Regarding Cecil’s 1999 column:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/991231.html
My take is this: No, animals can’t “smell” fear. But at least some animals (I’m thiking higher mammals)can sense fear by reading body language. It’s particularly evident with dogs, who have all kinds of visual signals of mood: Tail wagging(receptive)/straight(aggressive)/curled-down(submissive,fearful);teeth baring;shoulders hunched down or puffed up;etc.
Humans also signal fear or aggressiveness by body posturing, so I think it’s a reasonable supposition that dogs,for one, can read this.
Any animal experts care to weigh in on this?