What changes can dogs sense in their owners?

Dogs experience the world much differently than humans, relying on their heightened senses, all of which help them recognize many differences in people.

Their keen eyesight, smell, and hearing allow them to recognize emotions, physiological changes, diseases, and environmental factors.

Dogs are sensitive to human emotions because they recognize changes in tone of voice, body language, and scent. If the owner returns home with a smile, the dog will happily wag its tail and ask for a hug.

Professional dog trainer Erica Lesa discovered that if a person enters a house quietly and avoids contact, the dog will notice the change and decide to retreat.

Many owners also notice changes in their pets' behavior during pregnancy. Because dogs can sense hormones, it's possible for them to recognize subtle changes in a pregnant woman's body.

Dogs instinctively recognize fear in humans through scent, body language, and facial expressions, which can trigger a “fight or flight” response. What’s more, negativity may have less of an impact on dogs. If negativity causes stress and anxiety in a person, then emotions can affect a dog. Emotionally unpredictable people give off chemical signals that dogs can sense, which helps them recognize potentially unsafe situations.

Dogs are also known for their ability to detect illness through smell. The biggest indicator of illness is usually a change in body odor, and dogs can detect metabolic changes in breath and skin.

Some weather changes, such as storms that change atmospheric pressure, which keeps scents closer to the ground, allow dogs to sense changes in the weather.