Me too.

I figured it was because dogs are attracted to buttholes.

quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:
Dogs get most of their information about people from their body language and scent.

This.

For most of their existence on this planet, dogs and their ancestors' survival depended heavily on the reading of body language to survive in a social structure. They mapped that skillset over to living with humans thousands of years ago, and are far more attuned to human mood and intentions based on body language, including facial expressions, than most humans are.

If you are by nature genuinely calm and inviting, most dogs will know it.

Not sure if the OP is really looking for an answer...but dogs have amazing intuition about people. They can read emotions and behavior amazingly well. At PAWS we always say that it would be great if we could pick which service dog goes to which recipient, but at the end of the day, the dogs always have final say. We match a dog's skills to a potential recipient's needs but sometimes when we introduce them to each other, the dog will say hi and then just come back to the PAWS handler. Other times they will sit next tot he recipient, maybe lean into him or put his head in the guy's lap . It's like they're telling us - this is the guy I want to work for. I don't know how they decide, but they can read people and know pretty quickly who they want to invite into their world. Amazing creature.

They like the smell of Lubriplate.

Thanks! Just looking for some insight and opinions. It intrigues me and I was just curious to see what it's an indication of.

I've always loved dogs, and pets in general, but I can't stand the heartbreak. I had one that we took in from a family that couldn't keep him die of an infection. Two were taken from me in my divorce back in 2002. The last one I took in for a friend who had to move and I ended up realizing that I didn't have the facilities or time to give him the attention he needed.

I ended up giving him to a family that lived out on the country that had kids. He was the smartest dog I ever knew. Australian cattle dog, blue heeler, Dalmatian, German Shepherd mix. Giving him away broke my heart really bad. I told myself that I'd never own another pet. That was 8 years ago.

Now that we've moved into our dream house, my wife wants a tiny drop-kick dog and she put a deposit down on a Bichon. It told her I'd allow it but I get to name it. I'm going to name it Hannibal.

It's not my kind of dog so I'm thinking of getting a Beagle. I'll name him Mattis.

Tony.

I've had pretty similar experiences... my second dog came from a shelter - she had been there a while because every 'couple' that came in - she would growl at the man. I was the first one that she came right up to and sat on my feet. Right there they said she was ours if we wanted her.

She was a crabby beagle the rest of her life and never really trusted anyone else, but she always would lay right next to me snoring away.

As long as they don't start humping air (or worse you) while looking at you, take it as a highest compliment!

I learned early on in life that dogs like me too, but they like to bite me. I have been bitten so many times, I cannot remember them all.

It all worked out for me though. I joined a working dog club years ago and whenever they had a dog they could not bring out in the protection training, I would get the call to get the suit on. It always worked, I could always get the dog to bite.

quote:

Originally posted by lbj:
Dogs just know.
Not complicated.

This.

My wife is constantly amazed at how strange dogs just love me. Dogs recognize dog people.

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
Now that we've moved into our dream house, my wife wants a tiny drop-kick dog and she put a deposit down on a Bichon. It told her I'd allow it but I get to name it. I'm going to name it Hannibal.

I prefer power-breed dogs, but must admit my brother had a couple of Bichons (siblings Cosmo and Merlin) and they were wonderful little dogs. Very sweet and gentle. No behavioral issues even though they got no real training. IIRC, they don't shed and don't cause problems for people with allergies.

Thumbs up on the name!

It must be that porkchop hanging around your neck

I'm one of those people who dogs, at least the sane ones, seem to love. It's a really rare dog that hates me, or ignores me. Some dogs just seem to know when someone should be watched. A few days ago, I was at a friend's house, and the A/C repair guy showed up, the condensor fan had eaten it's bearings and needed to be replaced. He hadn't come into the house at all yet, as the A/C was in the basement, and that's accessed from the garage. My friend has three dogs, a Pit named Jake, that would be my dog if I had taken him, but I can't walk a dog, so I passed on him, an odd looking Black and Tan Coonhound/Pit/??? "Zeke" that looks like a shorter eared B&T that has lifted weights, and the new leader of the dogs, a 22 month old monster of a mutt that they found near death as a very young pup, who as of last time he was weighed at the vet's office was 164 pounds. He looks like a Lab at first glance, but he has massively thick legs with a huge head. He has moved into the boss position when the former boss became sick and had to be put down due to kidney failure at 13+ a couple weeks ago. He was "only" about 142 pounds, and was some sort of German Shepherd mix. The new boss, named "Junior" had shown no real protective leanings until Monday. Anyway, the tech was taking apart the fan to replace the motor and the dogs were let out of the house. Jake went over to his left, Zeke was in back of him, and Junior was on the other side of the A/C unit. He saw Jake first, and said, "Hey dog!" to him, and then as he went back to work, he saw Junior and jumped and said, "Whoa, hey really big scary dog!", and then he asked, "Is there another one behind me?". I said "Yeah!". They were locked onto him and just staring at him like my old dog Molly did when a neighbor's dog would jump the fence into the yard. We finally ended up taking the dogs into the house, and they weren't happy at all about it. Junior spent the next 20 minutes or so staring at the guy though the window next to him. The other two dogs spent the time walking over to the door and back to the window where Junior was and none of them relaxed until he left. He did say that most of the time, dogs really liked him. Not this time. I trust their reaction to him more than his claims that most dogs like him. All my dogs always seemed to be good judges of people.

quote:

Originally posted by Fenris:
Contrary wise, I do not trust anyone that my dog does not like.

Me, too.

I read the book "The Gift of Fear," and the author directly addressed this. He says the *dog* doesn't know when people are bad, but the owners do. The dogs then read the owner's subtle body language, and respond in kind.

The book spends a great deal of time discussing how our brains are wired to detect threats, but we often over-ride our instinctual judgments. For example, he related a story where a woman was on an elevator, when a big guy got on. She had an urge to get off the elevator, but didn't want to be rude. The guy assaulted her. Her brain was trying to warn her of the danger, but social pressures over-rid her innate judgment. Just like a dog, she immediately knew the person was bad, but she failed to act on her instincts.

We had this happen with our oldest Basset Hound, who growled at a car salesman (he ended up being a real douche, we later found out). The theory is that the dog didn't know he was a douche, but WE did, and he simply read our body language.

I really believe that dogs are capable of 'reading' a person's personality, but we often overlook our innate abilities to do the same.



Now, cats are different. My wife HATES cats, but cats are drawn to her for some reason. I found that the way that cats react to people is inversely proportionate to how much people like them. I like cats, but they generally shun me. My wife hates them, but they flock to her. . . (as jbcummings stated, cats can be a-holes).

My wife is a regular Ellie Mae Clampett. Every critter under the sun loves her. Guess that's how she drew me in too.

A lady friend of mine, a professional colleague not a date, had a rescue Boxer. He had been abused in the past and was always fearful of strangers, male ones in particular. But when she introduced me to him, he just relaxed and let me sit down and pet him, no quivering, nothing. She was amazed.

All those who are liked by shy dogs should be aware, even shy dogs can get uncomfortable with people they initially trust. Just because a dog is interested in you doesn't necessarily mean they want you to completely feel them up right away. Shy/fearful dogs can be more prone to bite when they suddenly, mistakenly think they are threatened.

Best to take it slow and let the dog make all the "first moves."