Haven’t you heard? Dogs are the new EPT test. You just pee on them and then they can tell you if you’re with child in like three minutes or less. Okay I’m not being serious but I do have friends that claim that their pets demonstrated some changes in behavior after they became pregnant (to clarify: my friends are the pregnant ones in this story, not the pets). Strangely they weren’t even talking about being nine months pregnant where it’s clear that something looks different and you can visibly see a baby tap dancing in your stomach. What they were talking about was being just a few months pregnant and their pets seeming to know that something was up. So is there any truth to this? And could your pet actually sense that you are preggers before you or your doc knows it? Raise A Paw asks, Can your pet sense that you’re knocked up?

While there is no hard scientific proof to back up this theory it may stand to reason that since dogs are capable of detecting the chemical scents of cancers, when someone is about to have a seizure or when a person’s insulin levels are about to drop dangerously low it’s not so crazy to think that they could detect the drastic shift in hormones that occur when a women becomes pregnant. Knowing that dogs can detect hormonal changes in other canines is it possible they can detect hormonal changes in women?  Additionally it’s not impossible that your pet is able to detect the babies heartbeat.

True, it’s possible that your pet is responding to the changes in routine that are occurring that you may or may not notice:  Perhaps you’re sleeping later or more, you’re eating different foods that are putting different smells in the air, you’re lethargic or you’re cleaning out a room to make way for baby. All of these changes in routine could add to your pet’s behavior changing and while those things are most likely true the more interesting changes revolved around the sniffing of bellies and suddenly becoming very territorial about them as if they are instinctively becoming more protective.

Surfing the internet and searching for stories or information about this brings a slew of messages boards on pregnancy websites where women are trading stories about their pets and the curious ways in which they felt their pets could sense that they were pregnant long before the bambino arrived.

One contributor to the site Baby Center says:  “My dog’s knew I was preggo before I did with all of my pregnancies…and they are the reason that each time I would go out and buy a test!  I have 2 little Maltese and whenever I’m pregnant they won’t let my husband near me – they will lay right by me as close as they can get (1 on either side) and if hubby tries to get close they growl at him.   Its funny and rather uncomfortable at night, but I suck it up.”

Another writes, “One of our cats kept pawing my wife’s tummy and pushing his head right into her stomach for a cuddle. We took a test and hey presto-she was pregnant!  Now all the cats love to cuddle up with her so much more than normal!”

So while there is no documented evidence sitting in some very science-y type book somewhere it’s not so crazy to think that your pets just might know.

Readers, do you have any stories about your pet changing their behavior once you were full with child?  Pawesome is curious to know!

Image: SerenityRose

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