dogs.
Many proud dog owners also have tales about their dog’s sixth sense and how it helped save lives. I remember reading about this guy who credits his life to his Golden Retriever.
One day on their walk, the dog stopped suddenly and had an alert posture. The owner naturally stopped too to see what his dog was up to. In that moment, a few feet ahead of them, a huge tree crashed – right about where the owner would have been had he not stopped to check on his pet!
Of course, that simply may be due to the dog’s advanced sense of hearing.
However, even in day-to-day routine, our dogs show us their incredible abilities such as knowing when it is time for their walk, or even when the family’s kids will be home from school.
Dogs certainly have telepathic abilities which help them pick on their owner’s moods and feelings.
Studies have also shown us that dogs have an electromagnetic sense that enables them to know about impending earth quakes. It is also the reason why they can find their way back home from hundreds of miles away.
Can Dogs Sense Murderers and Serial Killers?
Not all dogs can but some are able to look right into a human’s heart.
It is clear by now that dogs can pick on human being’s emotional states. They are adept at reading the human body language too, and their sense of smell is highly developed as well. This helps them get the sensory inputs about a human being; his/her stress levels and intentions.
Maybe there is a spiritual or magical component too, that we humans may be missing about dogs!
A dog will certainly sense when someone is ‘different’. For example, a drunk or aggressive individual will always be a threat to a dog because of their loud voices or unpredictable movements. Dogs can certainly sense when someone is ‘nervous’ in their presence.
All these factors could help dogs sense murderers and serial killers.
Can Dogs Sense Evil and Presence of Spirits/Ghosts?
Yes, there is a belief that dogs are sensitive to spirits. Dogs often bark at night a sounds or sights that their human masters cannot perceive. This makes many people believe that dogs sense spirits that are close by.
Even mythology is filled with stories that talk about dogs sensing spirits. For example, the Greek witch Goddess Hecate is invisible but her presence is betrayed by barking of dogs.
In Harry Potter, Dumbledore uses Fluffy, the three-headed giant dog to guard the Sorcerer’s Stone.
I believe that our dogs have recaptured their real-life roles as loyal and obedient friends from these fairy tales and myths.
Can Dogs Detect Diseases and Tumors in Humans?
Yes. Dogs can be trained to detect diseases and tumors in human beings.
There are many fascinating tales of dogs detecting life-threatening medical conditions and saving human lives.
Stormy, a schnauzer worked in a lab to detect cancer. Bella a Beagle (known as a wonder dog) could sense when her owner was about to lose consciousness from diabetes.
Recently, there are reports of dogs being trained to even detect the COVID-19 virus.
These heroic ‘detection-dogs’ use their sense of smell to detect serious medical conditions like epileptic seizures. Some are trained to sniff out and identify the bio-markers that are precursors to cancer.
According to latest studies, dogs have a nearly 97% accuracy rate when sniffing out cancer from the blood.
Can Dogs Sense Bad Weather?
Yes, dogs are very sensitive and they can sense bad weather. They could even detect a barometric pressure change, which is why they can detect storms and thunder – like most animals.
When the weather turns, there are also changes in the air in the form of electricity charges. Dogs are aware of these charges and changes and can sense a storm before it occurs.
For the same reason, dogs can even tell when a tornado is about to strike.
FAQs on Can Dogs Sense Bad People?
1. Can dogs sense death?
There is a reason why therapy dogs attend hospices – they are trained to give comfort to the dying individuals – but more importantly to the people around the dying individual. Yes, there is a strong chance that our brilliant dogs can sense death. They could smell it and even understand the low energy as well as the body language (fragile, weak, and not moving) of a sick individual.
2. Can dogs smell people’s pheromones?
Yes, dogs have a strong sense of smell which makes them adept at detecting human pheromones. They have 25 times more smell receptors than humans do.
3. Can dogs understand human pointing gestures?
Yes, most dogs have sophisticated social intelligence that helps them understand human pointing. They will lift their head and look in that direction being pointed.
4. Do dogs sense period?
Yes, dogs and cats can sense periods in women. They have a strong sense of smell and when a woman is on her period, they can smell the hormonal changes as well as the smell of her menstrual blood. There is also a line of thought that dogs are sensitive to human hormonal changes and can detect behavioral changes and mood swings too.
Conclusion
Can dogs sense bad people?
Yes, numerous anecdotes and dog owners’ testimonies have shown us that dogs can sense bad people. They can read an individual’s body language and even smell human pheromones and stress hormones.
Dogs are also very sensitive to human behaviors. Their dog’s instinct helps them understand the difference between a good person and bad person. If they have a gut feeling about an individual, then it is usually right.
This is also why dogs can sense bad energy and negative vibes. We pet owners should blindly tap into our dog’s instinct and trust them when it comes to judging human character.
