Avoidance reactions of domestic dogs to unfamiliar male and female humans in a kennel setting

Cross-modal discrimination of human gender by domestic dogs

“…This is consistent with reports that dogs behave differently towards unfamiliar people depending on their gender, often by responding more negatively towards men (Hennessy et al, 1998;Lore & Eisenberg, 1986;Wells & Hepper, 1999), including biting men significantly more often (e.g. Rosado, García-Belenguer, León, & Palacio, 2009).…”

“…PratoPrevide, Fallani, & Valsecchi, 2005) which could have created the need for dogs to categorize human gender in order to adjust their responses appropriately. In support of this, shelter-housed dogs petted by women show more relaxed behaviour and lower cortisol levels than those petted by men (Hennessy, Williams, Miller, Douglas, & Voith, 1998), and are more likely to direct defensive aggressive behaviour towards men than women (Lore & Eisenberg 1986;Wells & Hepper, 1999). Although the specific cues to which the dogs were responding cannot be determined from these studies, they do suggest that categorically assessing human gender could be functionally relevant for dogs, influencing their reaction to the individual person.…”

Gender Differences in Owners Interacting with Pet Dogs: An Observational Study

“…These authors suggested that the dog's physiological and behavioural responses could be affected by differences in the ways in which men and women typically interact with dogs (Smith 1983). According to Lore & Eisenberg (1986) dogs’ attitudes towards women could have both physiological and cultural bases. In a comparative questionnaire study, Miura et al.…”

“…It has been reported that the reactions of shelter dogs towards humans may be affected by the gender of the person they interact with, and that defensiveaggressive reactions are more intense towards unfamiliar men than towards unfamiliar women (Lore & Eisenberg 1986;Wells & Hepper 1999). Hennessy et al (1998) found that dogs being petted by a woman had a lower plasma cortisol concentration and showed more relaxed behaviour than did dogs petted by a man.…”

“…These authors suggested that the dog's physiological and behavioural responses could be affected by differences in the ways in which men and women typically interact with dogs (Smith 1983). According to Lore & Eisenberg (1986) dogs' attitudes towards women could have both physiological and cultural bases. In a comparative questionnaire study, Miura et al (2000) found that in both Japanese and British students, women considered dogs more as equals than men and suggested that gender differences in attitudes towards animals would be a common phenomenon largely independent of culture.…”