Your Pup Knows You Better Than You May Think

Have you ever wondered if your beloved dog knows when you are feeling under the weather?

Our family dog Jessie is the sweetest and most loveable pup I know. This may sound exaggerated, but I promise you she is the best dog ever. She is a King Charles Cavalier and her breed is known for their happy disposition and mild temperament.

When we first brought her home my boys were little, like five and seven years old. So it's safe to say she is huge part of our family. Over the years, she's gotten to know us and we have gotten to know her. So when I came across this article about how your pet, dogs specifically, know when their humans are sick and not feeling well, I wasn't too surprised.

Amanda Mull, author of this article featured on a great site called getpocket.com says that, "According to researchers who study canine cognition, it’s usually not just pet owners’ imagination. Pups really do know when their humans are having a rough time, and they use a rich variety of signals to figure it out. Not only can your pet tell when you have the sniffles, but domestic dogs have shown an aptitude for detecting both much more minute mood fluctuations and far more serious physical conditions."

Research done by Alexandra Horowitz, who heads up the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Baynard College, says that “Dogs are preternaturally sensitive to changes in their people. If a person is infected with a virus or bacteria, they will smell different.” Some illnesses change a person’s odor so profoundly that even other people can notice it, but dogs are able to smell changes in their people that would escape human senses, or that are so early on that the sick person barely feels any different. That’s because dogs have exponentially more powerful senses of smell than humans: they can have as many as 300 million olfactory receptors in their nose, as opposed to a paltry six million for the average person.

Wow, right? I would have to agree with all of this. Though I do not get sick or under the weather often, when I do, my little girl is laying there right by my side. I believe it's her way of trying to support and just be there for me when I'm feeling lousy.

Love her.🐶💞