is it possible..?

Question

for a dog to hate people in uniform or people who have hats on??

i have a cousin who's a marine and when he came to visit while wearing his uniform my dog tried to bite him, but the next day he showed up plainclothes and my dog was licking him and playing with him. the third day my cousin was wearing a baseball cap and again my dog went nuts. what's wrong with him??

no. i've had him since he was a baby, so that theory isn't in play.. maybe he's just psycho.

Answer 1

I think it is extremely possible. I have a few dogs, and my husband is in the Navy, so they are exposed to uniforms all the time. I do have some friends who will bring their dogs over and they seem to get nervous of the people in their uniforms. If you have had him all your life then perhaps he just thinks they look intimidating to him. If that happens, then aggressions will always come out. As for the whole hat thing, my two year old rottie wont let anyone in the house if they have a hat on. Male or female. I think because it's his house and he cant see their face maybe they look scary. I dont know. I just know that i have had some of the same problems, and to have anyone in a hat or uniform spend time with him. Be patient and let him realize that they aren't a threat, and he should be ok. Hope that helps!

Answer 2

The most common cause of "uniform problems" is your mailman. Sounds silly until you think it through. Most dogs see the mailman approach the house daily, in uniform, and they bark and act protective of their property. The mailman deposits the mail and leaves. The dog comes to believe that his barking and protective behavior has scared away an intruder. It works every day and so the dog is constantly reinforced. It's really no surprise that when the dog sees someone actually IN the house in a uniform, that he would expect this person to leave as well, and his protective guard dog behavior can easily escalate to biting.

Answer 3

It is definitely possible. They could have been traumatized somehow by people wearing certain things. The best way for them to get over it is to constantly have those items around and make the dog face their fears. After awhile they will see that it is pointless to go nuts. The WORST thing you could do when they go nuts is to try to calm them down by saying "it's ok", petting them, backing away and things like that. The message that sends to them is that they are doing a good job and to keep it up. You should correct them with a strong "No!" or whatever other means of correction works with your dog.

Answer 4

Definetly possible! There's a dog at the shelter I volunteer at who was picked up at a forest preserve, and now she HATES people in uniform!
Who knows what the forest preserve people did to her! Did you adopt your dog? sadly, we don't know their entire past, so all we can do is work with them.

Answer 5

well maybe someone hit him like the memory of the clothes it could be like something bad happened to him before you got him or like while you were on vacation or something and the person was wearing that kind of clothes or maybe it smelled different

Answer 6

It is possible. I know of dogs that hate certain people because of wat they wear. My friend's dog absolutely hates people when they wear sunglasses. It's part of your dogs personality.