How Dogs Sense When We are Ill
We have all had that horrendous flu or illness that has knocked us off our feet, but some of us have an extra healing aid around… our pets! When I’m sick, my dog stays right by my side, as if holding vigil until I recover. As a professional pet sitter and dog walker, even my clients’ pets seem to know when I’m feeling under the weather, cuddling up a little sweeter, and understanding that our walk might not be as energetic that day. But can dogs really know and sense when we are sick? The answer is yes! Dogs, in particular, have several special ways that help them indicate if a person is ill or not. One of those ways is with their amazing olfactory abilities, or rather, their miraculous sense of smell. Certain breed of dogs can have up to 40-50 times the scent receptors than us humans, making their sense of smell about 100,000 times stronger than ours! When a person is ill, their body chemistry will change, and a dog’s sensitive snout may be able to detect these subtle ch...