Can Dogs Detect Evil – Pet tip 210

Dogs are absolutely amazing animals and helpful to humans on many levels. First and foremost they really are Man’s (or Humankind’s ) best friend. Treat your dog well and it will almost certainly become a trusted friend and truly devoted companion. Whenever you need your dog he/she will likely be there for you whether times are good or bad. Aside from the love a dog shows its family though, dogs have helped Humankind in so many other ways. Many of their senses are superior to human senses. Dogs can detect things that humans can’t; dogs can detect bombs, drugs and of course we know that certain dog breeds can follow the scent of missing people. In the medical world dogs have been used to detect diseases for a number of years. It’s not fully understood how, but dogs are currently being used to detect epileptic seizures minutes before they happen. They can alert their epileptic owners to impending seizures and get them to sit down or get them to assume a safe position. Research continues worldwide to study the ability of dogs to detect certain types of cancers.

Given this almost ‘magical’ ability to detect and do things that we humans cannot, we often make the mistake of endowing dogs with the ability to judge whether a person is good or bad. Many dog owners make the mistake of assuming that if their dog growls at someone, then that someone must be bad. Before continuing further, clarification is in order. Many dogs do seem to be able to sense when there is danger like in the case of an armed robbery at home. In these cases, of course the robber is a ‘bad person’ and the dog rightly detects this. These are NOT the cases we are talking about. We are talking about cases where a dog starts barking, growling or lunges at someone (maybe they are an acquaintance – maybe not) for no apparent reason. Dog owners often attribute this behaviour to the person being bad, think nothing of their dog’s behaviour and this is a big mistake.

At the end of the day, dogs are animals and so far, it has not been proven that any dog has ESP. Of course it IS possible that a person that a dog growls/barks/lunges at is malicious, but most people that enter our lives are not evil. Far more likely is the fact that something undefined has spooked the dog and THAT is why the dog is acting aggressively. It could be as simple as the person has a beard, or is wearing a hat and the dog finds this scary because the dog wasn’t adequately socialized (not exposed to varied people/places/things) during puppyhood. When most dogs encounter things that scare them their instinct is often ‘fight or flight’ which is why socialization is such an important part of having a well behaved dog.

Especially if this continues with different people, it’s important to get it under control. If your dog bites someone you are responsible. A dog trainer would be an excellent resource in cases like these and if your dog never had obedience training, now would be a great time. You can also socialize older dogs though it does take more effort. Ask your vet for an opinion on what is going on if this scenario seems like a common one for you. Although your dog probably IS a great judge of character, you don’t want your dog becoming aggressive for some simple solvable reason.