Do dogs really recognize good people?

I've also heard a lot of stories of dogs having this kind of sense of other people, or of danger near by and other similar situations, but I think it must depend on the breed. I think some dogs are more loyal and more aware of things like this than others. Because my dog isn't at all like this. (She's a cockerspaniel/poodle) Anyone else agree?

I always think and say there are three people in the world who knows the bad people from the good.God,baby abd dog.Dogs do have that intuition.

I don't know if there's any scientific evidence for it but I have seen many dogs that love most people but stay away from others. Even my dog who is a really outgoing dog that will run up to everyone to say hello has backed away with a anxious look on his face as if he knew that was not someone he should go up to. So I think dogs definately know which people are bad. I'm not sure how, but they know.

One must understand that dogs are very intelligent creatures. They are able to sit, stay, roll over, and do all other sorts of commands. Dogs, as well- are able to see and percieve sounds and body language. Just like humans, dogs are able to look at people and tell how they are feeling emotionally inside. They are also able to look at body language and see what is going on around in their environment. If someone where to raise there hand at a dog, as if they were about to pop them, the dog shutters. It does not just stay their expecting a hug from its owner. So saying that, this means that they are capable of determining whom is good, and whom is bad.

I have personally observered not only my own dogs but others also. I do not know if there is any scientific answer but then there are many things that science can not explain but never the less still occur in Native belief animals are brothers and are to be respected and have many lessons to teach

I believe the answer is the dogs ability to smell fear. There are all different types of fear out there. I think bad people have more fear than good people and it is a different type of fear. It is a deep spiritual fear. Dogs can tune into someones spirit just by that sense. Some dogs are alot more sensitive to it than others. An example is one of my female shepherds is so sensitive to it that when we were camping out in my motorhome, my little girl almost fell from the top bed. She panicked and gasped before she caught herself. The dog was facing away from her in the next room laying on the couch at the exact time my daughter began to fall and felt fear, even before her gasp, the dog jumped like it would if someone were to startle it and turned to look at my child. When my child relaxed she instantly relaxed as well. This made me think about something I had seen many years ago on the Animal Planet. It was a true story of a Newfoundland Retriever. An elderly lady was walking the dog along the banks of a river. Up stream a man who was deaf and dumb and had been dredging the river. He lost his balance and fell in. He had no way to hollar for help as the river swept him away. Down river the dog suddenly perked up and took off running. The old lady could hardly keep up. Soon her dog leaped into the raging river and she then she noticed the man. The man clutched on to the dog and the dog swam him to shore. No one could understand how this dog knew the man was in the river. The man could not make a noise. But he had to be full of fear and I am confident that dog sensed the fear and that is what saved the man. The incredible thing about this story is this deaf man had a dreaded fear of dogs.