# Do dogs know when other dogs are sick?



## miu2

Many of you know that we are dealing with Betty, our dear Rottie's, cancer at the moment and was wondering if any of you think that dogs know when other dogs are ill?  Sometimes it seems that my other rottie, Blitz, acts much more loving to Betty and a bit more careful around her so as not to "hurt Her".  I also notice that our other dog, Bella, isn't roughhousing with her any more lately.  They used to jump all over each other and Bella has backed off lately and licks her face more often than usual.  Could just be me imagining things but would like to hear your thoughts and/or experiences.


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## momtok

I can offer that birds do. A year ago, one of our parrots was extremely ill with kidney failure (due to auto-immune disease which was only truly diagnosed during autopsy). She acted completely normal for her last few days though, except for a small limp (kidney was pressing on the nerve to her leg).

Another of our parrots, who for years was always going over to "visit" our sick little baby, was much more careful with her during those last few days, despite the fact that the only visible symptom (to humans at least) was her limp. The other parrot definitely acted just as you describe --- "more careful" with her.

You have our prayers and sympathies.


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## Cindi

Yes, They definitely know. Some dogs will even attack a weaker dog. I have seen Greyhounds try to attack another dog just before he had a seizure. (foster dogs, not ones that have been together for a while) I have also seen dogs "nurse" another dog that was ill. Animals are usually a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Even my cats will care for each other when one isn't feeling well. My Maggie knows that Bellis is somehow different (she is blind) and treats her differently than she does the others. If Bellis bumps into her she just ignores it. Any other cat will get a swat. LOL Blitz and Bella sound very sweet. They know their sister needs some extra care and are giving it to her. You are definitely not imagining it.


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## kiki119

Hi Miu2! 
I do think they do can sense it... even with human.
I was really sick a few years back with a stomach flu and I was living by myself.  My cats sat by my side as I was in my bed.
Maybe your other dogs always sense your worry toward Betty and they had picked up on it.
once again, I am sorry about Betty and my prayers are with you and betty


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## Mia Bella

^^ Yup. Dogs definitely know. They communicate through non-verbal cues and I'm sure they know instantly when something changes or becomes unbalanced. I'm glad your other dogs are more careful around her rather than aggressive. We're crossing our paws and sending weenie dog vibes your way!


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## miu2

Hmmm, just confirms my belief that animals are purely creatures of God.  Such amazing, pure of heart and truly wonders of the world.  No judgments or criticisms from them and they treat us everyday as if it were the first time they have seen you in years. Humans could sure learn some life-lessons from these angels sent by God for us to be blessed with.  No wonder they are only with us for such a short period of time.  Because they are pure and truly altruistic.  I know that they don't require many lessons from God because they already "get it".  I fell so blessed to have been part of their lives if even for such a short while.


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## boxermomof2

miu2 said:


> Hmmm, just confirms my belief that animals are purely creatures of God.  Such amazing, pure of heart and truly wonders of the world.  No judgments or criticisms from them and they treat us everyday as if it were the first time they have seen you in years. Humans could sure learn some life-lessons from these angels sent by God for us to be blessed with.  No wonder they are only with us for such a short period of time.  Because they are pure and truly altruistic.  I know that they don't require many lessons from God because they already "get it".  I fell so blessed to have been part of their lives if even for such a short while.



I completely agree! I highly recommend the book "Cold Noses at The Pearly Gates". This book was so helpful when I lost my boxer girl last year. It points out several passages in the bible that tells us how important animals are to God; and there are several passages in the Bible that talks about animals in heaven.   The author also points out that it was no mistake Christ was born in 
a manger with animals to witness the birth of God's son.


My husband And I believe our male boxer knew our girl was sick before we did.


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## kiki119

miu2 said:


> Hmmm, just confirms my belief that animals are purely creatures of God. Such amazing, pure of heart and truly wonders of the world. No judgments or criticisms from them and they treat us everyday as if it were the first time they have seen you in years. Humans could sure learn some life-lessons from these angels sent by God for us to be blessed with. No wonder they are only with us for such a short period of time. Because they are pure and truly altruistic. I know that they don't require many lessons from God because they already "get it". I fell so blessed to have been part of their lives if even for such a short while.


 
I think you nailed it...  I am an animal lover and I have just adopted a 6 yr old yorkie poo... I only have him for 3 days and he showers me with love and affection already (he brings me his favorite toy whenever he sees me)...  as if he forgot how he was treated before 

I think you are amazing with your charity and it is so great to see how it blossomed.  You have also inspired me adopted then buying a pet when I was looking for a new family member.

you are an angel.


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## queennadine

I absolutely think animals know when another one is ill.

They might not speak human language, but their instincts and perceptions most likely top ours. 

 to you in this difficult time!


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## smallfry

miu2 said:


> Hmmm, just confirms my belief that animals are purely creatures of God.  Such amazing, pure of heart and truly wonders of the world.  No judgments or criticisms from them and they treat us everyday as if it were the first time they have seen you in years. Humans could sure learn some life-lessons from these angels sent by God for us to be blessed with.  No wonder they are only with us for such a short period of time.  Because they are pure and truly altruistic.  I know that they don't require many lessons from God because they already "get it".  I fell so blessed to have been part of their lives if even for such a short while.



I absolutely agree with this whole post!  

You may have heard this before:   "Dog is God spelled backwards"

I definitely think that they not only sense that other dogs are ill, but humans as well.  In fact, there are studies that dogs can smell cancer in humans.  Amazing creatures


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## miu2

kiki119 said:


> I think you nailed it...  I am an animal lover and I have just adopted a 6 yr old yorkie poo... I only have him for 3 days and he showers me with love and affection already (he brings me his favorite toy whenever he sees me)...  as if he forgot how he was treated before
> 
> I think you are amazing with your charity and it is so great to see how it blossomed.  You have also inspired me adopted then buying a pet when I was looking for a new family member.
> 
> you are an angel.


If we encourage just one person to adopt a shelter dog, it is worth every bit of work we put into the rescue group we have formed!!

I feel as though Betty is in every single shelter dog that is adopted considering she was the reason we started the foundation, HEAL!!


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## bagnshoofetish

yes they know.  there are actually dogs that are trained to "smell" cancer in humans.  all animals pretty much have this sense.  its part of survival.  for example, if an animal in a herd is sick or wounded, it would most likely be abandoned because it would become a liability and attract predators.  your dogs being as close as they are in a protected household don't have to abandon each other so its not surprising that they are gentle with each other.
sending lots of love to your sick little doggie.  I hope she is comfortable and it sounds like she has a very loving and caring environment so she is in the best place possible!


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## boxermom

I absolutely believe they can sense things that we don't even know. Dogs can tell when their people aren't feeling well physically or emotionally and they can also tell with other animals. IMO, they are very intuitive.

My love to Betty and you, my dear.


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## LV-PRADAfanatic

senting hugs  to you.. animals have 6th sense i guess


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## madamefifi

Nearly 18 years ago I brought a kitten into a home where there was already an older cat. The older cat wanted absolutely nothing to do with the kitten and rebuffed all of her friendly overtures, sometimes not very gently. A few months later I got the kitten spayed, and when I brought her home the little drama queen dragged herself to a sunny spot on the carpet and laid down to rest. The older cat watched her from the sofa for a minute, then jumped down and, to my amazement, laid down beside her! They napped there in the sunshine together all day and were friends from that day til the day the older cat died. 

On the other end of the spectrum, my Mathilda was relentlessly "picked on" by some of my other cats and just generally had what we called "omega" (opposite of "alpha") status in the herd . She ended up being diagnosed with a congenital heart condition when she was 5 (which she died of) and I've often wondered if the other cats "knew" she was "flawed" and destined not to live long.

My prayers are with you and Betty, *miu2*.


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## ipudgybear

I definitely think dogs do know when other dogs are sick, even humans as well. Whenever I was sick or anyone from my family, my dog would be extra sweet and affectionate to us. 
I hope Betty turns out well.


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## coconutsboston

I think animals have a 6th sense about these things!


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## aaallabama

coconutsboston said:


> I think animals have a 6th sense about these things!


*
^^ ditto, no doubt about it!!! *


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## jen_sparro

My labrador knew when our cat was sick. They were best friends (we got them both at the same time), and all of a sudden he started avoiding Stormy. Stormy then started attacking our younger dog, Lily and other people in my family. 
We discovered Storm had a brain tumor and Toby never came near Storm again until we put Stormy to sleep. So he knew his friend wasn't the same cat he had been friends with for ten years.

Both Toby and Lily know when we're unwell, they get very sooky and even more gentle than they normally are.


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## bagnshoofetish

its all about scent with animals - not some kind of sixth sense.  they can smell illness in humans and other animals.  we are not so in tuned with the all the odors our bodies release because we don't have to be.  animals cannot speak and reason with each other so their sense of smelling, hearing and vision (depending on the animal/species) is heightened.  blind people experience this.  other senses are enhanced to make up for their sight.
as humans if someone has a cold, they sneeze so we keep away from them because they become a liability to us.  in the animal world a "cold" is an abstract idea they cannot comprehend so another animal sneezing doesn't mean much to them but they can smell something is not quite right with that animal.  hope that makes sense.


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## pmburk

Yes, they definitely know.

We had an old cat who succumbed to cancer about a month ago. One of our other cats - the one who usually beats everyone else up and acts like a total turd - was always very sweet and gentle around her. He would even sit and WAIT for her to finish eating before he would butt in on the food. He didn't do this with any other cats. I think it was because she was very elderly.

I also agree that animals know when we humans are sick or emotionally upset. Several years ago I was upset over something and crying, and our mean old tomcat who normally has nothing to do with me came over and curled up in my lap and started purring.


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## pmburk

boxermomof2 said:


> I completely agree! I highly recommend the book "Cold Noses at The Pearly Gates". This book was so helpful when I lost my boxer girl last year. It points out several passages in the bible that tells us how important animals are to God; and there are several passages in the Bible that talks about animals in heaven. The author also points out that it was no mistake Christ was born in
> a manger with animals to witness the birth of God's son.


 
That's really interesting. I had not heard of this book, but I'm going to look for it. I'm Baptist, and I've heard a lot of people say that animals don't go to heaven. I have even heard preachers say that, but I've never actually heard a Biblical basis for either side of the argument. I'm very interested to read this, if I can keep a dry eye! 

I don't want to imagine a heaven where there aren't animals - I just don't believe that's what heaven would be like.


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## gsmom

sorry 'bout your kitty, pmburk.


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## pmburk

^ Thanks. She was my husband's cat before I met him, so she was pretty old. Her name was Eleanor, after Eleanor Roosevelt. She had such a funny personality - when I first met my husband she would NOT come near me at all. She would actually go out of her way to walk a circle around me!  Normally animals come right up to me. Once she figured out I let her sleep under the blankets, it was all good, though. She was a sweet kitty and she was very loved.


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## BigPurseSue

bagnshoofetish said:


> its all about scent with animals - not some kind of sixth sense. they can smell illness in humans and other animals. we are not so in tuned with the all the odors our bodies release because we don't have to be. animals cannot speak and reason with each other so their sense of smelling, hearing and vision (depending on the animal/species) is heightened. blind people experience this. other senses are enhanced to make up for their sight.
> as humans if someone has a cold, they sneeze so we keep away from them because they become a liability to us. in the animal world a "cold" is an abstract idea they cannot comprehend so another animal sneezing doesn't mean much to them but they can smell something is not quite right with that animal. hope that makes sense.


 
This is so very true. We've always had hounds of different types, and labs who are very scent-oriented. We've had a few hounds who seem almost psychic at interpretting my and my husband's emotions, especially when we're feeling down or just plain sad. One big old hound we had used to crawl into bed and sprawl across the chest of the sufferer, putting his face against ours. It was incredible. 

The dogs also pick up on the fact when another dog is down with an illness, reacting with compassion or outright hysteria that their pal is unable to cavort and play. One of our hounds tore up the house while his pal was sick and we weren't home. Our neighbors said they saw potted plants flying and they tried to break inside to calm him down. We came home to find part of the house in shambles. There was even a large chunk bitten out of the kitchen counter--only god knows why. No, the poor pooch had never behaved this way. Our other dog died a few days later. 

A lot of it is scent, but some of it is also behavior. When one dog sees that his pal is not behaving with his usual friskiness he gets very sad indeed.


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## bagnshoofetish

BigPurseSue said:


> A lot of it is scent, but some of it is also behavior. When one dog sees that his pal is not behaving with his usual friskiness he gets very sad indeed.



yeah they can panic.  alone they are vulnerable in the wild.  a dog lives in the moment.  they don't know everything is going to be okay.  if we have anxiety they sure pick up on that too.  they look to us as the alpha leader of the pack so when we are not okay, they are not okay.  they are truly little angels with fur.

Hope OPs doggie is doing okay today.


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## miu2

bagnshoofetish said:


> they are truly little angels with fur.
> 
> Hope OPs doggie is doing okay today.


We will be picking her up tonight.  Will give updates on the other thread about Betty.

Could not agree more with the last sentence of your post!!!


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## bagnshoofetish

miu2 said:


> We will be picking her up tonight.  Will give updates on the other thread about Betty.
> 
> Could not agree more with the last sentence of your post!!!



one for youand one for your doggie!


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## nprotundo

miu2 said:


> Hmmm, just confirms my belief that animals are purely creatures of God.  Such amazing, pure of heart and truly wonders of the world.  No judgments or criticisms from them and they treat us everyday as if it were the first time they have seen you in years. Humans could sure learn some life-lessons from these angels sent by God for us to be blessed with.  No wonder they are only with us for such a short period of time.  Because they are pure and truly altruistic.  I know that they don't require many lessons from God because they already "get it".  I fell so blessed to have been part of their lives if even for such a short while.



Completely, completely, completely agree. Couldn't say this better myself.


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## hermes_lemming

Animals know.  One of the neighbors cats used to "stalk" my Yorkie.  But after he's been recently sick and diagnosed w/ an aggressive cancer, that cat leaves my pup alone.

The other dogs know as well.  When we took him the to park yesterday, all the dogs came by - not your normal "sniff and greet" but more like sad greetings.  I can't explain.  Every single dog (that we have never met before) came by to my pup and looked at him worried.

It was very sad.  I petted each one and said "it's ok.  I know."  Due to his advanced age and possible trauma of a major evasive procedure, we decided for nature to take it's course.  He will join God in heave in the next month or so.

As his mom, I just have to ensure he has no suffering and know when to do the deed.  In the meantime, we are filling his life with as much love and happiness possible.


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## chessmont

hermes_lemming said:


> He will join God in heave in the next month or so.
> 
> As his mom, I just have to ensure he has no suffering and know when to do the deed.  In the meantime, we are filling his life with as much love and happiness possible.



Oh I am so sad for you and your pup...


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## Gabrielaacb

I am very worried about one of my dogs. Ive got two 10 months old german pointers, theyre brothers and best friends and they live in our farm, so i only get to see them on the wknds. Recently one of them started growling and barking and even attacking his brothers left ear.. I got the feeling there could be something in his ear, there definetly is something wrong. What should i do? What could it be? When this happens, the one being barked at stops with his head really low and gazes at thin air while his brother seems very upset at his ear. Pleeeeease help im really scared!!!!!!!!!

My love and good vibes go to betty and all the other furry bundles of joy out there (and all the happy parents too)


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