Introduction
When people are ill, their body chemistry changes; dogs can sense this change. Some dogs are even trained to sniff out illnesses like lung cancer just through a person's breath, bladder or urinary problems from a change in the smell of someone's urine, and they can even detect increased or decreased blood sugars in diabetics. Dogs are amazing little wonders, aren't they?
Signs a Dog Smells Sickness
When a dog is detecting sickness in their human, there are some tell-tale signs you can read simply from your doggy's body language. The dog will raise his snoot and tilt his head when he is trying to concentrate on the things, sounds and smells around him. He will be relaxed, yet alert. He will show no signs of aggression and may attempt to guard a person who isn't feeling well from other people. His ears will tilt toward what he is trying to hear. When he is sniffing something different, his tail will be held high and it will not wag.
Body Language
- Alert
- Guarding
- Sniffing
- Tail up
- Ears up
Other Signs
- Eye Contact with the Person
- Trained Behaviors
- Laying On or Close By Person
The History of Dogs Smelling Sicknesses
It was only in the last century that we people finally caught on to just how helpful our pooch's sniffing powers could really be. This has led to training centers of all kinds being opened to help dogs fine-tune their sickness smelling and exhibit trained behaviors to warn their humans of danger from inside the body.
The Science Behind Dogs Smelling Sickness
Amazing right? Research has also shown that dogs can detect Parkinson's disease, can detect seizures before they happen and can sniff out several different forms of cancer such as ovarian, skin, lung, bowel, prostate and endometrial cancers.
Training Dogs to Sniff Illness
Dogs are trained to isolate that certain chemical in cancerous blood, breathe, urine or waste of any kind over a period of time. It takes time, patience, and dedication to train illness detection dogs, but through the work of their trainers, the dogs, and the information they collect, enable them to help sick people all over!
How to React When Your Dog Senses You Are Sick
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Let them chill with you while you rest up - they will love every minute of your time together.
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If your dog senses you are sad or tired, maybe he knows something you don't know, so you might want to make that doctor's appointment.
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Let them spoil you, for a change, with extra doggie kisses and cuddles.