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Strange behavior for honey

840 views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  3 goldens 
#1 ·
honey did the strangest thing yesterday, not at all like herself. A little background for any that does not know. We adopted honey dec. 7, 2002 and she was right a year old. We do not know what her first year was like, but she was house broken, knew sit, down, etc loved kids and greeted everyone with gusto. Even tho she was heartworm positive, we feel she had gotten lots of attention and never been mistreated in any way---except for lack of heartworm protection.

Well, yesterday the freezer delivery man came and as always honey was at the door with me to greet whoever had "come to see her". I had her get back and opedn the door andhad the young man--[robably in 30's--come in. As he came in, honey barked at him and tore down the hall to the bedroom, tail between her legs. She then came back down the hall on her belly up to me. The guy squatted down and held out the back of his hand to her, she sniffed, jumped up, barked and tore back down the hall with her tail between her legs.

Never in the 6 years we have had her has she acted like this. He was a perfecty normal looking guy, complete with baseball cap--wich 90% of al guys that come into this house are wearing. He was carrying a clip board. And he did say she might smell his blue heeler. He talked to her in a normal voice, telling her how pretty she was. I just can't figure it out. Anyone here have any idea?
 
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#4 ·
just a thought, was he from an ethnic group and/or race she is not normally exposed to?
 
#7 ·
I'm glad you asked that because it makes me think dogs must notice that. My husband and I are involved professionally and personally in college athletics. The first time we took Bogey with us to a game, he was going crazy every time a black man would walk by. I am mortified and making excuses about why he was barking. I still can't believe he did that.

Now we live in an area that has a large Indian population, and when he sees Indian families when we are out for walks he barks like crazy - and he NEVER barks. It makes me feel awful.
 
#5 ·
She could have picked up on something you didn't or it could be from before you got her. I had a rescue who was scared of dark haired women when I got him - even me! I don't know what had happened, but at first I thought I'd have to rehome him. Thankfully he learned to love me, but was always a little leery of women who looked like me. You just never know what baggage a rescue is carrying and even though it had been a long time for Honey (hooray!) she might be remembering something from her past.
 
#6 ·
No, he was not black, Mexica, nor oriental. He was about the same siz as my husband, and as I said, wearing a baseball hat as does most every guy that comes into this house. She is around my blond brother, my drk headed brother with a beard, my bald brother. She has never reacted to anyone like this. The only thing different about him was he was carrying that clipboard. He knew tosquat down, to hold out the back of his hand, how to talk to her in a kind of highish, soothing voice.

As he was helping me empty the old freezer--he got her about 9:30 an wa not supse to be here til around 2:00 so I had not emptyed the freezer yet, hoping that by not oening th door I would be able to save sme stuff-- he told me about his blue heeler, about giving him Heartgard heartworm pills, how he thinks dogs are bing over vaccinated, etc. I told him about Hunter, etc. He seemed to understand a lot about dogs, so it is a mystery to me ..unless it had something to do with that clipboard. Bu she has seen me with clip board a lot i the past when i used one to work my crossword puzzle on while watching TV (which of cours I can't do now because of my vision.) Total mystery to me.
 
#9 ·
it could be anything, even something that she sees every day on others

it could also be his body scent /after shave lotion /cologne etc perhaps she remembered a similar smell from her life before you

Ruby goes absolutely mad if my brother comes towards her wearing a baseball cap,
she barks like mad and tries to run away, if he takes it off she is fine with him
my hubby wears a baseball cap when out and about and I wear one sometimes when we go out if its cold, she sees others about with caps on but doesnt bother so we cant figure it out
we have thought perhaps she cant see his eyes when he has his cap on as we wear glasses and my brother doesnt but apart from that we are lost
 
#10 ·
I agree that she sensed something. I would have to think it's 'scent' because I think a dog gets the most feedback from what they smell.

It might be that HIS dog is a dog she would feel threatened by and she could smell the feramones and hormones.

It may have been the clipboard. Even though she's seen you with one, there may have been a man with something in her past.

We had a stray beagle that we took in one January years ago. She was terrified of my husband and would slink around the edges of the room looking to escape if he walked in. Gradually, over the winter she got used to him and trusted him enough to stay in the room (still a long way from letting him pet her). When spring came, I happened to be in the garage with him and she was hanging around....UNTIL he picked up a shovel. She went right back into survival mode.

So we knew her trauma was a man, probably with a shovel or broom or board.

She eventually became loving towards hubby and let him pet her as much as anyone. But she always kept her distance if he had a shovel in his hand. She never got over that.
 
#12 ·
Sandra, wouldn't you like to just crawl inside their heads sometimes, to see what they're thinking about? Like when Kirby was too afraid to go down into the basement, after happily going down there previously. Ended up, it was the broom that I keep in the stairway, behind the railing. It fell down the steps once when he was down there and it must have scared him so bad, he didn't want to go past it! But, it took us awhile to figure it out. He's fine now, after about 6 months of no broom falling, he feels it's safe once again.
 
#13 ·
i reckon i grew up in the wrong era in the wrong place. I grew where folks did not lock doors, strangers were welcomed in, etc. I never thought about distrusting a guy delivering my frezer or any other appliance, but i have reached the point where folks knocking on my door to try to sell me things are not asked inside-as they were when i grew up.
 
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