Do They Know??

[Aly Cat]

So I was at my friends house for the first time in a long time and since I was there last, his girlfriend had moved in with him. Now, thats not so big of a deal. He knows and is totally supportive of me. His girlfriend found out through conversation and she was perfectly fine with it as well...

Now, for the kicker....their dog. He is a black lab and super awesome...except for the fact that he hates all guys. Women? No problem. He warms right up to them. Normally he is in a big cage in the back yard but because of this wonderful cold weather, they brought him inside. He barked at me at first and was kind of put off by me....but within 10 minutes he was snuggling up to me, playing with me and treating me as if I was a woman. My friend was totally amazed. He was like...this has NEVER happened! It apparently took 2 months for him to get where I was in 10 minutes and his dad still cant go near the dog. My friend was like...it has to be because he senses something inside you that makes him think you are female. That is the only explanation.

Do they know? Can dogs sense that sort of thing? I was in total drab and nothing would have indicated visually of me being female inside. Im amazed and feel awesome about it. It only solidifies what I feel inside to be completely real. You cant fake that sort of thing to a dog....

[PaulaQ]

Yes, this has happened to me before. I was dressed as a woman - I'm never in "boy mode" anymore, but my voice coach's dog hates men and loves women, and he initially snarled at me, then sniffed me again, and became my buddy.

[Caden Lane]

My GFs former roommate has a dog that despises men due to prior abuse. But the dog comes to me and responds positively to me every time.

[MissJoanne]

Interesting that this comes up. Lady across the road from us when I was a child had a little cat who wouldn't go near men, including her five sons. Yet, any time I was over there, she would be on my lap in seconds. Maybe she sensed something :-)

[Aly Cat]

Yeah, I really do think animals can sense whats inside. Even if the outward appearance is normal to everyone else

[Lorileah]

animals sense calm and relaxation. They sense body language.

[VictoriaT.]

I totally believe that our pets can sense things we can't. For instance, my brothers dog is only friendly with family, Ollie had never met my daughter but when she was one and a half we went to visit and Ollie warmed up to her instantly. I was so surprised, I have seen this dog tear strangers apart. Ollie instinctively new she was family.

[DorothyElizabeth]

I truly believe dogs and cats, like very young children have a sixth sense about many things. Little kids seem to have a BS detector that can spot someone who isn't who or what he or she claims to be - they seem to sense when someone is lying to them, for example. And I believe dogs and cats can tell, too. They nearly always warm up to me very quickly. I never attributed it to my feminine side; I always thought they just knew instinctively that I liked animals, and would never harm them. But now I begin to wonder - This is an interesting thread, and give me cause to stop and ponder ...

[pretty boy]

That's really interesting about animals being able to tell.

[Katey888]

Dogs have been found to detect physiological changes in people who have developed cancer - I don't think it's beyond possibility that they have a way to detect subtle differences between individuals of any gender - pheromones, perhaps? Something deeper.... There is much we do not know about animals and ourselves....

Nice for you Eva - If anyone ever questions whether you make an acceptable girl, you can always say you've had a Lab report that proves it

Katey x

[Caden Lane]

Where's that damn like button Katey...that was punny. I mean funny.

Watch a CD that will use a pun... she who would poke a pun will pick a purse... or so I'm told.

[kimdl93]

I doubt it, but who knows. I am a bit surprised that this lab is so defensive. Normally that breed is very good around people. I would suggest a visit with the dig whisperer.

[CarlaWestin]

Lab report. What is it with you Katies? Eva, I think you just had some bacon in your purse.

[natcrys]

Don't know about dogs.. but I had something similar happen to me with the 1 year old daughter of one my best friends.

I was going to a party where I would dress as Tassia, but I was invited for dinner to my friend's place because they live in the same city.

Arriving at their place in drab.. the daughter was very cautious and shy and didn't want to come near me.

After dinner, I got dressed up (my friends know about Tassia) and when I came back into living room again.. the little girl smiled and hugged me and wanted to play with me!

[MarciManseau]

I've had the same thing happen with a dog, a mixed breed. He hates all men but seems to love me. He's only seen me in femme mode as I've been full time for years. I'm sure he can sense my very strong female side.

Are any of you who've had pets react this way on hormones? I wonder if that makes a difference.

[Aly Cat]

I haven't started hormones as of yet. Still working out all the formalities. The doctor was supposed to call me back yesterday but never did. So the only thing I have that would have made the dog think happy thoughts about me is a transgender spirit lol.

[5150 Girl]

I have almost always had man hating dogs warm right up to me. I recall one time in particular, I was out on a shoot, a safety awareness thing; and a deputy had his attack dog there for bite suit demonstrations. He was keeping him kind of stand-offish from the crowd of civilians, and talking to some other officers. I approached the officer from behind set my camera down, and was down on my knees petting the dog, and it was licking my face, when the other deputy gestured with a look of horror on his face, (this dog must have had quite a rep) the handler looked around and said "How is that do not tearing your face off right now? He hates men!" I just said "Dogs just know who likes them" The deputy was all like "I guess so"....

[sometimes_miss]

Also have to remember that most if not all of us BEHAVE differently when we're dressed as woman, and that's a huge factor in how not just animals, but people respond to us. Dogs are more olfactory driven than any other sense, and I'm sure that they can easily discriminate between the scent of a male vs a female, so we're not fooling them, they know which sex we are. So where as a female is not seen as a threat, men, who by nature give off dominant behavior both verbal, body language and attire, can easily condition an animal into believing that any person who 'fits' the dominant profile could be a threat, so the animal responds appropriately.

[Marcelle]

Dogs have been found to detect physiological changes in people who have developed cancer

Dogs can be very attuned to subtle changes in body language, expression, and just all around being. It comes from belonging to a pack mentality species ... years of breeding can never truly remove the wolf. Pack animals need to be attuned to these subtle differences to ensure they step on the wrong toes (paws that is). You could be experiencing this type of behavior and the dog is not reading you as a threat or potential aggressor. Is it something feminine they are sensing, not sure.

Very interesting observation though given the amount of responses with similar experiences . . . perhaps we could look at a CD run dog obedience training

[Lorileah]

I don't think it's beyond possibility that they have a way to detect subtle differences between individuals of any gender - pheromones, perhaps? Something deeper.... There is much we do not know about animals and ourselves....

If that were true then even in male mode the dog would be able to "tell" right? When you change clothes your chemistry does not change within minutes. Even on hormones the scent takes a long time.

[Beverley Sims]

Maybe your approach to the dog was more passive.
Most people do not know how to handle animals or birds.
It does take practice to do it well.

[nethiker55]

Animals are domesticated and as such are very good at taking ques from people. They read our body language and sense our nature ( ie. aggressive, passive or something in between) They also smell things that are unbelievable so if your hormone levels lean more female than male they will pick up on that

[mikiSJ]

I was dating a woman in the mid '70s who had a male cat that would snarl and scratch every guy she would bring over to her house to pick her up for a date. I was invited over to her house; I sat down on her couch for a quick glass of wine, and while my date was in the kitchen the cat comes out of the rear of the apartment and immediately jumped on my lap and snuggled up.

We have been married 38 years.

[julia ann]

I never made the connection till just now. I worked in a ladies home and was warned to stay away from the dog, hates men, even her husband and sons. By the end of the first day the dog was becoming very time consuming because all he wanted was for me to rub his belly every time I re-entered the house. She was amazed, told her I have always been a dog person and they sense that, never gave consideration to the dog sensing my female side. Makes better sense now!

[Jaylah414]

I completely agree with Nethiker. Dogs are very good at picking up ques from people. It's been a valuable trait in choosing dogs for thousands of years. I just don't know if there's enough evidence yet for there being a discernible difference in somatic cues between these groups of physiological males or females. But, who knows... Maybe one day.

I've always wondered if there's a real difference between gender crossing people and those more comfortable with the status quo.