I have gotten looks of interest from our dogs when I sneeze (or emit other bodily sounds) but none act like it’s a threat.
The weirdest reaction came from our cocker spaniel, who absolutely hated it when I would stalk and swat a fly in the room. It didn’t have to be anywhere near her, but as I stealthily approached the fly the dog would growl, the growl increasing in amplitude as my hand got into swatting position, then as I went in for the kill the dog would leap toward me, snapping angrily (but not making contact). I was not in the habit of disciplining her in this manner so it’s still a mystery why she reacted so strongly, unless flies were considered her special friends.
tonight i felt a sneeze coming on, so i opted to do that thing chicks do where you hold it in…so there’s no bellowing out.
he reacted the same. came to check, ears down, all concerned-like.
again, i’m not smart or anything–but it would seem to indicate a distinction of the act of sneezing vs the sound of sneezing–even when i supress the sneeze.
i have no idea what the implication would be–but it’s kind of interesting.
the sneezing episode of mythbusters played over my 350 watt home stereo in surround sound yielded no reaction.
i swallowed wrong (because i’m 31 dang years old and apparently still can’t get swallowing right) and went into a coughing fit that yielding no reaction.
My poor dog Mogs, is terrified when I sneeze, he flattens his ears and gets up and looks at me all weird and then either sits somewhere else or leaves the room completely. Sometimes he will sit and shake violently.
If my husband, children or cats sneeze he doesn’t seem upset at all.
I read somewhere ages ago that mother dogs make a chuffing? noise to tell off their pups, and was wondering if a sneeze has a similar volume to that? I don’t know cuz I’ve never heard a mother dog do that.
However the incoming threat alert noise seems to make sense. He doesn’t seem scared of me, just the noise itself.
It worry’s me cuz he is such a sensitive little fellow, and loud noises, cap guns, fireworks, party poppers etc freak him right out to the point where he often vomits with the stress.
I found this forum while googling, and I’m absolutely stumped.
I have a 3 year old Great Dane, who has been completely deaf since the day she was born. She is well behaved and trained with hand signals, but something absolutely bizarre has happened since the day she came home. Whether sleeping on the floor, or on the bed or in her crate, or even while awake, if I sneeze, regardless of how hard or loud, she always wakes up, sits up, and begins GROWLING.
She isn’t an aggressive dog, ever. It’s almost kind of cute when she does it, like she’s really confused and isn’t really sure why she is growling, but seems compelled to do so. She almost always goes right back to sleep, once or twice she’s gotten up, but after growling for about 45 seconds, she stops.
I know for a fact that this dog is completely and totally deaf (that’s why I have her, the breeder wanted to have her destroyed) she has never heard a sound in her life, and also tends to ignore major noises and vibrations. Sneezing is the only auditory thing that has ever gotten a response.
Completely bizarre, right? Let me know what you think.
It’s just a guess, but she may have some hearing in theouter reaches of the sound spectrum. She would naturally be confused by any sound if she’s almost never ehard one before. Anda sneeze produces vibrations thatare stronger and wider spectrum than most other noises.
I’d try this: go to youtube and type in pitch hearing test. There are several out there that will produce noises at the high and low end of the spectrum. Just play them while she’s in the room and see if her ears prick up at all.
Dogs are very sensitive hearing wise, much better than us humans! Dogs can tell when its owner is driving home by the sound of the particular car. If there are 30 cars driving down the same road near the owner’s home, the dog can differentiate which car is its owner by the sound. Possibly with the sneezing it is related to the fact that most animals (including humans) use their hearing to alert them to danger. On another note, chickens are similar to dogs as chickens can differentiate cars and tell which car is its owners car, by the sound of the car, even if there are many cars. Chickens are actually quite intelligent, as I had several when I was younger as pets.
Our 105 lb. male Lab jumps on top of me when I sneeze. I almost feel like he is trying to dominate me when I sneeze. If my husband sneezes of if someone is visiting and sneezes the Lab does nothing. I try to control my sneezing and know to watch out if I sneeze. He will jump on top of me even while sitting at a table.
I sneezed earlier this evening. First sneeze got my dogs’ attention, that is, they looked in my direction. The second sneeze, Georgie didn’t even care any more, and Sonny just looked at me like, “what? again with that noise?” On my third sneeze, Sonny got up and walked away.
Our cat will either completely ignore a sneeze, or grump and chatter at you until you apologize to her. Apparently, her highness doesn’t like the noise.
This is much better than it used to be, as before I moved in with my (now) wife, she used to run and hide after any sneeze.
Moving an allergic person into the house sure got her over that fear.
I have two cats who get very distressed when I sneeze. One in particular, my boy tabby, has to come over and investigate every time. He makes distressed little meows and looks at me like, “Are you DYING?”
It’s kinda funny, but I hate distressing him like that so I always reassure him that I’m alive and well. I’m not sure he buys it.