It is 100% true... animals are incredibly good judges of character! I don't know the exact science of it, but I do know that animals can sense a lot of thing about other people that we can't. They can sense illness, fear, sadness, etc... they know when a person does not have good intentions.

I completely trust my dogs' intuitive judgment when it comes to people. If one of my dogs, or both, lets me know that a guest in my home is not to their liking, I never invite that guest back. Normally, my dogs will position themselves between me and whomever the guest is, and they will remain completely attentive to what that person is doing. They are always at the ready to intervene, should the need arise.

Several years ago, my 18 year old son had several friends come to the house one day... within the group were a few boys I had never met before... they all walked past the living room where I was sitting with my dog, on their way to my son's room... suddenly, my dog's hair stood on end, and she let out a low growl and lunged for one of the boys. I stopped her cold with a command, and she dropped to her belly, inches from the boy... at this point, he was plastered against the wall in fear... I got my dog and led her away, and the boys resumed their trek to my son's room.

I found out later that evening that the boy she had wanted to attack was a... how can I put this nicely... a thief and a druggie who had made several attempts to touch and kiss my daughter without her permission.

Do I trust my dog's judgment of people? Absolutely! 100%! If she, or they (I have 2 personal dogs), tell me something is not right, I listen!

If your cat is content enough to sleep on your friend's chest, you can be fairly certain he's a decent individual.

I am sure that I have posted enough on this forum everyone knows that I think of all animals being sentient beings with free will.
My horse, Ralph is the best judge of people and other animals. When he doesn't like someone he blows snot in their face. If he thinks a dog is bad he hassles it until it leaves. He has been on his earthwalk for 30 years so he has had alot of experiance.
One day while I was working at the feed store a car stopped and the driver threw a very drunk man out of the car. The drunk man walked in the store and started yelling at me accusing me of stealing his bottle and his ammo. I asked him if he had a gun for the ammo he said no, so I didn't call the cops. I got my big dog Maee to stand with me. Maee looked at the man and went up to him and gave him a kiss. The man's whole way of being changed. He said what a nice dog I have and started talking about dogs he had. I was so happy my protection dog is a peacemaker.
Now cats, mine will be all over cat haters. When someone wants to cuddle them they will play hard to get.

I had a cat years ago. that would pick out the cat hate of the bunch, sit about 3 foot from them and stare at them. I had a gal stop at a party that I was having. She was not invited (for good reasons). My cat sat and stared at her until she asked me to make him stop or get rid of him. I told her that this was his house, and that she was the guest. If she didn't like it, then leave. She did! lol!
Yep - they have a insite that we as humans, do not have all the time.

MonaRae

It's not that animals pick out the dog hater or cat hater, or even horse hater, in a group of people... it's that they have the acute sense to know which person in a group has a stained soul... is the only way I can think to put it... and those people don't like to be pointed out for what they are, which tends to make them nervous and appear to hate animals...

They may actually like animals... but it isn't reciprocated.

In my younger days I use to hitch hike alot. I had an Australian shepherd I took with me - smart as a whip. Was leash trained, knew hand signals, knew when to protect and when not to. He would often refuse to get into a car that pulled over to pick us up. I would just have to explain that my dog would not get in. There were times when he would get in, and sat right between me and whoever was driving, he refused to budge. Other tiems, he was fine riding in the back seat.....they know, no doubt in my mind - they know

My husband's cat took to me right away, and I to him. That's how I knew dh was a good person. :) Always gotta trust the cat.

My oldest cat Frankie is very protective of me around men. When my husband isn't home and a man is in the house (neighbor, carpet cleaner, someone who isn't in the house on a regular basis) Frank will stay between us, even take to nipping at their ankles. He loves women though, totally sucks up to them, follows them everywhere to get them to pet him.

My two girls are a bit shyer around strangers, so they usually disappear.

Good thread, I totally believe in animals and their instincts. Their instincts are 100% better than ours. They have no problem running when they feel something isn't right, humans trust too much sometimes, because we don't want to insult someone.

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's because I've been around dogs my entire life... but, I don't have any problems insulting someone I don't trust, and asking them to leave.

I'd rather accidentally insult someone than put my family at risk! Of course, having the dogs around to do the "people judging" for me helps a lot!

It all comes from the dog's acute sense of energy that the person is giving. When I am in an anxious state my dog's are as well. When I am calm- they are calm. It is energy.Gives you a good reason to work on yourself to remain calm as much as possible - that is why pets are good for blood pressure- we feed off of each others energy if only you surrender to Mother Nature and allow her to do her magic.
Julie, Gus, Greta and McKenzie

I agree with jules---animals pick up on the energy of the people they meet----calling it 'the soul' can also be descriptive.

Example: My sister in law has a mastiff female who is quite timid. Her granddaughter is 3 and is in the middle of a terrible divorce custody battle which has affected the girl tremendously. The dog does not like the girl at all---even though she is at the house almost daily and does not tease the dog.

I have a 3 year old granddaughter with the same energy level and the dog lets my GD pet her any time---and my GD only sees the dog once in a while.

Training can have some effect on this phenomenom, however. My guard dog loves my SIL---as long as we are home. He will not let her in the house easily when we are gone and give her the key. She has to wait about 5 minutes---standing quietly, until he allows her access.

I observe both my dog's reaction and the person's reaction to her. I try to allow for people who are scared or not used to dogs but if someone totally ignores her when she just wants a little attention I am not impressed by them at all.