Why Dogs Bark at Some People and Not at Others ?

Everyone knows that a dog can bark at one person instantly and for no apparent reason, while remaining completely calm towards another. This behavior, which at first glance seems like a whim or an accident, actually has clear behavioral and physiological reasons. Let’s find out how dogs see people and why their reactions can be so different.

How a Dog sees a person ?

Dogs see the world around them differently from people. Dogs rely on smells with their noses to obtain information. While humans rely primarily on their vision, dogs “see with their noses“: every smell gives them a wealth of information.

In addition, all animals recognize the smallest nuances of sounds and movements, often invisible to the human eye and ear.

The formation of an attitude towards a stranger is influenced by a combination of many factors: the smell of skin and clothing, facial expressions, gestures, and timbre and intonation of the voice, as well as the dog’s previous experience.

All this allows the animal to form an impression of a person in a matter of seconds and assess whether he is safe or a potential threat.

Animals, not having our level of abstract thinking, evaluate others through the prism of the familiar and the unfamiliar. A person whose appearance or behavior is beyond the norm can cause an anxious reaction in a dog. This is especially true for poorly socialized animals.

What scares a Dog ?

Dogs are often afraid of people with an unusual appearance: wearing glasses, walking with a cane, wearing a hat, having a bushy beard, or wearing very bright clothes.

A strange gait, loud laughter, unstable movements—all this can be perceived as a threat or an “anomaly” that causes barking. Some animals are wary of people in an altered state—for example, drunk people.

Some experts says that dogs are adept at reading human emotions. They read not only facial expressions but also subtle movements of the facial muscles and body position and understand tension that cannot be hidden.

A person may look calm on the outside, but a dog will feel anxiety on the inside. Animals react particularly sharply to fear: for them, it is a signal of potential danger.

If a person is afraid of dogs, this often provokes the opposite reaction: the dog starts barking, as if confirming fear. This is because an anxious person instinctively shows signs of alertness, which the animal may perceive as the beginning of a conflict or a threat to its peace.