Do dogs really smell fear!?! Why do they always attack me!
By bananamanuk
@bananamanuk (835)
February 7, 2007 1:54pm CST
I'll have to admit that i've never been a huge fan of dogs. I've had a few experiences as a kid when a guy decided to deliberately set his dog on me when I was at a playground, and then once had a dog chase me when I was riding a bike.. could it be that I am just paranoid and have a deep fear from these kinds of experiences? It's just that dogs always seem to go for me, so I always give them a wide berth when passing them in the street, I never make eye contact with them, but guaranteed they will go for me. On my walk to work I get a jack russel which always goes for me, and now someone has started walking two labrodor pups, one of them always firmly looks at me and I can see the owner tugging on the lead to keep it away from me. Thing is, I do feel my heartrate go up, - how pathetic right!? and wondered if that makes it worse, can the dogs smell your fear!?!
1 person likes this
7 responses
@bluewings (3857)
•
8 Mar 07
lol Thats a funny one for sure.I have never had problems with dogs,In fact,you could say I am a huge dog lover and even if the odd one barks at me ,give me 3-5 minutes and he/she will be eating from my palm,lol.Yeah,I think they sense it.Even if it isn't the smell ,it might just be some minor expressions they can read better than us humans.If you were in the intelligence unit perhaps you would have been trained to control your expressions no matter what you feel inside.Then you can hope to beat the dogs Or the easier one-Start loving them :-D
As to'' We may be more intelligent ,but they have sharper teeth''-I say''If they have sharper teeth,then we have jucier bones''lol You could carry a small bone in your pocket and drop it to let them decide who is the boss:-P
1 person likes this
@Cephoozee (373)
• United States
8 Feb 07
Yes..in fact dogs do in a sense, smell your fear. Just like when you are happy, endorphens are given off, when you are scared another horomone is released from your body that dogs are hypersensitive to. Dogs have a kind of prison mentality, and that is..the strongest, baddest dude rules the place. When around dogs, you have to come in like you own the block you're walking on, dogs will "respect" that. Next time a dog comes at you, I know it may be scary, but take a big step towards them or stomp your foot and shout at them. Guaranteed to make a pitbull turn if you mean it. Trust me. I think you should be safe too if it's just a Jack Russel terrier, come on! They're so cute! Anyways, good luck.
1 person likes this
@bananamanuk (835)
•
8 Feb 07
thanks for your comments cephoozee. I understand what you mean about coming across as the dominant one but it's not easy when there's a dog trying to attack you, or you are walking down the street minding your own business then all of a sudden it goes for you. I've also heard that you shouldn't ever look dogs in the eye because that makes them angry - I don't know if it's true though,
@urbangirl (1456)
• Australia
6 Jul 07
I am sure they can really smell it. When I was a kid I was so afraid of dogs attacking me that I panicked whenever I saw one, and of course, that meant they would be after me in a shot. I am far more relaxed now and I don't remember the last time I was attacked. But this may also have alot to do with more people keeping their dogs on leashes these days.
1 person likes this
@coolest1983 (281)
• India
8 Feb 07
Hi. After going through your post I highly sympathize with you. I myself have noted it too that when I am in fear from a certain dog, it goes after me. If I am ok, the dog will be fine.
May be you are right that dogs can smell fear. So let's stop getting frightened from these so called dogs. That's what they are(Dogs). Good Luck.
@bananamanuk (835)
•
8 Feb 07
Thanks for your comments coolest1983, maybe i get more scared of dogs because I've never had one of my own so i'm not totally sure how to treat them, but having said that after having the experiences that I have done, it kind of makes me angry that a lot of the time it is the dog owner at fault. Just because they like dogs doesn't mean that everyone does, they should respect that.
@mssnow (9484)
• United States
7 Feb 07
Wow, I thought I was the only one dogs targeted. When I was little dogs would come up and bite me for no reason. No, I didn tease them . One time I was playing with my dolls, and this lady let her dog loose in the laundry mat.The dog came up and bit me for no reason. It happened to me many times. I love dogs but only mine. I am scared of others dogs because I have had people say "oh rover wont bite" and then they bite me. I could never figure out why. But i stay clear of dogs. I dont know if a dog can smell fear or sense fear but I do know that the first time I was bit i was not afraid of them and still got bit.
1 person likes this
@bananamanuk (835)
•
8 Feb 07
Hi there, thanks for your response. It sounds as though you have had a lot of bad experiences with dogs as well, it does seem weird how dogs are totally fine with some people and yet go for and attack others.
@apakabar2007 (1693)
• Netherlands
15 May 07
Believe me, you are not the only one that afraid of dogs. Me too....and the fact that where I live lotsa people have dogs and not to mentioned that they are really big does frightened me sometimes. When I see one, I'd freeze myself and didn't move at all or just walking really slowly and try not to run at all. Just like you, I won't make any eye contact otherwise they'll come to me instead.....
I think they do can smell our fear. That's why I always try not to be panic or run....even though I'll be sweating when they start sniffing at me.... So, I don't think you are pathetic otherwise I am.
1 person likes this
