How can dogs sense pregnancy before you know?
So, what might give dogs the ability to detect pregnancy before the pregnant person knows themselves? The answer may lie in their physiology or their temperament.
A dog’s sense of smell is substantially better than a human’s. In fact, dogs can differentiate between anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 different scents and have 60 times more scent receptors than humans. But can dogs sense pregnancy in humans? Although there haven’t been any scientific studies that have examined specifically whether dogs can pick up the scent of a pregnant person, anecdotal evidence suggests that it may be possible. The hormonal changes during pregnancy may cause subtle changes to the person’s scent that are detectable only to their canine companion. It’s likely that the dog senses some change in the owners smell, but cannot identify such a specific reason as pregnancy. Take a quiz Find out how Flo can help you
How early can a dog detect pregnancy?
Some people say that their dog started acting differently around them even before they knew they were pregnant. Some people who are trying to conceive may watch their dog’s behavior to see if they respond in different or unusual ways. It’s possible that a dog might notice something is different even if their owner is only a few weeks pregnant. It’s also possible a dog might not notice someone is pregnant until their belly starts showing or their routine changes. A dog noticing that someone is pregnant can be a fun story, but a pregnancy test is a more reliable way to determine if conception has occurred.
They may become more clingy toward the pregnant owner.
Has your pup been glued to your hip since the start of your pregnancy? Theres a reason for that. Since dogs observe both the physical and emotional states of owners, Olsen says these changes are also noticeable and may lead some dogs to want to comfort their owners as they might seem in need of a little extra TLC.