Do you know how dogs react to human pregnancy? Some dogs react whenever a member of a family is pregnant. This probably comes from the dog’s extraordinarily keen senses, almost like ESP for humans.
Pregnancy is no joke, especially for the women experiencing it. Certain mood swings and changes occur, both physically and emotionally. And at some point, dogs have good detection skills when it comes to sensing these changes. The level of sensitivity to these changes actually varies among the different breeds. Some breeds don’t seem to care about the pregnancy, while some others run about and have certain reactions to it.
Some people believe that dogs have a sixth sense, but in reality, they just have better senses when it comes to body language and emotional changes in a person. The extraordinary senses that some dogs seem to possess may be due to the fact that they are indeed quite gifted in sensing these changes. Even emotional changes of people can be seen and detected by dogs.
Another thing is that they are also extraordinary at smelling things, such as odor changes due to the differences in a pregnant woman’s body chemistry, and many react to it.
How Dogs React to Human Pregnancy
Since dogs are capable of identifying these changes, some of them react to them, especially if their master happens to be the pregnant woman. Different postural behaviors can occur, and the dog might start acting weird towards his/her owner. Some dogs may even growl or be overprotective of their owner, and their moods might change. And other dogs may start following their master everywhere.
While these pregnancy stresses for dogs can occur, there are still ways to treat them. If the dog is already well-trained, dealing with its behavior is much easier. One way is to set up clear rules and boundaries around the house and wherever you take your dog. Try giving him some basic commands and help him focus when these situations occur. Once the owner has forcefully taken control of the situation, the dog will feel more relaxed and the tension should go away.
In some areas, there are programs by different organizations that focus on counseling families on treating their dogs that are experiencing this kind of pregnancy stress. The basic key to helping your dog out of this stress is providing him with good care and extra attention to his emotional needs. Dogs in this kind of situation need to be calmed down so they can avoid unwanted annoyance to the family. It is just a matter of preparing the dog for the new baby, and good planning should be established for times when emotions will be a fact of life. Most pregnant women themselves experience emotional stress, and it will be likely “rub off on” the dog. And this is why the dog needs to be properly trained so it can relax to make way for the new member of the family.
Having an idea of how dogs react to human pregnancy will help you when the happy event occurs in your family. You’ll know what to look out for, and can thus keep any problems from becoming serious.
Did you experience unusual dog behavior when there was a pregnancy in your family? Please share below.