Signs Your Dog May Know You’re Pregnant
Some behaviors that pregnant women report from dogs after they have become pregnant include:
The confusion some pets feel sometimes results in a dog acting up during pregnancy.
At the other end of the spectrum, your dog may not appear to be jealous at all. In fact, many dogs take their cues from their owners and readily welcome the baby into the home. In cases like this, the main concern may actually be protecting the baby from your dogs overly enthusiastic affections.
Reaction of Dogs During Human Pregnancy
According to Jennifer Shryock, certified dog behavior consultant, dogs can sense all the subtle, and not so subtle, changes a womans body goes through during pregnancy.
Pregnancy triggers definite changes in a womans hormone levels. Believe it or not, your dog can actually smell the difference in your body chemistry after you become pregnant. It has even been reported anecdotally that dogs can tell youre pregnant before youre aware of it yourself. The changes in your bodys scent can affect your dog in different ways.
Unless you were full-figured before the pregnancy, your body is going to increase noticeably in size. While some pets dont seem to register any notice of a growing belly, other dogs, especially smaller ones, may actually appear a little apprehensive about your new shape and changes in the way you move as the pregnancy progresses.
Your pet may also become flustered the first time they are snuggled up with you and they feel the baby move. If this happens, offer calm, loving reassurance that everything is all right.
Your dog will also notice changes in your mood, such as when youre more tired than usual or stressed. They will also pick up on differences in body language, and if you begin to walk and move around differently as you gain pregnancy weight and get closer to your due date, your dog will notice.
What do dogs do when your pregnant?
If your dog senses a pregnancy, you’ll likely notice a change in their behavior. Dogs differ, so their reactions can, too. Some dogs become more protective of their owners during pregnancy and will stay close by your side. As your baby bump grows, this protective drive may even increase.
14 Signs Your Dog Doesn’t Love You (Even if You Think They Do)
Moms of both human and fur babies may have noticed that while their bun was in the oven, their pup was a bit clingier than before. Turns out there’s a reason your dog is cuddlier around your due date, and even throughout your entire pregnancy. They can smell change in the air, and see your body and behavior changing, too.
The American Kennel Club reports that many canine experts believe dogs can sense the change in a woman’s hormones once she becomes pregnant. Those same nose superpowers that help them sniff out bombs also help them analyze their owners’ scents, so not much gets by them, including pregnancy.
“We dont really know what a dog knows since they cant tell us, but we accept that the change in behavior is because they are sensing a change,” says Robert Cabral, canine behavior specialist at Wag!, in an interview with Romper. “Dogs can sense even the slightest change in smell, and when a woman is pregnant there is a shift in hormones. This increase in hormone production is often noticed by a dogs keen sense of smell. The dogs sense of smell is 40 to 50 times more powerful than ours. Essentially, a dog can smell better than we can see.”
M. Leanne Lilly, assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, tells Romper in an interview that while dogs can sense changes in their mom’s smell, it’s unlikely they know a baby is on the way.
“Given the large amount of physiologic changes that go on during pregnancy and the sensitivity of the canine nose, it makes sense that dogs can smell that something is different. Whether or not dogs know that something leads to an infant later existing is unlikely, at least for a first pregnancy that the dog’s been through. Whether or not they can learn that is up for debate, and due to the time lag between the starts of changes and an infant coming home, would also be challenging to evaluate,” says Lilly.
Not all dogs are comfortable with change, either. While your new smell may make your dog come closer for comfort, it may set others on edge.
“While some dogs get more snuggly with the change in smell, some seem to get more worried,” Lilly explains. “There are also certainly pets who don’t seem to change — that the clients are aware of — or those who are even more standoffish. But the stories about a dog getting ‘snugglier’ are cuter and tend to stick with us.”
Even if your dog is totally nose blind and never changed its behavior throughout your pregnancy, they may still cozy up to you as you near your due date. However, this may just be because you’re on the couch a little more frequently, and your pup is here for it.
“My theory is, as a woman is becoming more maternal, the dog picks up on this and feels the energy and sort of takes advantage,” says Cabral. “Cuddle time and resting when the human mom is feeling cozy is a nice feeling that makes the dog feel nurtured.”
With change literally in the air for your fur baby, how can you make sure they feel calm and comfortable? Cabral suggests scheduling walks and feedings that will work when baby arrives to get into a routine.
“Its important that the dog maintain consistency,” he says. “Dogs find safety in structure. If the dog has had good basic obedience training, it will be important to maintain that, and if they havent, a good ritual of structure will help. Before the baby arrives, be sure to have prepared the dog with plenty of routines that will carry over. For everyones safety, I dont recommend letting the dog play with or lick the baby for quite some time. A dogs playfulness can be dangerous to a baby.”
Lilly adds that you can’t make your dog’s anxiety worse, but you can make it better. Not only does providing some extra lovin’ go a long way, but getting them used to new things, like baby furniture, can help them get more comfortable before you bring home a bundle of joy.
“Change can be hard for many dogs,” she says. “If your dog feels better with the changes going on by being given a food item or some extra pets, then that’s great, go ahead and comfort them. If those things don’t help your dog feel more comfortable, don’t continue to do them in those contexts, and consider other options. Incremental introduction to some of the changes in the household may help as you prepare for your baby. Furniture, items, new behaviors like carrying a person, can all be broken down into small steps — and work at the dog’s pace to pair those things with food or play so that they’re not strange or frightening. If your dog is too worried to do either of those things, then seeking help from your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist is helpful — there are a wide range of scientifically studied behavior support options ranging from pheromones and probiotics to medications.”
M. Leanne Lilly, DVM, DACVB, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine