Before you even know that you are pregnant, you may have noticed that your dog behaves slightly differently. Do you know it? As it does? Are you really able to understand that a baby is coming to the family? Of course, animals are endowed with incredible senses, but enough to get ahead of the facts?
How does a dog detect that you are pregnant?
Pets are very sensitive to the behavior and status of household members. First, a dog They can identify perfectly if the person is sore, sad, tired or happy. Dogs are specialists in detecting changes in behavior. The attitude, body movements and sounds we emit are an amalgam of signals for a dog. To better understand this aspect, we have consulted with Silvia de la Vega, an expert in veterinary clinical ethology and one of the authors of Veterinary Ethology, a publication dedicated to the behavior of our pets.
The first question we need to answer is obvious: can a dog detect the owner's pregnancy? "Although there is no scientific evidence in this regard," he replies, "a multitude of anecdotal mentions and, above all, what we know about how pets perceive the world around them, they suggest that they can, "she says convinced.
Pregnancy involves an important physical change, something that animals are able to detect, as well as a lot of variation in the behavior of women (and other members of the house). How does a pet detect this change? "Pregnancy brings endless changes to a dog's routine, in all areas," explains Silvia. "In addition to being able to notice the change in the olfactory profile of the mother, and the 'form' of the pregnant woman, no doubt many changes occur in the daily routines of the house. "
"For example," he continues, "medical appointments or work leave, in the way the owner moves, in her daily habits, her emotional state and how she behaves, the disposition of the environment ... few things remain unchanged, in fact. Pets easily perceive changes in their environment and routine, not only in the case of pregnancy. " Pets notice these changes, without a doubt. But, in addition, dogs have particularly acute senses to detect odors.
In Babies and more Living with dogs and cats in pregnancy has health benefits for the baby, according to a studyMany mammals are able to distinguish hormonal changes from animals that surround them thanks to the variation of body secretions that occur. For example, dogs are able to smell some substances in sweat, which indicate that some change has occurred. "Dogs have a highly developed sense of smell," the expert confirms. "We believe that dogs can detect small variations in our olfactory profile, including those that produce hormonal or metabolic changes related to pregnancy, although even what we ate that day, etc. "
As we see, the combination of all this, behavior, physical appearance and odors are indicative more than enough for the animal, which indicates that something different is happening. What we can't know, yes, is what interpretation does our pet give to the whole matter of change.
Does our pet understand pregnancy?
It is clear that animals detect that something different is happening. But this does not mean they know you are pregnant. It is very difficult to understand what your pet knows or stops knowing. Probably many women will see in the behavior of a dog a demonstration of empathy and affection for conception.
And what happens in the vet? "From time to time, in the consultations, they tell us that the pet has changed its behavior in pregnancy", explains the ethologist." When they do, they describe things about their pets such as becoming more dependent, seeking closer or contact with the mother, being more vigilant, etc., although some also mention avoidance behaviors. "
The problem with this behavior is that we cannot attribute these behavior to pregnancy for sure. Maybe, in reality, the future mother's perception of the dog changes. Or the animal may detect a change that it interprets as a sign of discomfort or illness. It may be somewhat confusing or simply not react even if detected.
In Babies and more The dog of a diabetic girl with Down syndrome detected a drop in her sugar levels 8 km away Unfortunately, we have very little data about it. "As far as I know, there is no specific study on the ability to detect human pregnancy by pets", the expert tells us. "It should not be very difficult to verify if they can olfactory discriminate samples of pregnant women; it would be a work similar to that already done in medical detection or rescue, although I do not think that dogs could contribute much in that field, taking into account that pregnancy tests are something cheap, available and reliable. "
It is important to understand that although we have seen cases in which the animal has changed its behavior, this cannot be attributed, undoubtedly, to knowing that a baby is on its way. "That they perceive the changes in the routine and probably the changes in the olfactory profile, does not necessarily mean that they know that a baby is coming and what that will mean," confirms Silvia.
In Babies and more, did you have an "unforgettable" weekend with your child's class pet? This father does, and he tells it in a hilarious thread "They simply detect the changes and react (or not) to them; keep in mind that it is something that also happens in many other situations, such as job changes, family members who move or settle at home, works or noise in the neighborhood, new animals in the environment ... "
The truth is that we do not know if they understand the coming of a baby, and that is the question. There is a huge barrier that works in both directions: communication. We do not know if pets know what is coming as they probably do not know that you are pregnant by a mere matter of communicative misunderstanding.
Dogs detect many things
The incredible senses of pets serve many things. Especially smell. Dogs, for example, have been trained to detect diabetes, thanks to the acetone that usually emits the sweat of a person about to suffer a fall in glucose. They are also able to smell some of the substances associated in the body with cancer. In fact, interesting experiments are being done to use dogs as a non-invasive method of detecting cancer, as a "forecast".
In Babies and more, has your child asked for a pet this Christmas? Before fulfilling your wishes, think about the idea and think about adoptionAnother inevitable question that comes to mind is if we should do something in case we notice the dog weird. "Although knowing the ability to adapt to stress and changes of our pet gives a clue, you can not ensure a priori whether or not you will react to pregnancy, "says the expert.
"In any case, it is recommended to make the changes as gradually as possible, to reduce the possibility that they are stressful for the pet," he says. That really changes the way you act.. Many of the changes come with time, when pregnancy is already somewhat more advanced and there is a notable difference in the environment.
In any case, before a relevant change in their behavior, they will probably require assistance. "In addition to what we have said, that is, planning the changes in advance and implementing them in the most gradual and bearable way for the pet," explains the veterinarian, "if the change in attitude indicates that the pet may be suffering from high stress , with significant changes in behavior, with signs of hypervigilance, tension, fear, anxiety or avoidance, the most advisable thing is to consult with the veterinarian to evaluate if the intervention of a specialist is necessary ", confirms.
