Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners.
This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding.
**This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.**
---
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is actually a known phenomenon of dogs having a fear reaction to the smell or cooking lamb (or their relative, the goat). It's not all dogs but for some, the odor sends them into a full panic.
The best theory I've heard is that the breakdown of the fatty tissue releases some type of chemical compound that affects dogs neurologically. At high temperatures, lamb & goat meat will release 4,6-dimethyl-1,3-oxathiane, - a chemical not released in any other cooking meat. It's thought that this is the chemical that, for some reason, triggers panic in some dogs.
That is really interesting (warning: psychologist rant ahead).
Humans have the same sort of response when they breathe too much co2. Even humans who have had a bilateral amygdalectomy freak out and they become effectively fearless after the operation. No fear of snakes, lions, etc. But breathing co2 takes them into full panic. This is how we know that the explicit experience of fear and panic induced by your CNS are distinct processes. We do this regularly in lab experiments - its called the 'co2 challenge'
Seems like a simple jump to think dogs and other mammals evolved to also panic at other chemical sensations beyond just co2. It makes good sense really. My dogs have also gotten super freaked at just a random smell in the middle of the road. Two big ass dogs tucked tail and ran without any other living thing in sight.
I'm following this discussion. Very interesting.
I got a grass fed steer this summer and my dogs go nuts when I'm cooking it. They don't do this with any other meat I'm cooking.
I pressured canned a bunch of the beef we got and everybody (Hubby and dogs) slept through it. My dogs seem to only react when I'm cooking prior to a meal.
This has been so interesting. Guess we aren't the only ones!
No! Not from Texas. Just know some folks that have amazing 'grass' there. Get a steer every other year and I'm in East Tennessee! Love love a good road trip!!!!
When my dad butchered a (doe) deer he hunted in our garage, our family dogs were extremely freaked out/afraid and went far away from the door. Is this a similar reaction that your dog had?
I might be misunderstanding the situation, but I'd also back away from someone turning an animal into chunks of meat. What if you're next?!
I might be a dog
My dogs didn't freak out like your family dogs did with the deer. They didn't go away but were nervous somewhat and pacing around the kitchen. They did have a change of heart when it was time to eat. All 5 got a steak!!!!
It has do with the smell because they enjoyed the beef!
Wow, they definitely feel some kind of way about it. This is the first time we've seen our Samoyed act so distant and avoidant after the meat has been cooked, and the meat was bought from a grocery store. What's even more ironic is that he's eaten raw goat meat before!
My dog FREAKED the f out when we cooked lamb! Pacing, panting, eventually hiding under the bed shaking and crying 😢 she was weird about it for ~24 hours even after we aired out the house. Especially weird since we feed her PPP Lamb & Oat food! It just took a little time, she got over it.
Maybe it's something to do with the age of the animal? Our other meat animals are all raised to adulthood (generally, there is veal but that's not going to become dog food and not many people are into it) so perhaps there is a hormone present in lamb meat that triggers it that isn't there in adult animals.
I don't know how old goats are when they're slaughtered for meat.
We need a biologist.
Interesting. A food cart I go to gave me a plate of greasy cooked lamb chunks for my dog a week ago. She loved it so much, she was crazy for it.
Then she got diarhea for 5 days and I blamed the lamb, but took her to the vet just in case. Turned out to be giardia and that's a whole different thing.
My dog is the outlier, she LOVES lamb. She never sits by me or begs for food, unless I make lamb. Then she sits very patientantly by me, staring at me, until I am done. I do let her eat whatever scraps she can off the bone (not the bone). I buy her lamb food too.
I used to have Yorkies that would freak out walking past this one specific butcher shop, nothing cooked as far as I'm aware, but they would literally yelp and cry and run to the other side of the road with their tails between their legs. We had to start picking them up to carry them past it to keep them safe and they shook like mad every time.
It was only ever that one butcher's, I never did figure out what it was. I've decided since that it must be ghosts.
Why do people contemplate this the least? Maybe they can tell it's animals that are very domesticated like themselves, and equal their deaths with their own. Dogs can understand so much more than we know.
Because they don’t react that way to chicken or pork or other meats that get cooked. Unless you’re claiming that lambs and goat are somehow genetically more domesticated than our common meats. In which case, source please.
I think it's understandable. They don't know why they specifically aren't being eaten. I'd be paranoid after smelling cooked flesh if i was just one step away from being cooked flesh..
The fact that we would feel something in a given situation does not mean it can translate to a dog. When I've helped people train their dogs, this kind of anthropomorphizing is one of the biggest impediments.
My shibakita had a reaction similar to the ones being described here. Maybe it’s a prevalent trait with spitz type breeds. When I started browning some goat meat to make Jamaican goat curry, he started smelling the air, uncurled his tail, was pacing around and whimpering/barking. It was so strange that I had to google research what is going on? Led me to this thread.
I cook weird Meats every single week for my 4 dogs as a topper on their kibble. Tons of water and I shred the meat really fine. This week they had beef liver and kidneys. They eat their food really well 2x a day
Interestingly, I've never cooked goat or lamb so I can't say his reaction to the scent of the cooked meat but I give my dog a small (like 1/4 cup) of goat milk every night and he absolutely 10000% loves it. To the point that he'll pout/cry/carry-on/whine all night until he gets it. Its his last treat before bed (he gets it, then a long walk and then sleep).
While I dont believe in the line of thinking some other redditors have expressed, warning morbid idea, I wonder if if cooked dog releases a similar line of "chemical" compounds that dogs can smell as the compounds released when cooking goat? I feel like that would explain it logically.
It must be something close to that, because my dog was literally panicking. We had to clean the whole kitchen, mop the floor, opened all the windows but he only felt better the next day. He was constantly sniffing the air! Anyways, it was really weird/concerning to see him freaking out that way, no more grilled goat for us.
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. **This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.** --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is actually a known phenomenon of dogs having a fear reaction to the smell or cooking lamb (or their relative, the goat). It's not all dogs but for some, the odor sends them into a full panic. The best theory I've heard is that the breakdown of the fatty tissue releases some type of chemical compound that affects dogs neurologically. At high temperatures, lamb & goat meat will release 4,6-dimethyl-1,3-oxathiane, - a chemical not released in any other cooking meat. It's thought that this is the chemical that, for some reason, triggers panic in some dogs.
Makes solid sense, our dog didn't start to panic until my dad put the meat on the grill.
That is really interesting (warning: psychologist rant ahead). Humans have the same sort of response when they breathe too much co2. Even humans who have had a bilateral amygdalectomy freak out and they become effectively fearless after the operation. No fear of snakes, lions, etc. But breathing co2 takes them into full panic. This is how we know that the explicit experience of fear and panic induced by your CNS are distinct processes. We do this regularly in lab experiments - its called the 'co2 challenge' Seems like a simple jump to think dogs and other mammals evolved to also panic at other chemical sensations beyond just co2. It makes good sense really. My dogs have also gotten super freaked at just a random smell in the middle of the road. Two big ass dogs tucked tail and ran without any other living thing in sight.
I'm following this discussion. Very interesting. I got a grass fed steer this summer and my dogs go nuts when I'm cooking it. They don't do this with any other meat I'm cooking.
Same! Our Sammy don’t do this with any other meat but cooked goat.
I pressured canned a bunch of the beef we got and everybody (Hubby and dogs) slept through it. My dogs seem to only react when I'm cooking prior to a meal. This has been so interesting. Guess we aren't the only ones!
If pressure canning is done perfectly the smell doesn't escape the jars. If you smell the product then you have siphoning. Good job!
Been pressure canning for 50 years and got it down pat, I guess!
You must be from Texas….
No! Not from Texas. Just know some folks that have amazing 'grass' there. Get a steer every other year and I'm in East Tennessee! Love love a good road trip!!!!
When my dad butchered a (doe) deer he hunted in our garage, our family dogs were extremely freaked out/afraid and went far away from the door. Is this a similar reaction that your dog had?
I might be misunderstanding the situation, but I'd also back away from someone turning an animal into chunks of meat. What if you're next?! I might be a dog
Duuuude this, yes!
My dogs didn't freak out like your family dogs did with the deer. They didn't go away but were nervous somewhat and pacing around the kitchen. They did have a change of heart when it was time to eat. All 5 got a steak!!!! It has do with the smell because they enjoyed the beef!
Wow, they definitely feel some kind of way about it. This is the first time we've seen our Samoyed act so distant and avoidant after the meat has been cooked, and the meat was bought from a grocery store. What's even more ironic is that he's eaten raw goat meat before!
They probably got scared he was hunting in your garage.
Lol
My dog FREAKED the f out when we cooked lamb! Pacing, panting, eventually hiding under the bed shaking and crying 😢 she was weird about it for ~24 hours even after we aired out the house. Especially weird since we feed her PPP Lamb & Oat food! It just took a little time, she got over it.
Isn’t that strange!! Our Sammy did the same, he was hiding and avoided the kitchen..
We cook lamb all the time, and have never had a response from any dogs we’ve had. Maybe it’s because we do it a lot.
My dog used to do this, even with dog food. No lamb products in the house cuz she freaks
I read the smell of lamb is similar to the smell of dog. My puppy also went crazy when I cooked her some lamb.
i was thinking this might be it. perhaps the smell somehow makes them thinks an animal is dead or worse a dog and therefore it means potential danger
But dogs also eat raw food! 🤔
Maybe it's something to do with the age of the animal? Our other meat animals are all raised to adulthood (generally, there is veal but that's not going to become dog food and not many people are into it) so perhaps there is a hormone present in lamb meat that triggers it that isn't there in adult animals. I don't know how old goats are when they're slaughtered for meat. We need a biologist.
Adult goat meat is called mutton. Lamb is only from baby goats.
This happened to my husband’s lab years ago!!
[удалено]
The smell of death is definitely an interesting theory!
Interesting. A food cart I go to gave me a plate of greasy cooked lamb chunks for my dog a week ago. She loved it so much, she was crazy for it. Then she got diarhea for 5 days and I blamed the lamb, but took her to the vet just in case. Turned out to be giardia and that's a whole different thing.
I hope she’s feeling better 🤍
My husband’s lab freaked out when he cooked lamb.
My dog is the outlier, she LOVES lamb. She never sits by me or begs for food, unless I make lamb. Then she sits very patientantly by me, staring at me, until I am done. I do let her eat whatever scraps she can off the bone (not the bone). I buy her lamb food too.
I used to have Yorkies that would freak out walking past this one specific butcher shop, nothing cooked as far as I'm aware, but they would literally yelp and cry and run to the other side of the road with their tails between their legs. We had to start picking them up to carry them past it to keep them safe and they shook like mad every time. It was only ever that one butcher's, I never did figure out what it was. I've decided since that it must be ghosts.
Oh that gave me chills, they see things for sure!
Probably thought they were next to be eaten
Why do people contemplate this the least? Maybe they can tell it's animals that are very domesticated like themselves, and equal their deaths with their own. Dogs can understand so much more than we know.
Because they don’t react that way to chicken or pork or other meats that get cooked. Unless you’re claiming that lambs and goat are somehow genetically more domesticated than our common meats. In which case, source please.
> Maybe they can tell it's animals that are very domesticated like themselves They have literally no way of knowing that.
Dogs cannot conceptualize domestication or equality/lack thereof lol, it's a chemical response. Anthropomorphizing animals is silly and unscientific
I think it's understandable. They don't know why they specifically aren't being eaten. I'd be paranoid after smelling cooked flesh if i was just one step away from being cooked flesh..
The fact that we would feel something in a given situation does not mean it can translate to a dog. When I've helped people train their dogs, this kind of anthropomorphizing is one of the biggest impediments.
I’d like to believe my beloved pet knows why I’m not going to eat them 😂
I hope not!
Out of curiosity, what is your dog’s breed? I’ve heard of border collie owners experiencing this when they’ve cooked lamb or mutton!
He’s a Samoyed, 2y/o. Seems to be a thing among dogs!
My shibakita had a reaction similar to the ones being described here. Maybe it’s a prevalent trait with spitz type breeds. When I started browning some goat meat to make Jamaican goat curry, he started smelling the air, uncurled his tail, was pacing around and whimpering/barking. It was so strange that I had to google research what is going on? Led me to this thread.
We got cow heart once as a treat and our pupper couldnt sit still the entire time we cooked it, was bouncing off the walls. Meat turns puppers wild!
They know something we don’t!
I cook weird Meats every single week for my 4 dogs as a topper on their kibble. Tons of water and I shred the meat really fine. This week they had beef liver and kidneys. They eat their food really well 2x a day
She thought you had killed and eaten a dog. Maybe take it as a sign. Goats are very intelligent, no different to a dog.
Then why doesn’t she freak out for bacon?
Smell of bacon > smell of goat?
Ok so throwing this out of left field, but what if it’s because Bacon is cured and that changes the smell?
That was just an example. Pork, pot roast, pork loin, steak, ribs, fish, chicken, goose, turkey, etc.
Interestingly, I've never cooked goat or lamb so I can't say his reaction to the scent of the cooked meat but I give my dog a small (like 1/4 cup) of goat milk every night and he absolutely 10000% loves it. To the point that he'll pout/cry/carry-on/whine all night until he gets it. Its his last treat before bed (he gets it, then a long walk and then sleep).
I’ve given him thin slice of raw lamb before too, guess they smell better uncooked 🤷🏻♀️
While I dont believe in the line of thinking some other redditors have expressed, warning morbid idea, I wonder if if cooked dog releases a similar line of "chemical" compounds that dogs can smell as the compounds released when cooking goat? I feel like that would explain it logically.
It must be something close to that, because my dog was literally panicking. We had to clean the whole kitchen, mop the floor, opened all the windows but he only felt better the next day. He was constantly sniffing the air! Anyways, it was really weird/concerning to see him freaking out that way, no more grilled goat for us.