Dogs can sense their owner's emotional pain - but sometimes they appear to ignore it.
A devoted husband has issued a plea for help after his dog turned its back on his wife after she suffered a miscarriage.
The couple adopted their dog almost two years ago after the pup was tragically abandoned in a shoebox on the side of a road.
The husband says the dog immediately bonded with his wife and “always wanted to be around her” - but his attitude towards her changed after she suffered a miscarriage recently.
He said on Reddit : “He strongly preferred my wife - always cuddling with her. He’s been attached to my wife’s hip. He likes me but he doesn’t cuddle with me.”
After spending almost 24 hours by the woman’s side on the first day of her miscarriage, the dog appeared to turn his back on her, prompting concern.
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“On Monday, our dog would not leave my wife’s side and slept next to her on the bed while my wife grieved that day,' the man wrote.
“On Tuesday, his behaviour changed. He’s now inseparable from me. He follows me around, cuddles, touching me on the bed instead of my wife.
“If I leave the room, he comes after me. Every way he behaved with my wife, he now directs toward me instead of her.
“My wife is already heartbroken over the miscarriage and the sudden change in our dog’s behaviour is making it worse.”
The husband is now trying to ‘reverse’ his dog’s recent behaviour to avoid doubling his wife’s pain.
Although it is unknown if dogs can sense whether a woman is pregnant, they can likely recognise a change in hormone levels.
Dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in humans, making their sense of smell about 40 times greater.
The Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) believe it is more likely the dog is responding to his owner's emotional state rather than “something specific to the miscarriage”.
A spokesman said: “Dogs are very sensitive to how we feel so the dog may be picking up on her deep level of upset and she will be interacting with the dog differently even if she is trying not to.”
They would expect the dog to return to its “normal” behaviour as the woman begins to come to terms with her heartache.
Sharing a similar experience, one Reddit user said: "I think it's because they sense all her emotions and it scares them a bit.
"When I went through cancer treatment, my dogs stopped sleeping with me.
"Exactly one day after my treatment, they were back in bed with me. I thought it might be the chemo or radiation that they were reacting to but that was still in my system. What I realised was that they were picking up on my fear and sadness.
"Once I finished treatment, even though I was still physically sick, I was emotionally stronger. I'm so sorry for you and your wife's loss. Hang in there."
Another user said: "I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s very likely your dog is confused and possibly even grieving in his own way.
"If I had to guess, he senses something is different and maybe seems to rely on you to take some of the burdens off your wife.
"I don’t know how but dogs can sense stuff like this. I’m sure with time he’ll make his way back to her. Again, I am so sorry for your loss."
