You can’t imagine.
I’ve thought some people to be the salt of the earth, wonderful people and several times, the Dobes instantly wanted to eat them.
The weirdest thing was when Odin saw my dad for the first time.
He gave me a nasty rope burn, whipping the leash through my hand, wanting to flat out kill him.
Twenty minutes later, he met my neighbor and nearly knocked the fence down, trying to lick him to death.
Obviously, I am a lousy judge of character.
I never doubt my dogs’ judgement, now.
No matter how nice I think someone may be, they’re seeing *something* hidden from sight.
:-\
Couple years ago, we were coming out of PetSmart, having taken Odin there for his birthday.
There was a guy trying to bum money off a another guy, who had his little son in tow.
While I was getting Odin into the car, something “changed” in that situation and Odin rocketed back out of the truck, and went straight for the bum’s throat.
Hubby said the bum/weirdo had started pushing the guy and the boy was crying.
I have no idea what the weirdo wanted from them but Odin decided it was time for an ass chewing.
I yelled “RUN!” to the dad/kid and they jumped in their car and took off while hubby and I got Odin reeled back in before he grabbed the weirdo.
I’ll never know what the heck was going down but the dog was having none of it.
Odds are the boy getting scared is what set him off.
He does not tolerate children being harmed.
You speak truth about dogs being a good judge of character. Good for the Doberman defending you against the child molester!
Cats also seem to have some ability in that area. My mother had a Siamese cat who was absolutely awful to certain men who she dated. The cat, for reasons known only to its feline brain, was fiercely loyal to my mother and no other human or animal. Some people, however, elicited an immediate negative reaction far beyond the norm. My mother said in many cases she found out later that the cat must have seen something bad in certain men that my mother didn’t understand until much later.
Someday someone will do a scientific study on this. Maybe — and this is purely a guess — the fantastic sense of smell which dogs have, and which allows them to detect explosives and drugs in tiny quantities, also allows dogs to detect the smell of hormones or some other substance given off by people with bad intentions.
Of course, human beings have human reason which animals don’t have. I’m not suggesting that dogs and cats are the best judges. But I **AM** suggesting that smooth speech and flirtatious clothing can confuse people in ways that don’t work with dogs and cats.
Dogs understand loyalty. When properly trained, they won’t be bribed or confused by treats or petting. It would be nice if humans were as loyal as dogs.