Can dogs really tell if a person is nice or mean?

Question

if they can...HOW?

Answer 1

I've heard that they have good senses, in fact my own dog saved me in a fire a couple years ago.

Answer 2

I've had dogs and cats most of my life. I have come to accept the way their instincts are much more developed than human instinct.
I have had both cats and dogs around when people come to the house. Even if I have socialized with this person and don't seem to notice any oddities, my pet will not allow them to get near me, growl, hiss, or stand between me and this person, and many other forms of letting me know not to trust this person.
I would rather "listen" to what my pets are telling me than be sorry in the future.
Yes, animals can tell if someone does not like animals. They can also tell by body language. BUT, what if the animal seems to be perfectly fine with animals and does not have the usual body language that tells we humans that that person is someone not to be trusted?
I think that animals have extra sensory perceptions that allow them to sense whether a person is trustworthy or not.
I've seen many examples of this and tend to trust what the animals are telling me. People can lie, animals don't.

Answer 3

They can sense if a person is mean or nice, by reading their body language, its pretty much the same way they can tell if another dog is mad, and is about to attack....by reading their body language. Animals such as dogs have great animal instinct.

Answer 4

i think they can. in some magazines it says some animals have a "sixth sense" that lets them know things or sense them. or they might be able to tell by the way they walk...like if they strut wit their noses up in the air, it's not that hard to tell that they're no very nice. and the way they're treating the ppl around them. dogs are an amazing species, and we might never figure out all their secrets.

Answer 5

Dogs are very good judges of character. A person's chemistry changes when they are stressed, lying, aggressive, etc. and a dog picks up on the different scent / energy changes and body language we give off.

Answer 6

Dogs can sense if a person doesn't like dogs. That doesn't necessarily make the person mean.

Answer 7

I had a lab once who I had trained to go into another room when she had to fart (no lie.) She would not fart around me. Well, I started dating this guy, and Rudy (the dog) just wouldn't warm up to him. One night he was over while I was putting on my make up-he was sitting on my bed and Rudy jumped up there next to him, turned her big butt right into his face and farted-a big, loud wet one.

Two weeks later, he pulled a knife on me and I broke up with him. He stalked me for years after that and turned my life into a living hell. So offhand, I'd say when a dog does not like some one, they find a way of making it known. This same dog would fall all over herself and make googly eyes at the next guy I dated, so I married him and have been happily married for almost 13 years now.

Answer 8

Yeah, they can, actually. Nobody knows the exact reason why, but I think that it's b/c of a sixth sense. It's like animals, especially dogs, can read your mind.

Answer 9

Yes they can by seeing your body language. If you approach a dog looking mean and trying to hurt it it will sense your anger probaly by your face, the eye contact, and they way you walk.

Answer 10

funny, you should ask this. My puppy lets me know when he doesn't want someone around and most of the time, he's right!
Just today, I went to a "seedy" part of town and let me tell you, he was not happy.
I just thought I'd change the scenery and take him a different route on his daily walk, he won and we got out of there quickly.