Reasons Why Dogs Dislike Certain People at First Sight
Dog sees the world differently from us. They use their sense of smell & visual interpretation to judge if the human is a threat or not. Well, there is no scientific truth that dogs can detect dangerous people accurately as they just go with their instincts. But, why do dogs dislike certain people whereas, get along with others easily?
If you have a furry companion at home, then you must have noticed him be friendly with some of your friends whereas, barking or growling at others. This contradictory behavior can make you very clueless as to what makes a dog dislike certain people at first sight.
Becoming a dog’s chosen person may seem easy, but dogs can be too picky to choose what they like or dislike. In many researches, it is found that the better a dog’s sense of smell, the more choosy he can be. Dogs tend to closely monitor their owners’ social interaction with others and analyze their body language & scent to judge people around them.
In this article, we’ve rounded up a few reasons why dogs dislike certain people at first sight:
#1. Harsh tone of voice
Dogs may not able to understand your language but they can very well pick up the tone of your voice. According to a study published in science mag published in the year 2016, Researchers found that dogs’ brains can easily interpret the tone of voice. Dogs can easily differentiate between high-pitched happy people & deep-pitched angry people.
Now, it makes complete sense why a dog may come off as aggressive when he hears the angry voice of certain people. So, if you think that your dog dislikes certain people at first sight, then it can be due to their angry-sounding voice tone.
#2. Strange body Language
The next reason behind your dog’s aggressive behavior towards certain people can be due to their body language. Dogs tend to observe people’s body language before approaching them. Apart from analyzing the voice tone, they also judge a person by their body language.
Dogs have a great memory so they tend to assess the body language & compare it with their past experiences to figure out whether the person is friendly or not. Unlike humans, dogs can find certain body language of humans threatening, such as direct eye contact, erratic movements, etc. To be on a dog’s good side, it is important not to make any gesture that is not appreciated in a canine world.
#3. Unfamiliar smell
The next thing that a dog uses to judge humans is their sense of smell. The sense of smell is predominant to dogs and they use it to explore the surrounding around them. We all know how our pooch loves to sniff everything & everyone. When they smell someone & get a whiff of something intimidating, then they tend to avoid that person. Common smells that dogs don’t like are citrus, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol, etc.
#4. Past trauma
Another reason behind your dog’s aggressive behavior towards some people can be due to his past traumas. Dogs with a history of bitter experiences develop a fear of mistrust towards people which makes it more difficult for them to get along with strangers. When they come across someone who looks similar to the person who has abused them in the past, then they dislike them.
#5. Human interactions
In a study conducted at Kyoto University to determine whether animals are capable of making a social evaluation. Psychologists found that dogs can easily evaluate human interactions & can judge a person based on how they interact with their owners. Dogs are pack animals & they have an instinct to protect their pack. So if your dog sees that someone is treating you poorly then he will naturally dislike him.
So, these are the top 5 reasons dogs don’t like certain people. When it comes to approaching humans, dogs love to gather information to judge them. If anything about the person puts off your dog & he can start ignoring them. Dogs judge any person or situation based on their instincts that are highly influenced by other factors such as voice, scent, body language, way of interaction, etc.
How to avoid it?
The best way to avoid this behavior in your pooch, you need to socialize him from an early stage to introduce him to new smells, people, and noises so, that he doesn’t feel intimidated by any of them as an adult. By exposing your dog to new experiences, we will easily get comfortable with any human who approaches him. You can also train your dog not to over-protective towards everything which lead them to form a negative opinion of any individual.
Proper socialization & training is important to help your dog avoid disliking certain people at first sight. Also, make sure that the person doesn’t provoke or threaten your dog in any way as then, he will instinctively growl at him.
Final Thoughts
Wrapping it up, we can say that dogs naturally gravitate toward people who have kind & generous nature. Whenever they come in contact with aggressive or loud people, it makes the dog uncomfortable & he ends up associating them with a bad experience. Make sure to socialize your dog properly so that he can easily get along with new people.
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