# How do pets and animals react to trans people?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 31, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289 "2026-10-31T14:03:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289/1 "2026-10-31T14:03:01Z")

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Among animals that notice human sexuality and gender at all (like some pet dogs), how do they respond to trans individuals? Does it matter if it’s an owner they’ve lived with for a while vs a stranger they’re encountering for the first time?

I’m thinking more things like hormonal changes causing differences in voice pitch, scent, etc., but also things like name/pronoun changes (“go find mommy/daddy!”) or even behavioral differences if someone starts acting differently during or after a transition.

Have there been any notable studies on the topic? Anecdotes welcome too.

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289/2 "2026-10-31T15:12:53Z")

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WAG: you can’t change your aroma and certain mannerisms are ingrained and your dog picked up on those 30 seconds after you adopted him/her. They’ve got your number.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289/3 "2026-10-31T15:18:40Z")

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I dunno; dogs can sometimes react to very superficial features, as well. I’ve met dogs who based their opinion of someone on whether they wore glasses, or had a beard. So they might be going by smell or pheromones, or they might be going by things like “wearing a skirt”. Or probably, different cues for different dogs, among those who even care at all.

> [@Reply](#):
>
> but also things like name/pronoun changes (“go find mommy/daddy!”)

I don’t think dogs understand “mommy” and “daddy” to have any meaning at all, beyond a name for a specific individual. It’s no different from “Go find Alex”.

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**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289/4 "2026-10-31T15:31:56Z")

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I can say with certainty that our if our dog notices when I’m presenting authenticly, she doesn’t seem to care.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289/5 "2026-10-31T15:53:46Z")

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> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> WAG: you can’t change your aroma and certain mannerisms are ingrained and your dog picked up on those 30 seconds after you adopted him/her. They’ve got your number.

Counterpoint:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/k6v_b5yvA4U/maxresdefault.jpg "Funny Dogs Reacting to Masks Compilation") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6v_b5yvA4U)

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pets-and-animals-react-to-trans-people/1034289/6 "2026-10-31T15:58:03Z")

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I was wondering about that myself. You think their schnozzes are on time delay of some sort?