Dog scared of my brother- goes into his crate?

I have a similar problem with certain people or my dog does. I have a 4 year old newfy I got when he was 8 weeks old and he’s the love of the neighborhood . At about 3 months or so an old Chinese gentleman was also wanting in our apartment but a bit anxious of the dog so I reassured him that he doesn’t hurt a fly and he came in. Boomie immediately started growling and barking that scared the you know what out of the old man. I wondered what was up but associated to Boomie having sensed the mans fear. A few months later it happened with the mans daughter, a beautiful woman that wasn’t scared of Boomie and just came in. The same thing again so she just stayed by the wall. This concerned me enough to call the vet. The big lug loves everyone and just wants a pat on the head or a cuddle even from total strangers so I didn’t understand this behavior at all. I phoned the vet and outside of the usual answers, smelling fear, strangers etc. she also told me something that never occurred to me. We all know that dogs have amazing sense of smell and smell things we can’t even begin to. Some societies use certain spices in everything they cook. They use it so much that it starts to come out of their pores. I know this is true since my ex drinks soooo much coffee that he smells like it. It comes out of his pores and worse when he perspired. If I could smell that, imagine what it must be for a dog. All those smells we take for granted. Shampoo, deodorant , perfume, washing detergent, dryer sheets, etc, etc, etc. the vet suggested that the Chinese people maybe cooked with a certain spice that Boomie just hated. Boomie wasn’t the only dog with this man because one night a basset hound wanted to attack him. A lump slow do nothing basset hound. It’s happened a dozen times more in the last 4 years and also has happened to other people who are also no threat. The father of kids Boomie is playing with. Growling and wanting nothing to do with him. When this happens, not often, I take him over to the person and quietly introduce them. I tell Boomie it’s fine and the person holds out his hand to sniff and let them meet that way. Boomie accepts it but mostly because he trusts me. He never really accepts the person but the growling and barking stops. Anytime he acts strongly to one of my doggy owner friends or there own dog suddenly won’t come to them, the first thing I ask is if they have changed anything with an odor, like I mentioned above. I don’t know why it doesn’t work with me changing perfumes everyday and buying different products all the time, but I guess mom will always be mom and no smell can change that. I don’t know if this is your problem but I do know that fear can turn into aggression, so I would really recommend the introduction thing again. Just be sure that no one is excited and all remain calm and make no sudden movements. Have your brother just sit on the dogs level on the floor and take your pup over to him to smell him. If he trusts you or your family, this should work. Good luck!

My dog is the same with my one next door neighbor. Nothing has ever happened between them. He just barks at him all the time…not his wife…just him. The poor man could be mowing his lawn and I have to bring in my dog cause he’s standing at the fence barking at him. It’s really strange. I’ve always heard they have a “sixth sense” about people … maybe he knows something I don’t 🙂

Hi Thaliachase and Monique;

I have been involved with rescue work for many years. I have learned the hard way to always trust that sixth sense that animals have. I am not into New Age stuff etc but I do believe that animals can truly sense the true substance of humans.

You might not see them do anything cruel to the animal but just be wary …yes even with family. There was one case where the boyfriend was abusing the lovely English sheepdog puppy whilst his girlfriend was out. The girlfriend got an autopsy done as she could not understand why he was found frothing and then died. They found plastic bags in the dogs mouth and discovered that the boyfriend forced the dog to eat plastic bags. On further investigation-bruised muscles and fractures were found-all hidden by thick fur.

I could go on and on…even my own partner was caught out kicking my dog when he thought I was not around.

I believe animals KNOW when a human can be trusted or not…better than the human himself. Sadly, men in particular traumatise animals.

I always tell my daughter to NEVER EVER even consider going out with a guy or marrying a guy if he does not like animals OR if her dog/our dogs don’t like them.

Hiding in a crate and being so totally out of character is something to be very wary of. Please do not leave the dog with him.

At times we tell our dogs to go against their senses and it is our mistake….many Bomb sniffer dogs and troops have been killed/maimed by this.

I wish humans would just trust dog’s sixth sense…it would save many lives.

But it is your decision…this is just my experience on the matter…

The dog below is Finn saved from deathrow..an absolutely gorgeous dog…

However I must add, that once dogs are scared of men..they are always wary of men after that. So perhaps your puppy was abused by a male before he ended up at the shelter…one of mine was like that and he learned to trust my brother and dad but if they ever wear heavy shoes or if I wear my boots – right away you see the fear. So sad to see this in their sweet eyes.

I’m afraid I must agree with “Hiranya”. Dogs (and cats, too) have a sixth sense that we humans have lost. If your dog is scared enough to go into his crate and stay there, then something is not right. I don’t know your brother, but I trust your dog’s instincts. I had a friend whose cat kept attacking her son for no reason that she could understand. Her son finally admitted he was using drugs, and my friend realized that the cat could either sense or smell the drugs on him. Please take heed of what Hiranya said about her experiences. Your dog is trying to tell you something.