How dogs sense when we are sick?
Hachi barks and jumps at his master as if to tell him not to leave for work. Sigh, if only the man listened to his dog! Hachi’s master suddenly collapsed at his workplace with a massive heart attack. A question does arise, can dogs sense when we are ill and more importantly predict the oncoming of a stroke or epilepsy?
Well, their amazing sense of smell helps them to detect not only strokes but also the presence of cancer and even our emotional state. They can do it because of their awesome olfactory abilities. Since they have a stronger sense of smell than humans, they will be able to notice changes in our body chemistry when we fall sick. In fact, dogs can be specially trained to sniff volatile organic compounds in our human body that helps in early detection of serious diseases like cancer.
A trained nose of a dog can accurately detect the presence of lung cancer on the person’s breath, point the location of a mammary tumour or sense the presence of prostate or bladder cancer from the person’s urine. Apart from this, dogs can smell changes in blood sugar levels in a diabetic person and alert us when a person is about to have a seizure. So, if you notice your canine buddy giving special attention to a particular part of your buddy then you must listen to what they are telling you and get yourself checked.
Dogs can also sense our emotional state. They know when we are happy as they can smell the increase in the production of hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin. When we fall ill there is decrease in the production of these feel good hormones and your dog can sense it. This is why the keep checking up on you and are likely to stick close to you. It can be seen when you are feeling depressed, ill or grieving for a loved one. Dogs have been known to lick tears and provide silent support to their human friends.
Our canine friends can also understand our facial expressions. When we are sick or feel tired there will be a drop in our energy levels which can be seen on our face and your dog can easily detect it. They will immediately sense a change in our behaviour and expression and will want to instantly make us feel better. Your furry buddy will want to comfort you be giving you a quick nuzzle and will want to lick away your tears and if you are tired they will do something to bring a smile to your woebegone face!
So, whenever you don’t feel good allow your furry buddy to give you some TLC! They are the best in the field!
