Vets found nothing wrong with the Golden Retriever acting ‘strangely’ — then they asked the owner to take a pregnancy test

Sometimes, our pets sense things long before we do, and one woman's story has left viewers stunned by just how intuitive dogs can be. Shared by @purehealthmaxshop on TikTok, the woman tells her story through on-screen text about how she assumed her Golden Retriever was sick when he suddenly started acting strange. A vet visit led to a heartwarming discovery later.

It all started when Max, her dog, began acting oddly. He wouldn’t leave her side, followed her everywhere, and would whine anytime she closed the door behind her. At night, he would paw at her or nudge her stomach, which left her confused and worried. Thinking something was wrong with Max, she took him to the vet. As shown in the video, Max underwent an X-ray and several check-ups. "It freaked me out. I was convinced something was wrong with him. I took him to the vet, rambling about his strange behavior," the woman wrote. But instead of bad news, the vet asked a surprising question, "Have you taken a pregnancy test?"

At first, she laughed off the idea. "Why would I?" she responded. She later decided to take a test, just to rule it out. "My hands shook as I stared at the result, two pink lines," the woman shared. And that was the moment it all made sense. Max had known she was pregnant before she did. "He was trying to tell me in the only way he could," she shared in the clip. Her dog’s clingy behavior, the whining, the stomach nudging, it had all been his way of alerting her. 

Months later, Max had another moment in the spotlight. During her gender reveal party, the family tied a balloon to Max’s collar. When he popped it, pink confetti burst into the air, revealing it was a girl. "He knew from the start," the woman wrote. It's actually not unusual for a dog to sense a pregnancy.

According to The Bump, "Dogs have an extremely sensitive and strong sense of smell. A large part of their brain is used to detect scent, [so] they’re able to sniff out bombs, drugs, cancer, insulin and even hormonal changes," says Dr. Rachel Barrack, a vet in New York City. They can detect changes in scent, even from hormones, early in pregnancy. "Dogs have an extremely acute sense of hearing, so it’s possible that they can hear a fetal heartbeat as early as the 28th week of pregnancy," Barrack adds. Dr. Monte Swarup, an OB-GYN, explains that hormone levels begin shifting just weeks after conception, and dogs are quick to pick up on these changes.  

This also isn't the first time a pet dog has detected a pregnancy before their owner. In another sweet moment, a normally distant dog became unusually cuddly, resting her head on her owner’s stomach. A pregnancy test later confirmed what the pup had sensed. At just four weeks, her early reaction was surprising. The woman said, "It’s crazy to me how early she picked up on it!"