Have you ever wondered whether your dog can sense when you become pregnant? Or perhaps you’ve noticed some behavioural changes with your pet during your pregnancy? We train our dogs to use their nose to find missing persons, detect contraband and we are even working toward detection of certain human ailments – so surely it isn’t too unrealistic to assume our dogs can tell when we are pregnant?
Changes in Scent
One of the biggest giveaways for our dog would be the changes in our smell. While there is no definitive research to prove our dogs can detect pregnancy, there are many studies that focus on a dog’s sense detection that indicate it is possible, and is likely dependant on the dog’s familiarity with the person.
The changes in the body chemistry of pregnant women can result in odour changes due to pH levels, hormones and diet. It is no secret that dogs have a phenomenal sense of smell and so it is likely that dogs notice a change in the smell of their human during their pregnancy.
With this being said, we really don’t know whether dogs truly understand the reason behind the change.
Behavioural Changes You May Notice In Your Dog
If you notice any changes in your dogs behaviour once you become pregnant, this may be driven by your own behaviour. Our dogs have a fantastic ability to pick up on our emotional, physical and behavioural response by expertly reading our body language.
For example, you may notice your dog appears to be more protective of you, or more clingy. Pregnant women move differently and are typically more cautious and protective of their stomach, tending to brush off rough behaviour, such as when our dogs start to jump up. It is thought that our dogs pick up on this change in our body language, which can result in your dog becoming protective of you or over-sensitive/appearing ‘clingy’ as it picks up on your cautiousness. Some dogs have also been known to show low-level aggression toward strangers that come too close.
There have also been cases whereby dogs have shown signs of stress and anxiety when their human becomes pregnant. This is thought to be linked to changes in the family’s routine and sudden changes around the house.
While most confident dogs will adapt well to new environments and routines, some dogs may take a little more time to transition, and may need a little extra care and attention. If you are pregnant and you’re worried about your dogs behaviour, or would like some tips on how to help your dog adapt well to the change, please get in touch!