Do they Know?

[samseal]

Hi,

Was just wondering if you thought dogs knew things.

I have been quite ill for the lst six months and have been in and out of hospital including having a couple of major operations.Still not sorted yet and amback at hospital next week.

My Dog , Lucy has been very sad all this time and keeps looking at me in such way it breaks my heart.I know that she has missed me when I am gone,she recognises the hospital bag and to be honest she hasn't been getting the walks that she used too.

Just wondered if anyone else has experienced similar.I know cats sense things .My old cat Gizzmo knew I was pregnant before I did.

Sam
x

 

[morgan]

I kept dogs for 25 years and I am sure they do know things. She can probably smell the hospital on your bag, plus she will sense you are not your usual self. I think dogs know things on a physical level but I think they can sense other things as well. Best of luck and hope you are well soon. Also we interpret their facial expressions in human terms, they might be thinking about something completely different!

 

[samseal]

True,

She is probably thinking is it half four yet that is feeding time.lol

Sam
x

 

[Bloo]

Oh without a shadow of a millisecond of a doubt ! I'm not into personalizing / humanizing (whatever one calls it) animals, but they sense and know loads of things about our moods etc.
What will we do without them hey ?

 

[RandomWiktor]

I think animals are most definately aware of signals that we may think are subtle, but are huge hints to them, that suggest our health, situation, etc. If you think about it, animals in the wild make a huge effort to mask any changes in their condition, particularly health ones. So, other animals - especially predators like dogs and cats - would need to be extremely receptive to a weakness in their prey to know which animal to hunt. Since humans make very little effort (usually) to mask that they feel ill, they really see it in us, and, being pack animals (well, maybe not cats, so being social animals), are automatically concerned. I would say detecting illness is just as important for flock and herd animals, since they know who to stay away from, who they can challenege in rank, who they can defeat in sparring for mates, etc.
Of course, animals know more than when we're sick, such as when we're having a get-together, when we're coming home, when we are going to have a baby, etc.
For example, my birds know when I'm coming home for the weekend because my mom always leaves me a bunch of biscuits in a tin on my bed. Whenever they see that tin out, they start shrieking and running around their cages all excited, and every time they hear the front door open, they do their "where's my mate?" shriek.
I also think animals are great at picking up on emotional states. I can tell when my mom is going to be ranting and raving all day because my dog takes cover long before she starts yelling; he must notice differences in her posture, pace, facial expressions, etc. before we do. My cat is usually very reserved and independant, but when my rooster died, I was completely devastated, and that cat hung around me all day, nuzzling me and purring and following me around. I think that he was aware that I needed some companionship.
As another interesting experience, we had a cat for two years who had a progressive disorder that resulted in a gradual paralyzation and loss of the senses. When we finally took him in to be put down, every single dog in that clinic went silent; they seemed to understand something big was going to happen, and that the cat was very distressed. One dog even came over, whined, and licked the cat's nose while we waited in the lobby. It was very touching.

 

[eudielynn]

I also belive that they sense when someone is ill. My persian cat, Jynx is very much a Momma's girl. She follows me around the house like a puppy and has to be in whatever room I am in or she will start to "meowl" (a cross between a meow and a howl).

My husband is diabetic and has been disabled for years now. In the past four years he has been hospitalized twice with life threatening issues. Both times Jynx stayed by his side, both before he went in to the hospital and when he came home. She does not like to be held at all but she would lay on his feet for hours at a time. Since diabetics normally have very poor circulation in their feet, his feet stay like chunks of ice. Anyone who knows cats know how much they love to be warm, so this was really strange behavior. After he had been home from the hospital for a couple of weeks she just stopped. No tapering off. She just stopped laying on them one day and went back to being her old self. After the second time, my husband said that when she stopped laying on them he knew he was going to be alright.

 

[pnyklr3]

One of my mom's dog's "knew" that the other one was dying of cancer. About 2 weeks after the boxer passed away (in which he seemed depressed), the bishon/poodle mix pinched a nerve while jumping onto the couch, and lost use of his hind legs.

Since I see people from the Cocoa thread, I'm not going to elaborate too much. I think that my mom's cat knew what was going to happen when I took her to the vet to be put down. She shed fur everywhere, and I can't bear to hear the low "wail" that a scared cat can have

Oh, and there are dogs that can sense when an epileptic will have a seizure. If they can do that, then sure, they can sense other things.