My wife is pregnant and we are having a disagreement we felt could be resolved here. You see, my wife says that our dog Newton(Dachshound) can "sense that she is pregnant. Does anyone know if pets can detect pregnancy in humans? Thanks.
I suspect your dog senses that she is moodier and more emotionally labile, and knows when to come and offer comfort, and even more important, when to keep a low profile. If only we husbands had such highly developed senses!
Aren’t changes in hormone levels reflected in our body odor? Even, if your dog can smell the difference, it probably doesn’t understand what it might mean.
Lol, this reminds me of something funny that happened to my best friend’s mom. Before Beatrice was born, her parents had a pet ape. Yes, really, I’ve seen pictures of him. When Bea’s mom got pregnant, the ape started attacking her. They guessed that it might be that he sensed that she was pregnant, and knew that he wasn’t the father. They finally decided to give him to a zoo before Bea was born, because they were afraid of what he’d do to her. They still refer to him as her big brother though.
<<I suspect your dog senses that she is moodier and more emotionally labile, and knows when to come and offer comfort, and even more important, when to keep a low profile. >>
The dog knows there will be comfort food.
My cat hangs out close when I’m PMSsing, because he knows I’ll share my donuts, nachos, and pretzels (all of which he loves).
Corr
Sure. Why the heck not?
We are animals after all, not robots (yet). If dogs can’t comprehend “pregnancy”, I believe that at least they recognize a change, and that the woman appears more vulnerable. Maybe I am biased but when a friend of mine was pregnant, her dog acted strangely, especially as she got nearer to her due date. He seemed very protective of her.
C. Primate
When I was pregnant, I would go home at lunch and take 30-or-so minute naps. It sure didn’t take long for my dog to see a great routine! After a few lunch-naps, Molly would bolt for the bedroom the minute I hit the door, overjoyed she had Mommy to nap with in the middle of the day. Likewise, she cuddled close when I loafed on the couch, which I tended to do more when pregnant.
So my theory is that a pregger woman has more available snuggle-time and the pooches just avail themselves of it.
I just got a puppy and have been doing a bit of reading on behavior and all that good stuff. I read that dogs can tell the difference between adults and babies (of other species, as well) by the amount of magnesium in the bones (a child, a puppy, etc. has more magnesium). Of course, doggies have very sensitive sniffers, so maybe it’s possible your dog smells the extra magnesium.