Last night while I laid on the living room sofa I couldn’t help but feel so much joy over the current situation.

My dog, Daphne, was snuggled up as close as she could be right next to me. I watched as she laid her head on my belly and I smiled as I felt my baby kicking and kicking inside. I then laughed as I watched Daphne rearrange her heads position over and over again, trying to avoid the unavoidable kicks that were aggravating her tired head.

“Get used to it” I told her for this was to be her everyday life from now on. A new best friend for her in the house — in just four short months from now.

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Does My Dog Know I’m Pregnant?

Everything changes when you’re pregnant and these changes are completely unavoidable. The question I always have on my mind is, “does my dog know I’m pregnant?”

All dogs react differently to a pregnant owner. Some become extra protective, attentive, fearful, clingy, curious, or extra cuddly.

My Daphne has always been a serious cuddle monster, so any extra snuggles from her doesn’t signal a red flag for me that she knows I’m pregnant. But watching her ALWAYS lay her head on my belly and react from the kicks makes me think she could sense the little bun in the oven, who will inevitably take over snuggle duty with her. In due time.

THEY SMELL AND HEAR CHANGES

Dogs have an innate ability to sense changes in the human body. This includes smells, which dogs are highly praised for. A canine sense of smell is way stronger than a human’s sense of smell; up to 100,000 times better!

Dogs get used to their owner’s smell, which includes body odor, breath, and hormones. When a woman is pregnant her body chemistry changes (we all know, those hormones are changing!), which can make all her scent change. Whether your dog understands that your scent has changed because of pregnancy, they certainly sense something has caused the changes.

Those powerful noses allow dogs to smell something buried in the ground up to 40 feet, so what’s to say they can’t smell that little bundle of joy – literally right there under their noses?

Along with their powerful noses, dogs have incredible hearing. In fact, their hearing is comparable to the range of an ultrasound.

Starting around week 28 of a pregnancy, babies can start to cry in the womb. Crazy, right? Pay extra attention to your dog starting at this time, especially if you were exposed to loud noises that could have disturbed the baby, making him or her cry, subsequently allowing your dog to hear these cries.

YOU’RE BEHAVING DIFFERENT

Dogs get used to our daily routines, from when we get up in the mornings and when we get home for the night. So, if you’re changing your routine because of pregnancy, your dog will notice. Multiple trips to the bathroom during the night or waking up at odd hours due to morning sickness, your dog may react to these changes.

For my Daphne, she could definitely sense something was wrong when I would get up from the bed and get sick. She always wandered into the bathroom and laid down until I went back to bed or continued with my morning, depending on the time the sickness occurred. She wouldn’t disturb me or come close enough to touch me; she simply laid down and watched with a concerned or curious look.

Dogs may also sense when you have designated a room for the baby. It’s best not to shun the dog from the room, for this can only cause your dog anxiety. Bringing a baby home is going to give the dog anxiety already, don’t increase this anxiety.

If your dog becomes curious about the nursery, let them explore and become comfortable with the room.

I didn’t believe this until my husband and I decided which room would be turned into the nursery. Now, Daphne cannot get enough of that room. After she ignored a room in our home for two years, she now spends time alone in that room; taking a nap or sitting and watching out the window.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Your mood, behavior, smell, and appearance all change when you are pregnant. Dogs sense and understand these changes are happening, regardless if your dog understands why these changes are happening.

So, does my dog know I’m pregnant? A dog’s behavior may change when you’re pregnant because of all the inevitable changes happening to your body. Whether or not you want to believe the dog knows you are pregnant is up to you!

Congrats, Mama!