Last evening I was walking Molly down the High Street when "N" came into view. "N" is a mentally handicapped man, who,I am guessing is in his early 60's, he has lived in the town with his also, mentally handicapped sister but differently handicapped for years. We got about 15 yards away when Molly threw a fit. She was prancing around on the end of her lead. She didn't look either aggressive or frightened. I could see that she was frightening "N", the High Street was busy and I didn't think it would be easy to cross to the other pavement. So I about turned. I am not in the business of frightening little old men. The only sensible place to go was the churchyard, which is how I found myself wandering around the tombstones in the gloaming. Then, just as we passed under the clock tower the chimes went off. My God they were loud. Nothing from Molly. Then I encounter another unusual person, a rather dishevelled elderly man complete with long, grey hair, unshaven and caring white plastic carrier bags. Again, no reaction from Molly. "N" is very scowley, though to the best of my knowledge he has never done anyone any harm, rather a bewildered, lost character. So why did Molly react? I know there are dogs who can sense an impending epileptic fit. Is that because they are aware of the fine nuances of their owners behaviour or is it possible that there is an electrical imbalance to brainwave patterns that the dog picks up on.
Possibly. "N" was toddling along with an unusual gait, but then we all have different gaits. She merrily ignoes wheelchairs, skateboards, walking sticks, toddlers etc. I, personally, belive that some people put out an 'electrical field'. We have all met people we are wary of or suddenly turned round for no reason to find somebody behind us. I think, as humans, we have developed away from our ability to sense things. Dogs and to some extent young children are still in touch with their abilities. My first dog, Alice, was a Collie x, everyboy's friend (must have had Lab in there). One day a lad came calling on my teenage daughter. Alice sat in front of him, giving him the evil eye, very low growl. The message was clear. "I don't like you", Turns out he was messing about with drugs. Move on a few years and he has cleaned up his act and she's pals with him again. There were no discernible clues, but she knew something was wrong.
I think it's because dogs are so adept at reading our body language so they pick up even very small signals which we mere humans miss. They have spent thousands of years learning to understand us where as we are only recently beginning to read and understand their body language. I would tend to go with Juno's instincts though if she growled at someone
I do believe that dogs do have more awareness than we give them credit for Sam rarely barks , so that when he does , I take notice as it usually means that something or someone is upsetting him . He is a very placid dog ,usually meeting and greeting with a polite demeanour , but recently , he became visibly and verbally upset when we encountered a man on his own in the forest , behaving in a bizarre manner, chopping low branches from the trees . I know the local Forestry Commission man in our area so gave him a call, he was in the area and went to investigate . He called me back later to say that the man had learning difficulties and his family were looking for him , I am convinced that Sam knew that something was amiss .
You answered my question by the time I read down. N's gait. I find dogs are extra observant of how someone moves. I have also read many times of, and personally experienced, the smell of fear. It's a very disturbing smell and perhaps N was exuding that. Some people think dogs can predict epilepsy or low blood sugar or cancer because the chemical changes in the person's body affects their body odour. All the other theories seem like good options too, I wonder if/when we will ever know how their little furry heads work.
