8 Unexpected Things Your Dog Can Sense

How do you even begin to talk about the wondrous marvel that is a dog? They’re man (and woman’s) best friend for a reason — our cuddly, faithful best friends who dish out nothing but unconditional puppy love. It’s a bond like no other, which is why it can seem like your dog knows you better than anyone, and there’s a reason for that.

Thanks to their heightened senses, dogs can detect things in humans that we may not even be aware of ourselves. From pregnancy to changes in weather, pet expert at Mad Paws Melanie Griffiths shares with us eight things our four-legged friends can detect before us.

1. Pregnancy

Your dog can sense that you’re pregnant, even before you can. It’s more than just an old wives’ tale! Their incredible sense of smell means they can sniff out the hormonal changes your body experiences in the very early stages of pregnancy.

2. Birth

Even more impressive, dogs can sense when you’re close to giving birth. If you’re near the end of your pregnancy and find that your dog is refusing to leave your side, it could be because he has sensed another change in hormones and knows that you will give birth soon. When you’re due, your pooch will feel the need to protect you and will keep as close to you as possible.

3. Fear

The saying “Don’t be afraid, dogs can smell your fear” may sound like a tall tale, but believe it or not, it’s true. Fear results in the release of adrenaline and pheromones that dogs can detect with their incredible sense of smell. But in comparison to their cousin, the wolf, your pup will probably drown you in cuddles and kisses if it senses that you’re afraid.

4. When You’re Sad

Dog owner or not, we’ve probably all experienced this once. Your dog just appears to know when you’re feeling down and comes to gently place his head on your lap as if to comfort you. Dogs can read your emotions even without you saying or doing anything, and when you’re feeling the blues, they will do everything in their power to try to make you feel better.

5. Changes in the Weather

Apart from their remarkable noses, dogs have very finely tuned hearing and can sense a storm long before it arrives in your area. If your dog seems agitated during bad weather, it could well be because a storm is on the way. In fact, they can even sense the static in the air, which can feed into making them nervous and unsettled.

6. When You’re Almost Home

Ever wondered why your dog is already at the window when you arrive outside your house before he could possibly have seen you? The explanation to this supernatural behavior all comes down to his powerful sniffer again. Your fur baby can smell you approaching and can hear your footsteps or car long before you think he can.

7. Diseases

For many years, dogs have been trained as medical assistance dogs to alert their humans when they need to take medication for low blood sugar or need to get to a safe place before a seizure starts. These abilities allow them to sense diseases to protect their humans. Trials are even being conducted into using dogs to detect certain types of cancers.

8. Death

Undetected by humans, there are changes in hormones when someone is close to death. Just as dogs can sense when a life is about to come into the world when giving birth, on the other side of the coin, they can also smell the changes of hormones in the human body when death is approaching.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, Woman’s World.