My dog knows when I'm pregnant; I swear!

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posted in Pregnancy

Here’s a non-traditional pregnancy test you may not have tried before: When your dog starts having accidents in the house, you’re having a baby! At least this seems to work in my family.

Consider that the last two times I was pregnant, my very housebroken pet beagle randomly started popping a squat on the rugs in our family room, and basement. I couldn’t figure out why the heck she was having accidents out of nowhere. Until I learned I was expecting.

Was it possible that she actually knew about the pregnancies before I did? That she somehow sensed subtle changes in my demeanor? Smelled different hormones being secreted from my body?

I’m not an animal behaviorist, so I can offer you no scientific proof that pets sense pregnancy. However, I put the question out to my fellow bloggers about whether their pets acted differently when they were pregnant. And many shared similar stories.

One of my colleagues confessed that dogs hate her normally, but were suddenly acting sweet toward her when she was pregnant. Another said her dog always wanted to be in her lap when she was pregnant. Because that’s so comfortable as your belly expands and expands.

But my fav admission came from Whitney Barthel, who told me her dairy cows follow her around every time she’s pregnant, but otherwise pretty much ignore her.

It seems our BabyCenter community members can also relate to having pets with a sixth sense about their pregnancies. Many moms-to-be shared that their cats and dogs get super-protective of them. Most insist on frequent cuddle time. In addition to leaving me little messes to clean up, my dog also insists on being thisclose to me when I’m growing a human. So, I had to laugh when one mama said her dog, who preferred to be left alone until she got pregnant, now enjoys licking her burgeoning belly!

We may never know for sure if our pets truly know we are pregnant. But it’s pretty clear many animals pick up on people’s moods. That’s why my dog always tries to comfort me when I’m sad. And why she watches over the kids when they are sick. Or runs away when I flip out over something (hormones), even if it has nothing to do with her.

So, it’s not too much of a stretch to believe she knows when I’m pregnant, maybe even before I do. Now if she could just find a way to tell me that doesn’t involve me on my hands and knees scrubbing the carpet!