alex, you are clearly looking for an argument and you are clearly in the minority. it seems most everyone else is aware of some degree of intuition in dogs.....heck the same can be said for other animals as well, but i'm not going to get off topic by bringing up a bunch of stories about animal intuition. we've all heard them and seen examples on t.v. if you choose not to believe that animals may have extra senses, that is your prerogative, but insulting beliefs contrary to your own is not justified in this case.

I think my view on doggy intuition is different from yours, and I am sorry that you find that insulting. I am not sorry to have the different viewpoint, even if it puts me in the minority (quelle horror!).
The purpose of the board is to discuss different opinions and theories. But out of respect for the sensitive majority I have insulted, I will say only one more thing on this subject and then leave it alone.
If you trust the judgement of your dog in choosing associates you will soon find that all your friends smell like poop.

Alex,
That last line was funny as he**. I think you get the point I was trying to make. Well-bred dogs, whether they have formal aggression training or not, seem to have elevated instincts due to their clean lineage. To some, their actions may seem intuitve or supernatural...a 6th sense if you wish. I didnt mean to muddy the waters buy separating those dogs with, or without protection training as to why they do the things they do. My main point was that all three of my dogs have shown this type of behavour but only one is bite trained. All three though had a well branched family tree. Smells like poop.....man that was funny!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

While I can't absolutely say dogs don't have an extra intuitive feeling, sometimes, when they are older, and have been around, and know 'normal' and can tell the difference................

I have to say I am kind of will Alex on the fact that MOST dogs can't tell on their own that it's a mass murderer coming up the walk and not the new mailman. I absolutely believe they key on OUR behaviors, adreniline rushes, phermones, jerking on the leash, and tone of voice. So if I knew that some wacko has been stalking me, and is suddenly at the front door, I would not be surprised if my dogs acted differently.

That said, most people I know that rely on their dogs instinct alone, are not working from a good basis. Especially because many of them get a big dog in the first place for the 'protection' with no intention of doing any protection type training. And they start thinking that from the very beginning when the puppy freaks out when someone (or gasp, a dog) is walking across the street it's AT THE MAD RAPIST! Or cause the paperboy stepped on the yard to get the paper out of the shrubs (MY DOG IS GUARDING IT'S TERRITORY). Or cause my mother in law (brace yourself) KNOCKED ON THE DOOR!!!!!!

I'm not talking about a few informative 'hey someone's in the yard' barks, that stop when you tell them to stop. I'm talking the scary, freakout of control barking, that you can't stop. I have seen people badly bitten by dogs like these (he's just protecting me from that 80 yr old lady) and I don't like to hear the 'excuses' why it was ok. I have seen dogs go out of control when they see someone with a hat, or with a cane, or in a wheelchair, or on a bike, or an ATV, or skateboard. And all these dogs, on all these occasions did NOT pick a mass murderer, they just cued on something 'different' about the people. And none of the differences meant real danger.

I think we do many of our dogs a dis-service by not properly socializing them because 'I don't want them to get alone well in public because then they won't protect me'. And many of us end up with huge dogs that are unreliable, have to be locked in another room when people come over, and never get to go anywhere in public because they can't be trusted. But they sure can 'protect' my home from EVERYONE.

BTW, I also wont let my dogs pick my friends. One of my good friends is a fellow dog handler who, for some reason was terrified of my working dog, Ciro. That dog would nip, bite and harrass him every chance he got, though nothing too serious. I guess he was afraid of Ciro and the dog knew it. As an aside...most bad guys are afraid of big dogs too, so its a coin toss on who to trust. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

it is unbelievable to me how these conversations manage to turn rank when they did not start out that way. don was telling about an incident that happened involving his dogs, i made a comment in a complementary fashion, howard added to that. the problems always seem to arise when someone assumes or implies that the other(s) are saying something completely different than what was actually said or meant.
1. did anybody say they believed dogs to be psychic? if they did, i missed it. intuitive is not the same as psychic.
2. in view of the "purpose of this board" for discussion, it is your "prerogative" to have a differing opinion. did anyone say you should be sorry for thinking differently or that you were not entitled to a different opinion? i just don't understand why you felt it necessary to be insulting of other's views. why the jab at me about being a 10 year old?
3. did anyone say they relied on their dogs to pick their friends? once again, if they did, i missed it. i know i sure didn't, nor did i imply that, yet you had to slip in another jab about my friends smelling like poop. that comment probably would have been funny if i hadn't already been disgusted about the way discussions seem to turn rank. too many times someone make a simple comment, like i did, and someone else makes a big issue of it, twisting things around to make it sound like the message was entirely different. i guess i'm just getting sick of that happening and that's why i said "whatever. :rolleyes: "

Intuition- the state of being aware of, or knowing something without having to discover or perceive it, or the ability to do this.

Intuition isn't the way I'd describe the ability of some dogs to read a situation and a person's ill intentions. They must perceive it.

Its the ability to read body language coupled with a hightened instinctual response that is present in some dogs. Scent, eye movement, focus, body positioning, body movement, and all the other little biological things that our bodies do to betray our intentions and emotions.

There are entire fields of study geared to reading this body language with uses ranging from communicating with special needs children to interrogation/questioning techniques for law enforcement.


Dogs are better at it that people to begin with, thats how they themselves communicate. Once a dog learns how our bodies communicate. . .and if they have the sharp instincts. . .they will go apeshat when encountering strange situations and people.

They not only read the intentions of the weirdos, but they read our own feelings about them. I think our reactions are more important to them than the weirdos actions. At least till they get some experience and learn on their own what to look out for.

 Quote:

Its the ability to read body language coupled with a hightened instinctual response that is present in some dogs. Scent, eye movement, focus, body positioning, body movement, and all the other little biological things that our bodies do to betray our intentions and emotions.

Excellent explanation. I've heard intuition described in almost the exact same terms except that it's used when someone can't exactly describe why they feel a certain way in a given situation or about a specific person. They have had this "instinctual response" without understanding it. It's done in your sub-conscience. It's also called that "gut feeling". Nothing psychic or supernatural but I still find it fascinating.

What They Said. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well, I was walking my 2 terriers this morning on one of our normal walking tracks (off leash) - and my female kept sitting, not moving & looking pretty uncomfortable.

I kept going back to prompt her to walk with me & ended up having to literally drag her along on her leash.

We got around the bend in the track & in the distance I could see a rather large mastiff type dog standing on the track glaring at us - no owner or other people around anywhere.

I stood there for a while, deciding whether to turn around or not & my female gives me the "I told you so" look.

Yep!, we turned around slowly & walked back from whence we came (No need to harass a strange large dog, unleashed & on it's own).

She knew well before I did that something was not right.