It's no secret that dogs have good instincts.
Scientists have now discovered that the fur noses can even smell bad intentions.
Dogs are undoubtedly special animals with very individual character traits.
They can be brave and clever, cuddly and loving, protective and supportive.
They are not called man's best friend for nothing.
If you treat your dog well, you have a loyal companion for the rest of your life.
Centuries of domestication have also taught quadrupeds to read human behavior and respond to emotions, an ability that sets them apart from most other pets.
Scientists also want to have discovered that dogs can even sense bad people.
Various studies report experiments in which the animals reacted skeptically to certain people who had previously behaved negatively towards them or their owners.
So if you doubt the good intentions of your counterpart, you should probably get a dog's opinion as soon as possible.
Dogs recognize bad people - study confirms
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Dogs observe people very closely.
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© Yay Images/Imago
Dogs are much more than just guards or hunting assistants these days.
After centuries of breeding and domestication, the four-legged friends are part of the family for most dog owners: They are cared for and spoiled, but have to abide by the rules of the community just like all other family members.
It is no coincidence that the dog has become the most popular pet in the world.
Similar to their ancestors, the wolves, dogs have a strong social behavior.
They are pack animals and only feel comfortable when they can trust the other members of their group.
The fact that dogs are able to sense human emotions has been proven several times by scientific studies in the past.
And probably almost every dog owner has had the experience that his fur nose immediately notices when something is wrong or there is suddenly a fuss.
Some research even shows that dog breeds like dachshunds and doberman pinschers can tell the difference between happy and angry facial expressions and respond differently to people accordingly.
Further experiments are also said to have shown that dogs notice when people have bad intentions.
Dogs recognize bad people - skeptical behavior when deceived
In Japan, a team of researchers conducted an experiment involving 34 dogs.
The results were amazing.
Food containers were placed in front of the animals, but only some contained treats.
In the first round the test leader pointed to a container with food, but in the second round he pointed to an empty container.
When he again pointed the dogs out to a container with treats in the third round, the majority of the four-legged friends were skeptical and did not react: their trust in the test leader was violated by the previous deception.
A recent study also seems to show that dogs can even tell when a person is not behaving properly towards their master.
In one experiment, the animal companions observed an interaction between their owner and an unknown person.
In it, the dog owners asked for help opening a container, with the response of the other person varying: some helped immediately, others ignored the request and still others actively refused.
Afterwards, the test subjects offered the participating dogs a reward.
In the first two cases, they accepted the treats, but the fur noses consistently refused the food of the person who refused to support their owner.
Dog language: Does my animal like me?
This is how dogs show their love
Dog language: Does my animal like me?
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Dogs recognize bad people - sense of bad intentions
The experiments described seem to prove that dogs can recognize when someone has actively duped them or is being mean to their owner.
What is particularly interesting about the results is that the animals initially showed trust again when they met a new person.
Individual bad behavior is therefore associated with the corresponding person - every new visitor is given the chance to do better.
Recent testing also suggests that when it comes to trust issues, dogs don't just evaluate their own interactions with humans.
Interpersonal behavior also seems to play a role in gaining a dog's trust.
The four-legged friends watch closely whether others are friendly or mean to their caregivers and react accordingly openly or skeptically.
Dogs may sometimes see even more than humans do, so if a dog is actively avoiding a particular person, you might want to trust their intuition.
Rubric list image: © Yay Images/Imago
