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If you’ve ever wondered what it is that attracts a dog to an owner, or what might cause a dog to take a dislike to someone, it’s easy to start wondering whether they can sense evil, or evil people, as a result.
It’s often said that dogs can sense evil – but is this true?
As humans, we have all sorts of indicators that we can use in order to work out whether we can trust someone and their intentions.
These can include physical factors, such as their body language, facial expressions, any violence, such as physical aggression or their tone of voice, but also mental factors.
For example, we may judge someone’s intentions based on whether or not they kept their word if they are the sort of person to lie a lot or even other people’s experiences with that person.
Sometimes, it feels instinctual to dislike or distrust someone.
When we haven’t got other people’s experiences to go off, and the physical factors are hard to decipher, it’s possible to have a gut feeling about someone – something that innately makes you distrust them.
It’s all well and good for a human to use these things in order to navigate the world, but how do dogs do it? Do they have a special sense for it?
So, can dogs sense evil? We’ll get into it below.
Physical Factors
Dogs, like humans, are able to learn a lot about a person simply based on the way that they present themselves, physically, as well as other qualities like their voice.
If a human is prone to pestering a dog or annoying it in a way that it doesn’t like, maybe petting them in a spot that causes them pain (or too roughly), it would be easy for that dog to decide that off of these experiences, it doesn’t like that person.
The same goes for physical abuse and things like shouting.
Sometimes, the smell of a person may be enough for a dog to dislike a person – this could be due to a number of factors, such as whether that person owns any other pets, or have come into contact with any animals, as the dog may find this smell threatening.
Dogs have incredibly strong senses of smell, meaning that they can smell all sorts of things that we can’t – to the point that they are often used in police investigations in order to gather evidence, due to their powerful noses.
Maybe they’ve been around an item that smells strong or offensive. Sometimes, your dog may just not like the smell of someone, and avoid them as a result – hey, we all have opinions!
If you’ve noticed that your dog has an intense reaction to someone, such as barking at them in an unfriendly manner, cowering, growling, or a general refusal to go near that person, it’s worth monitoring to see whether any of the above may have put them off.
It may be something like a smell, that is pretty harmless – or it might be something more serious that causes your dog distress, which would require further action.
Can Dogs Sense Evil?
If you’ve been paying attention to how your dog interacts with people, and you can’t work out any reason as to why your dog may dislike them based on the information above – then maybe, just maybe, they can sense evil!
If that person hasn’t done anything specific to your dog, and they don’t come across as immediately offensive, there might be a chance that your dog is still picking up on something that you aren’t.
Do a little further investigation – it might be that they have a history of being a bad person, or that they have bad intentions towards you.
Dogs can sense things like emotions, which humans might not be able to pick up on quite as well – if someone is angry, but hiding it well, there’s a chance that your dog is picking up on it anyway, and that it is reacting to this anger with either fear or aggression.
If your dog seems unusually protective of you, pay attention.
They can also pick up on micro details of body language that we may not – dogs rely on these micromovements to communicate with each other – this is how they can tell the difference between fighting and play.
Your dog could be picking up on small parts of body language that you aren’t – because dogs can’t understand language quite as well as we can, they can avoid manipulation by people that put on an act, meaning that they are extra good at picking up on these small actions.
If your dog is usually quite friendly, but strangely seems to distrust someone you know, there is a chance that your dog is sensing that they aren’t a good person.
Can Dogs Sense Spirits?
Many people have said that their dog can sense when there is a spirit around. This also feeds into the topic of good and evil, because if you believe in spirits, you may also be invested in whether they are good or evil.
Many believe that dogs that randomly start barking or acting weirdly at empty spaces randomly, without any apparent cause to be doing so, are potentially sensing a spirit.
If they are acting nice or curious towards this random area, this might suggest that they are sensing or interacting with a good, or nice spirit.
If they start behaving towards this space with aggression, however, for example, by barking, growling, or baring their teeth, they may be sensing or interacting with a bad spirit.
The same energy that they are picking up on here, may be what they use to sense whether each person is good or evil.
How Can I Tell?
If you know that someone has a history of not being a very nice person, pay attention to how your dog reacts around them.
Obviously, if the person is loud and annoying, or physically aggressive, it will be easy for your dog to tell that they aren’t very nice and react accordingly.
If your dog starts cowering, growling, running away and hiding, barking, or acting aggressively, with the person in question acting nice and normal, there’s a pretty fair chance that they are picking up on the fact that this is not a good person.
If, on the other hand, your dog really likes this person despite what you know about them, this might suggest that your dog can’t sense evil. It could be that this person doesn’t have bad intentions towards you, or that ‘evil’ is down to a difference in both you and your dog’s opinion.
Maybe, your dog can sense good, as well as evil. If they seem to enjoy someone’s company, it could be that they are actually a good person, worth giving a chance.
It could just be that this special talent has missed them out completely though, so don’t base everything on that alone.
It Might Not Be Something Evil
If your dog starts acting aggressively, or out of character, it might not be that they are sensing someone or something evil, but that they are actually poorly or in pain.
Dogs that are sick may seem more withdrawn than usual and can act lethargic. Dogs that are in pain may act aggressively when whatever is causing them pain is knocked, or seemingly out of the blue if it’s something more internal.
Signs Your Dog Is In Pain Or Sick
Signs of dogs that are in sick or in pain include:
- Growling or yelping
- Withdrawn or aggressive behavior
- Grooming more than usual
- Trouble moving around – stiff, or unable to walk or get up easily, for example
- Trembling
- Reluctance to take part in usual activities
- Eating or drinking less or differently to usual
- Sleeping more or less
- Lethargy
- Vocalizing more than usual
These are just some of the signs that your pet might be in pain or unwell.
If your dog ever acts unusually or exhibits some of the symptoms above, you should always contact a professional for advice – if you suspect that your dog may be sick or in pain, a veterinarian will be able to help, and diagnose any underlying conditions.
Final Thoughts
Dogs definitely have the ability to work out whether someone is bad or good, based on a number of different factors.
It could definitely be argued that dogs can sense good and evil, and in fact, many believe that they have an apt sense for it.
Dogs have incredibly sensitive senses, meaning that they are more able to pick up on different things that we may not be able to.
Dogs, as a result of this, can use this information in order to work out whether this person is a good person or not.
If you notice that your dog starts acting strangely around someone, it might be worth paying attention.
You never know, they might know something that you don’t!