We’ve all seen movies in which the dog can sense the evil of another character before the humans know anything is going on. The dog barks and growls at the object or person harboring malevolence while their owners go about their daily business as if there isn’t a demon in their midst.
But is there any truth to the trope that dogs can sense evil? While there may be anecdotal evidence that supports this belief, it’s essential to look at the topic with a focus on the science. There is evidence to suggest that dogs can gauge a person’s goodness, but whether they can sense evil is still up for debate. Read on to learn more.
Can Dogs Sense Evil?
There is no cut-and-dry answer to whether dogs can sense evil, as “evil” is a very complex concept. The dictionary definition of evil is profoundly immoral and wicked and these are behaviors that can be seen in the animal world.1 We also know that dogs have incredible sensory abilities and a fantastic understanding and awareness of human emotions. These skills can affect how dogs react to people or situations they may consider harmful, negative, or threatening.
How Can Dogs Sense Energy?
Dogs have a keen set of senses that allow them to detect even the most subtle changes in their environment and their humans.2 Thanks to their heightened ability to see, smell, feel, and hear, they can detect emotions, physiological changes, illnesses, and environmental events.
A physiological response occurs in our bodies when we feel certain emotions, such as sadness, anxiety, or anger. We talk, move, smell, and hold ourselves differently, and our dogs can easily pick up on these signals.
Consider how you walk in the door after having a fantastic day at work. You’re smiling, maybe even a bit giddy, and you greet your dog with open arms. They can sense your happiness, lean in for a pet, and perhaps even grab their favorite toy for a play session. If you have an awful day, you’ll walk in the door with a different energy that your pup will be able to sense right away.
What Does the Science Say?
As we alluded to in our introduction, some scientific evidence suggests dogs have more social cognition than originally thought.
One study found that dogs can tell when humans experience psychological stress. Not only can they sense our stress levels, but another study showed that long-term stress synchronization can occur, causing dogs to mirror the stress levels of their humans.
A 2016 study found that dogs know when humans are being rude to other humans, and the information they’ve gathered about how we interact with one another can influence how they interact with us.
In the study, researchers asked dog owners to pretend to try and then fail to open a container while their dogs watched. Every time, one researcher stood by passively, while another either helped the owner open their container or flat out refused to help. After they were finished acting out the scenario, both researchers offered the dog a treat.
In the scenarios where one of the researchers helped their owner open the container while the other stood by, dogs were equally as likely to take a treat from either researcher.
However, in the second scenario, when one of the researchers refused to help open the container, the dogs were much more likely to ignore their treat offer and opt to go to the passive researcher instead.
Researchers concluded that dogs didn’t care for or trust the person who refused to help, suggesting that pups can judge a human by their not-so-nice behavior and won’t be afraid to reject them.
Final Thoughts
Dogs may not be able to sense “evil,” in a supernatural sense per se, but their heightened physiological and anatomical senses allow them to pick up on emotions in humans. They then may be able to detect human scents that tell them if someone is feeling malicious, as evidenced by changes in their body chemistry. Dogs can also judge whether someone is a nice or not-so-nice person, but maybe not immediately off the bat like the movie trope would have us think.
Featured Image Credit: el-ka, Shutterstock