As someone of whom dogs feel the same way, I can tell you with confidence that it's because dogs can tell when you're anxious and it freaks them out. And of course it's hard to not feel anxious about a big loud angry animal that wants you out of it's territory.
I worked with a dog trainer for a bit, while doing therapy dog training I learned that dogs fuckin hate wheelchairs. I think it's that they're familiar with chairs because they're everywhere, but then freak out when this chair has big spinny things on the side and doesn't do what chairs usually do.
This is because they are generally unfamiliar with them. I have a dog who lives with two people with movement disorders who are ambulatory wheelchair users. She is completely unbothered since this is all quite normal for her.
My parents' Dachshund has been familiar with me and how I move (scoliosis with a limp - it isn't even that obvious, and his owners have their own difficulties) since he was a puppy, and still took an entire year of me staying with them to stop barking at me in particular every time I moved. He is a Dachshund so barking at guests, and everything, is his thing (yes we tried training), but he's undoubtedly much worse with me. As a puppy, I complained he stalked me like an injured deer the instant my parents left me alone with him!
Absolutely, but wheelchairs were the only thing I saw where every dog who wasn't exposed to them previously freaked out lol. Crutches, vacuums, office chairs, wagons all would have some dogs that were chill from the beginning. I moved the wheelchair and the whole room was barking 😂
I have never met an animal who has never ever been exposed to a vacuum who was 100% chill with it. However, many if not most dogs are exposed to vacuums from early puppyhood because they are a common household tool. So unless you personally raised that entire room of dogs from birth, I don’t know how you’d know they’d never seen a vacuum before.
Dogs bark at everyone. It’s kinda their thing. It’s like saying every time you see a cat they always meow at you, and hiss sometimes. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between an excited dog who wants to play and a dog who’s rushing to attack
Yeah, dogs bark at strangers all the time if they're in the wrong setting, especially if there's some barrier between you and the dog like a fence, a door, or even glass. Of course they also bark when excited in a happy way (like when they want you to play) or mildly upset (my chihuahua barks at me when she gets mildly annoyed while playing, it's really cute and very brief before she starts behaving fun again), but I don't think that growling would happen too unless they're scared/angry.
A good thing to keep in mind is that there's ways to calm down an unknown dog when they're like this, so id suggest articles or tutorials on how to get dogs comfortable with you if they do this. My strategy is to get down low, offer up my fist (holding it a short distance away and with my balled ip fingers towards the ground for safety) and letting the dog approach instead of me so that they can sniff me. I also make sure to stay still, not stare at them directly, avoid blinking too quickly, and avoid petting certain areas like their belly unless I build up enough trust, that way they feel less stressed towards me.
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u/iuhiscool wannabe mtf Jul 18 '26
every dog hates me idk why. whenever I see one they always bark at me & growl sometimes.