Expecting couple’s pet dog kept trembling near his owner’s baby bump – 36 hours later, they learned the heartbreaking reason why
Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of loss that some readers may find distressing.
Pets are often known to have a strong connection with their owners, sensing changes in their environment and emotional states. A Reddit post from user u/Foodporn5678, asking "Do dogs sense miscarriages?" sparked a flood of replies, with one particularly moving response from user u/Tasty-Journalist-166. He shared a deeply personal experience about how his dog seemed to have sensed a heartbreaking truth about his expecting partner well ahead of when the couple even began to suspect it.
In his reply, the Reddit user recalled how, about 36 hours before his wife started spotting, their dog became completely inconsolable. He explained that his pet canine was "shaking all over, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t go outside." Despite an emergency vet visit where no physical issues were found, the dog continued acting out and crying, only calming when he was allowed to stay close to his wife. “He got into bed with my wife and would shake again only when I tried to take him away from her,” he shared. This strange behavior was never repeated, leaving the family with a sense that their dog had somehow sensed the miscarriage much earlier than they realized.
The story highlights the incredible sensitivity many dogs seem to possess. After the miscarriage, the dog stayed close to his wife, offering comfort as she recovered. "After the miscarriage was complete, he stayed in bed with my wife while she recovered," he mentioned. The pet owner later also shared how the family dog behaved during the couple's second pregnancy. “During our current pregnancy, he’s been a little curious and rests his head on her belly a lot,” the user added, suggesting that the dog might have recognized the changes in her body.
The user firmly believes that his pet's intuition sensed something they were unable to identify at the time. "I really think that he sensed the lost pregnancy before we did." It is indeed true that dogs can sense changes in human hormones, thanks to their strong sense of smell. According to Frontline, "Dogs can smell pheromones and with pregnancy or after a miscarriage, there’s a change in their owner’s scent," said dog coach Sissy Leonie Kreid, who studied animal sciences at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. She explained that hormonal changes can affect a dog’s behavior. However, Kreid added, “People also change their behavior [sic] after a miscarriage; they become sadder, maybe even desperate. The dog doesn’t understand this change and needs time to get used to it.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, dogs are also capable of sensing stress. Research has shown that dogs can detect when humans are stressed by smelling changes in their breath and sweat. In a study, dogs accurately identified stress samples with 93.75% accuracy. The study demonstrated that dogs can distinguish between baseline and stress odors. These findings show that dogs can sense physical changes caused by stress, helping explain why they can pick up on their owner's emotions. This ability makes them useful in emotional support and could be beneficial for people with PTSD.