Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Dogs don't like Clark...canon or fanon?

I know I've encountered several stories in which dogs could sense something different about Clark that made them afraid of him and aggressive towards him, but I can't recall seeing anything in the show about this. Of course, I've only seen the DVD's, so the entire fourth season could be filled with angry dogs for all I know.

So is this L&C canon? Or maybe larger Superman canon? I've asked my eight-year-old resident expert on Superman in other media, and he couldn't remember anything about it either but did launch into a lengthy and unhelpful recap of every episode ever made of 'Krypto the Superdog'.

Krypto aside, can Clark have a dog, or do they just not like him?

Thanks,

Caroline

I'm not sure about the comics, I don't recall antything of the sort, but my memory is not always excellent.

In Superman Returns, there's a dog and while he senses something odd going on (the ship is about to land), he seems pretty friendly to Clark....

Not sure if that's really helpful, though, seeing as this is just one film and, well, most films I've seen that are based off comics or even books, tend to do a lot of things differently....

Don't recall anything about dogs in the show and I've read plenty of fanfic where he had a dog as a child or encountered them on friendly terms as an adult, so I think you're probably good to go on assuming they get along.

LabRat

Yes, I've also read several stories where dogs don't like Clark. I've always thought it was absolutely stupid, since Clark is a kind and caring individual. Dogs also sense that. It really bothers me that this has almost become a canon in the LnC fiction world - maybe those stories just stand out more.

I don't remember which episode it was where Clark encountered the dog walking lady, but I never got any idea from that episode that the dogs didn't like Clark. He had been affected by red kryptonite, but he wasn't being bad per se in the episode - just indifferent. Maybe someone somehow inferred that because he was affected by the red kryptonite that dogs wouldn't like him under normal circumstances? But then, that would wouldn't make sense either, because the dogs would have still backed off. They definitely sense evil in people - and other animals. I remember reading a story years ago where this episode was mentioned and it insinuated that the dogs didn't like him. I never saw this in that episode and almost didn't finish the story.

It just doesn't make sense. In all the other Superman lore, dogs like him. There was even a Krypto the Super Dog.

I wonder if the person / people who seem to think that dogs don't like Clark has come about because of their own fear of dogs.

Clark has a dog in Smallville - Shelby (originally Krypto but Lois thought that name was stupid and changed it - ha ha.)

In my current story, Clark has two dogs and a cat.

I for one, don't like the idea that dogs are afraid of Clark. I think it's ridiculous. Yes, they may sense something different about him, but that doesn't mean they would be afraid.

Years, ago, I had a very friendly dog. We were vacationing in The Great Smoky Mountains and were picnic-ing in the mountains when a Black bear and her cubs decided to wander into the picnic area. My dog, Missy, actually thought it was great fun and wanted to be friends, and would have walked right over to the bears if we had not restrained her. She did not actually become frightened until we passed right by the bears in our car as we were leaving the picnic area (quickly cleared out by the the park rangers). The window was part way down and she got a good look. The mother didn't really growl but gave a gruffy 'bear sound'. It was not until then that Missy got scared. Anyway, I give this example because as my dog was not afraid of the bear until she had reason to be, other dogs would not be afraid of Clark until given reason to do so.

Anyway, I think all dogs would love Clark!

I'm glad to see that the other posters here seem to agree.

Dogs are not usually mean unless taught (or sometimes bred) to be so.



All dogs go to heaven...

Thanks all. I don't even know if this will be useful in writing, but it's something I've wondered about.

Classicalla, I've always assumed that whoever came up with the "dogs don't like Clark" thing, whether it was a fan writer or someone else, wasn't so much insulting the dogs' instincts as slyly suggesting that dogs are actually smarter - or at least more intuitive - in some ways than people. You simply aren't going to fool a dog with a pair of glasses. Anyway, food for thought

Thanks,

Caroline

Well, I hadn't considered this post in the way you mention about dogs not being fooled about his glasses. They'd absolutely see him as one person, but they wouldn't think anything about a different change of clothes. I know my animals love their human regardless of what I'm wearing...