Editor’s Note: Today marks the debut of “Jack Hagerman Unleashed,” Southern California News Group’s new pet column.
After years working in animal shelters, I’ve come across more than my fair share of dogs who have an unexplained fear of men.
Even my own dog, Madeline, had an intense fear of men (ironic given that she lived for almost 20 years in a household with two men). She was always so much more at ease with women.
For the last several months, I office-fostered a dog who goes by Champ. Office-fostering is just what it sounds like. Folks like me, who work in animal shelters, will often keep shelter animals in their offices during the day to give them a break from being in a kennel.
Champ, one of our longest residents, is a giant bruiser of a dog with a head twice the size of mine. Despite his intimidating size, he has the personality of a lazy pussy cat with a cannabis habit.
He basically just lies there smiling up at me while I work, slapping me with his wagging tail, and being very protective of his favorite stuffed animal toy.
When a man comes into my office though, his demeanor completely changes. He’d get very agitated — barking and growling as if someone had just insulted his stuffed animal, or told him he couldn’t get Beyoncé tickets.
Yet, he loves all the women he encounters — and me, of course. He loves me.
Weird right? I got to thinking, Why do I always seem to be an exception when it comes to dogs who fear men? I look, smell, and sound (sort of) like a man. So what is it about me that gives me a pass?
As I often do when random questions pop into my head, I fell down a research rabbit hole.
First, I wanted to understand why gender (or the representation of gender) seems to inform a dog’s level of comfort with humans. One of the primary theories about why dogs are afraid of men is lack of socialization.
During those first 12 formative weeks of age, puppies should be exposed to many different people, dogs and animals during what is called the “critical period of socialization.”
An inadequate level of exposure to a wide variety of men during this time may negatively affect the puppy’s social upbringing leading to a lack of social attachment towards men. This lack of pleasant experiences with men during puppy-hood, could, as a consequence, trigger fearful responses.
True of many species, male and female specimens may exhibit clear distinctions between each other, beyond the obvious difference of their reproductive organs. This is called sexual dimorphism.
In humans, the differences are quite distinct, so much that a man can be easily distinguished from a woman even from a distance in most cases.
Since dogs don’t necessarily understand our language, they tend to understand us through their observations of our bodies and our body language. Dogs, as the keen observers they are, are readily able to take note of these differences.
Following are secondary sexual traits that may cause fearful responses in dogs.
The manly gait
A study published in Current Biology revealed that when women (or people who present as women) walk, their swaying hips and protruding elbows made them appear as if they were moving away, while the masculine gait was perceived as coming nearer.
Until I read this, that idea never really occurred to me. The appearance of someone moving away is obviously not a threat to a dog. But when a person’s movements seem to indicate they are coming near, a fearful dog instinctively moves into fight or flight mode.
Since I tend to walk with more of a flamboyant swish, this might explain why most dogs aren’t threatened with my approach.
Facial hair
I came across one study where pictures of bearded men and clean shaven men making aggressive faces were compared — and the bearded photos were perceived as more intimidating.
Researchers ponder that this may be because beards are perceived as a sign of active testosterone in the body which may signal status and aggressiveness.
It could be argued that dogs are more sensitive to these types of visuals and will modify their behavior accordingly.
I have a full beard, so I’m clearly an outlier on this one.
What’s that smell?
One study has shown that humans extract (at a subconscious level) gender information from chemosensory cues associated with gender. So basically, males and females smell different.
Since dogs’ sense of taste is not as sophisticated, their sense of smell is heightened exponentially. So it isn’t surprising that dogs have an ability to consciously detect gender just through scent — thus making them react accordingly.
Don’t take that tone with me!
An interesting study by the University of Sussex has shown that dogs can spontaneously categorize human gender by hearing voice alone. Men in general have a deeper voice which some dogs may find intimidating.
So it’s possible that some dogs believe deep or booming male voices resemble a bark or growl and that’s why they may react by growling or barking upon hearing them.
I wouldn’t characterize my voice as deep by any means — so that explains a lot.
Size matters
When it comes to size, men may likely appear more intimidating to dogs compared to women. Men are generally taller and have more muscle mass than women, even though this is not a general rule — particularly in the age of gender non-conforming culture.
Men also are known for having broader shoulders and chest, larger feet and hands and a larger skull and bone structure. Dogs fearful of men may notice these differences.
On the whole, it appears that dogs are keenly aware of the differences between masculine and feminine presenting people. But that doesn’t mean gender is the only pillar they are judging us by.
What that tells me is that first impressions seem to mean a lot to dogs, but that certainly doesn’t mean they can’t warm up to a human regardless of their gender. It helps if you make your voice go really high when you say hello!
About Jack Hagerman: As a child, Jack Hagerman founded and operated his own make-shift animal rescue — taking in stray cats, injured birds, and the occasional bunny. Clearly not learning his lesson as an adult, he co-founded a critically endangered livestock conservancy on his farm in the Midwest, where he cared for and rehabilitated more than 400 animals in 17 different critically endangered livestock species. Think Dr. Doolittle meets Noah’s Ark. When he isn’t working with animals, he’s writing about them — hoping to create a better world for our animal friends, one witty tangent at a time.
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