Dogs hate me now??
Guys I need help. I’m 5ish months on low dose T. I doubled my dose 5 weeks ago, but my current is what a normal low dose is.
I work in the service industry and go to 3-5 new houses a day. (5 daily but some are repeats) In the past two weeks I’ve been nipped at and had my pants bitten by 3 different dogs and been barked like crazy at by a couple more. Literally one of the houses my coworker, a trans man 4 years on T, had already been inside for an hour then I walked in and her dog looses its shit and I think it’s gonna attack me.
I’m so nervous and jumpy now. I fucking love dogs and animals in general but I can’t trust dogs that approach me. Has this happened to anybody? It could also be a string of bad luck but I feel like it’s T related. A dog that had “never acted like that before” bit my pants twice and I was cornered in a hallway.
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As a dog nerd, the usual "dog scared of men" thing generally comes from the larger size/imposing physique and stature a lot of cis men tend to have, as well as a deep voice that's louder and deeper. Seriously, it's been studied that dogs respond more to baby voices.
As for the frequency of this... that is weird, and the actual biting sounds like it's a training issue. I really don't see 5 months of T changing you so radically that animals totally change behavior around you.
I don’t think so either, but I’m just paranoid.
It’s more likely to be: Lack of training Owners not being honest about the dogs actual temperament
Honestly, yeah. I've seen so many people say "He's never acted like that" when I've literally seen the dog act entirely like that. Or they've been building toward it and they don't bother to work on it, so the dog eventually does bite. Like how parents will let a child harass and climb on a dog for years, ignore the warning signals, and then act confused when the dog snaps.
If I had a dollar for every time an owner gasped, “My dog had NEVER behaved like that before” as it has gone nuts on me/my dog/both of us…I would be able to buy the custom-tailored suit of my dreams. So I would say most of this sounds like dog/owner training issues, not you. People either lie through their teeth due to embarrassment or are totally oblivious about their dog’s behavior.
For the dog that freaked out when you came back in—two possibilities. One, the dog just has issues with people and the front door and that’s the trigger, not you.
Two, we have an incredibly sweet shelter dog who came to us with pretty scarred up eyes and face. She adores my son and my husband to pieces, but will bark at my son and even growl at my husband if they are approaching the front door (SOUND THE ALARM! INTRUDERS!!) until they get within a few feet. I just think her vision is pretty bad and she has to smell/hear them to figure out who they are. If your friend’s dog is older or has limited vision, this could also be a cause.
Sadly the dog that freaked out was the younger one of the two according to their owner.
I really believe it’s mostly a streak of bad luck. And maybe a bit I smell differently.
This has actually happened to me. I started low dose T in April and by July the dogs at the shelter where I volunteer were noticeably more freaked out by me. I think T can make people smell different. And of course it changes your voice, too. So I can totally believe that a dog that was freaked out by men (which a lot of dogs are) might start snarling and snapping.
The shelter I work at does have cis male volunteers, of course, so I just started trying to read the dogs body language and approach more softly, the way cis men have to. There are tons of good videos on YouTube about dog body language.
Huh this is very interesting. Thank you for sharing
So far my only animal experience is that a Great Dane that loves men won’t stop smelling my crotch and other areas (as well as just leaning against me and wanting pets).
Lol! That’s definitely a better time than I’m having. I do think it’s a bit of bad luck combined with my changing smell. We always say things come in groups in our line of work so aggressive dogs coming in a cluster makes sense.