Canine Comfort: Do Dogs Know When You're Sad?

reply to post by jtap66


So true. My littlest dog will chew something up then drop it by my biggest dogs bed to try and frame him. Even though she's still the one slinking away.

Yes they know.
Mine always greets me at the door after work and will be all over me so I can pet her and if I had a crappy day and am in a mood she just stays mellow and lays next to my chair.

When I had 2 back surgeries last year and came home from the hospital she kept her distance rom me and was very gentle like she sensed I was sore and didn't ever jump up on me or get rough.
While I was laid up and healing she was Waaayyy more protective and wouldn't let anybody near me.

I have no doubt they know your emotions when there is physical distress.

I just lost my dog.

He died literally one month before his 14th birthday. The vet found a mass in his stomach at the end of last year and told us he had a few weeks, if we were lucky - But he held on. He stayed with me until the end of April. He was so strong during his last few months. He acted as if he was a puppy again. We did all of our 'one last time...' things, well, almost all of them... Honestly, I can still think of a million things I would have loved for him to see and do 'one last time...'

One day he just gave me this look and I knew, he was ready to go. We set up shop on the living room floor, surrounded by a lot of his favourite things. I didn't leave his side for even a second, and I stayed beside him a while after his final breath because in the nearly 14 years he was with me he never left mine - Through the good times and the bad, he was always there for me. We grew up together. He was my best and most trusted friend.

He took such a big part of me with him. There's a hole in my heart that I don't think can ever be filled again.

I just wish there was a way we could communicate with them just how much they better us by spending their lives with us - I wish they could understand that, I hope they do. I will forever be grateful that I had him in my life and I will miss him until my final breath.

reply to post by elevatedone


Make me the second you made tear up! What a fantastic list, made me go and snuffle up (man, the smell of your own dog is awesome, huff that stuff in there!) to my goggies.

Also, this is a fascinating documentary on dogs. Its by the BBC Horizon team, so you know its going to be a pretty good doco. It covers a lot of the ground of reading emotions and why dogs are the way they are. They've evolved to be little 4 legged humans in a way. Hope you enjoy it!

I had a Border Collie for 17 years. If we weren't out walking he'd be laying on the floor staring at me.
He studied me 24/7. HE COULD READ ME LIKE A BOOK!!!

Do they know when your sad? Of course they do, and they know a whole lot more too.

I could be sitting in a chair staring out the window and i only had to consider the idea of taking him out for a walk
and he'd launch into his - I'm so excited I cant control myself - dance. How did he know?

Dogs have a sense of humour too!!
I was crouched at the edge of a river looking down trying to see the little fish, My dog launched himself at me knocking me into the water, he then ran about yip yapping like an excited puppy, I swear he was laughing at me.

They also know how to punnish you.
I'm a lorry driver, One day I left the cab for about ten minutes, when I returned I knew instantly something was wrong because of his body language. As I pulled onto the motorway I noticed I could smell Oranges. Now, my dog was a dab hand at opening bottles. When I reached my destination I reached for the tray that contained the delivery notes. I kept my phone and a camera in the tray too. The tray was an inch deep with Orange juice. The delivery notes were unreadable and my phone and camera were both dead. I looked straight at him and his expression said "Should have taken me with you". For about thirty seconds my blood boiled, then I burst out laughing, only he could have done that to me and got away with it, and he knew it.

He lives in my head now.

Actually I just brought a new dog home yesterday, now I have two.

I saw her 2 days ago at near my equipment yard at work outside the fence just laying next to the road against the fence. It almost looked like she may be injured, sick or something. She just didn't look right but I went on as I was very busy. She looks about 4-6months old.

Yesterday morning she was still there in the same spot looking very weak. As I was switching trucks she wobbled into the yard and stood there shaking badly barely able to stand and I could see her ribs badly and she looked almost starved. I tried to get her to come to me but she just stood there with her tail between her legs and growled at me.
I had a few small pieces of the previous days lunch in my truck (left over taco bell) and I threw it out the window near her and she just inhaled it. My work partner had a grilled chicken tack from Del Taco I liberated from him and she wolfed that down. Then she just ran up and jumped on my lap and I haven't been able to get 10' from her since. Needless to say I took her home.
She was severely starved, extremely dirty and skittish.

She took up with everybody in the family immediately from babies to adults, don't chew on anything except the dog toys, hasn't gone in the house and only when I let her out, gets along with the other dog great and is extremely loving.
She bonded with me immediately and now can't get her away from me to save her life. She does seem to have issues when I went to work today like she thought I was leaving her or something. Went FREAKING nuts when I got home today!
Seems to be a smart, loving healthy dog. Kinda makes me wonder why somebody abandoned her.?

She fit in here like she's been here forever. You would never know she didn't live here till yesterday.

I have two dogs.
One is a 120lb lab.
The other is a 15 lb havanese.

They are both very intune with my moods as with the other family members.
Dogs are social creatures and can "sense" things.

Originally posted by chrismicha77

What I've found in the 16 years I spent with my dog, when I was sick, upset, or depressed, she always responded according to how I felt. On those days when I was sick or upset, she never left my side. When I was depressed, she always did something silly to make me laugh. The people in my life couldn't do what she did for me.

So regardless if they find the true answer or not in this study, I know it to be true.

I'm going to give a big AMEN to this statement. I've been a dog owner my entire life, and have been lucky enough to have been blessed with some very caring animals. When I was younger, I had a cocker spaniel/black lab mix named Baby, and every single time I was sick or upset, she always came to me, and cheered me up. She was a gentle dog, she would look me in the eyes with a very mother-like care, and kiss me until I laughed. Worked every time.

I now own a dachshund/cairn terrier mix named Sweet Pea. Her charms get me in trouble. Whenever my g/f gets angry, I do everything I can to console her, calm her down, and make her happy. But whenever I'm grumpy, I always tell her to let me be, because I'll get snippy. Then Sweet Pea comes along, gives me her big, teary eyed stare, and I melt immediately. Sweet Pea always knows when I'm upset, and will force herself on my lap and force kisses on me, even if I try to fight them. Always makes me happy. Then I get in trouble, because my g/f gets mad that I can calm her down, and I don't let her calm me down. Damn Sweet Pea, getting me in trouble for her kindless. lol

So like you said, "regardless if they find the true answer or not in this study, I know it to be true."

I would say absolutely they do.

Not only that but I think they have a better ability to sense it than most humans do.

Dogs seem to possess a type of ESP. My girl always told me that our dog could sense when I was about to come home.

She would get excited and run to the window and wait for me. Usually about 10 minutes or so before I got home.

I totally agree with the other post that said

They are masters of empathy,and know more about us than many will admit.

Some dogs can sense disease and maybe even smell cancer.

Dogs Can Sniff Out Lung Cancer From Patients' Breath

Here's my dogs

Many years ago I had a 60Kg Silver Grey German Sheppard. If it was not for the short hair you would swear you were looking at a grey wolf. Every time I got home that first winter after we got him, my Mum would have hot soup ready on the kitchen table. Did not matter what time I got home. One day I asked her how she knew when I was getting home. Apparently Thor would go to the front window 5 minutes before I got home and sit up and wait with his tail wagging.

After that I noticed he would do the same for my Mum. Was a very useful early warning system!

My current dog, Shadow, is a huge Alaskan Malamute. He was very timid when we got him, even skittish if you lifted your foot off the ground. Only took a week to let him know he found a decent home. He sits close to my chair and sometimes sits with his paes on my lap as I type.

Dogs are very special animals.

Why is the formatting crap, oh well!

P
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reply to post by freebornman


Well, if I was such a die hard manhater, I wouldn't of gotten a male dog.

This thread has seriously made me think about getting another dog. The only two things stopping me is I'll be at work and not being able to handle the loss when they pass.

reply to post by mwood


You deserve a thousand stars

Originally posted by chrismicha77
This thread has seriously made me think about getting another dog. The only two things stopping me is I'll be at work and not being able to handle the loss when they pass.

I soooooooo want another dog, but like you I find the loss unbearable.