The short answer is yes, dogs can smell fear, but that age-old fallacy that they will try to dominate you if they smell fear is inaccurate. Dogs have an incredible sense of smell. All emotions smell differently to dogs. Unfortunately, we mere humans can’t smell those differences. But dogs most certainly can.
Dogs and Anxiety Detection
One of the many reasons that some dogs will respond differently to a person who is afraid of dogs is that not only do they smell fear, but the act of fear itself is a form of anxiety. A fearful human throwing out all sorts of cortisol and adrenaline smells can cause a fearful dog to initiate stress-related behaviors, including an elevated heart rate. Dogs can even have panic attacks. The presence of the dog’s human can help the fearful dog to feel safer, but this depends on the relationship between the dog and their human and whether that human is what the dog considers a safe space.
Another context where a dog will smell fear is if the owner suddenly becomes fearful or anxious about something. Dogs can pick up on their owner’s energy and become fearful/anxious because of that. Note: The opposite can happen as well, as in psychiatric-assistance dogs trained to calm down humans who have panic attacks. However, these dogs are specially chosen for their calm nature and ability to nurture rather than adapt the owner’s fear onto themselves.
Can Dogs Smell Stress Hormones?
There are studies done with dogs and emotion smells. Basically, the dogs in the study were exposed to a fear odor, a happy odor, and a neutral odor. They looked to their owner for reassurance when smelling the fearful odor. The dogs in this study chose to interact more with the human stranger involved in the experiments (not related to the odor donor) when they were in the presence of the happy odor. They chose to stay with their owner rather than interact with the stranger when exposed to the fearful odor.
Dogs and Body Language
Dogs also read human body language. Anxious individuals have a different visual presence than a relaxed individual. That alone causes an issue with some dogs. Add olfactory issues and that can create problems.
Someone who is afraid of dogs will often stare at the dog because they don’t want to miss an “attack” coming. However understandable this may be, it increases the risk of such. Eye contact with an anxious/fearful dog is a trigger. Fearful humans also tend to have stiff body language. What kind of body language does an aggressive dog display shortly before a bite? You got it! Stiff body language. In essence, a fearful individual in the presence of a fearful dog is a bad match overall.
Dog Behavior and Fear
How an individual dog acts when faced with a fearful situation matters greatly. If the dog prefers flight to fight, they will simply keep their distance. But if you combine a fearful human with a fearful but proactively defensive dog who prefers fight over flight, you can have a serious problem.
In conclusion, yes, they certainly can smell fear. But how they respond to the scent of human fear will depend greatly on the individual dog as well as the context of the scenario.
