The sixth sense: Many pet owners say that their animals possess it - does yours?
Gretchen and I. Could our close bond be the key to her ability to sense things?
Lorrie Shaw / Contributor
Years ago, our St. Bernard/Shepherd mix, Gretchen was prescribed at-home allergy shots to try and quell the discomfort that she felt from skin allergies. The serum that we were given had to be refrigerated. Although I would go to the refrigerator countless times per day to retrieve something (usually with Gretchen close behind me), the pooch certainly to have a odd sense of knowledge of what was going to happen when I would walk over to get the serum out of the refrigerator to fill a syringe for an injection.
Even though there would not be a syringe in sight, or my not having touched the box that the serum was encased in — or having said a word about it, she would run and hide when I would walk to the kitchen.
Injections did not take place every day — they could be every third day, once a week or up to once a month at one point.
Did Gretchen have a premonition of what was going to happen, or was she, perhap,s reading some sort of apprehension that I had on my part?
I should add that if I go to get the dog nail clippers from the drawer (which other random things are stored in and we use frequently), Gretchen, without being prompted, will take off quickly and quietly, and hide in her "place" and will not come out. She isn't completely terrified, but having her nails cut is an unpleasant activity that she has never been happy about.
According to a recent AP report, many pet owners believe that it's true: pets have a sixth sense about bad things about to happen.
Animals of all types have long been reported to have an uncanny ability to detect things, some subtle, some not — like whether or not a person new to them they might be "up to no good", so to speak.
Rupert Sheldrake writes in his book, "Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home: And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals," not about only dogs, but horses and cats and their abilities to "know" things.
Our yellow lab Bruiser, who is very attached to my partner, Chris, knows when he's on his way home from wherever he is. The interesting part is, both of us work from home and do field work and rarely have schedules that follow a pattern each day. Bruiser will come out to the front room or get up, look around, give a little whine and within minutes, Chris is pulling up our long dirt road. How does our beloved pooch sense that when Chris' arrival happens so randomly?
I can't tell you how many times we've been late for a vet appointment because our cat, Silver knows that he's going, and runs to hide out-of-sight, even before I do anything (that I'm aware of) that would signal to him that that's the case. I never touch the kitty carrier, I swear.
I think that for what animals lack in the language department, they more than make up for in their senses and non-verbal communication. "Animals in Translation," Temple Grandin's book on animal behavior, she talks about perception and animals' use of different sense organs.
So is that it? The heightened ability of sensory organs, and needing to rely on non-verbal communication that allows them to perceive more than we humans typically do?
In the book, "How Dog's Think: What the World Looks Like to Them and Why They Act the Way They Do", author Stanley Coren talks about the 'sixth sense' of dogs in one chapter.
Various animals have been said to communicate that there are weather related events and changes on the way, like earthquakes.
Some pet owners note that they've been alerted to bad news by their pets by way of erratic behavior, hyperactivity, hiding and vocalizing.
So what's your experience with your companion animals and a "sixth sense"? Take the poll and leave your comments below:
Lorrie Shaw is a regular pets contributor to AnnArbor.com's pet section. Follow her daily adventures as a dog walker and pet sitter on Twitter, and reach her via email.
Comments
Angela Todd
Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 12:29 p.m.
During the last days of our the life of our dog, Missy, she would lie on what most people called a couch, but it's really a love seat. Anyway, every now and then, she would lift her head and look out into mid-air, as if someone was standing there. She'd then look at me, then look back into mid-air again, as if to say, "Don't you see someone standing there?" I would say, "Girl, what do you see?" I got the feeling that there was a doggy Saint Peter, waiting to take her away. Dogs also feel quakes & storms before we humans do. They also smell a fire before we do and hear things that we don't. People should learn to listen to their animal companions. They truly care about us, as we do them. I'm the one who wrote the story, "Our Miracle Christmas Puppy." Angela (Angie) Todd
Linda Diane Feldt
Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 8:27 a.m.
In his book, "Dogs Who Know When Their Owners are Coming Home" mentioned in the article, Sheldrake, a scientist, sets up a variety of experiments designed to eliminate other factors such as hearing engine noise, a person giving cues, etc. The results as reported are fascinating. And do seem to demonstrate some other sense coming in to play. I had a therapy dog, who visited Arbor Hospice for over 8 years. She behaved starkly differently a number of times when someone was about to die, even if she had visited them for weeks or months before. If someone she had gotten to know did die, she wold refuse to visit their room the next week. She would stop at the door, smell, and back away. Even though it had been thoroughly cleaned, even if a new person was there. A room that had just been routinely cleaned with no association with a person wouldn't stop her at all. She clearly was detecting something a human lacks the ability to sense, and it did seem to be scent related. We had countless experiences at hospice that made me appreciate her knowledge and wisdom, however it was gained. Dogs really are amazing allies for humans.
KathrynHahn
Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 12:12 a.m.
I was dog sitting for my brother when he was on vacation, and his little laid back sheltie and I were in the TV room around the time when his plane was due to come in. She started acting fidgety, I noticed the time on the clock but didn't encourage her. Sure enough she started getting more and more excited, and 1/2 hour or so later she was waiting in the window when he got home. She sensed something.
zero2sixty
Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 12:02 a.m.
Dogs & cats I've owned in the past & present pick up on conversational phrases to the point where I or someone else may mention "______ needs a bath". Oddly the animal (wherever they might be within hearing distance) seem to pick up on this. I've even made a serious effort to minimize indication that I'm giving medication to the cat or clicking the dog's nails. Makes no differnece, they seem to know the exact moment I decide to confront them w/something they'd rather avoid.
dfossil
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 5:11 p.m.
I'm sorry, Larry but "sit' and "s-it" are pretty close even without a head injury!
dfossil
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 5:07 p.m.
We know that many animal senses such as scent are far superior to any humans. Notably dogs and the sense of smell which dominates their world. We have no basis for comparison to what they perceive or how quickly they can sense things. One example: for years I never let my dogs know if I had to take one of the pack to be euthanized due to age or cancer. As a result they would spend some weeks looking for the missing pack member. I changed this and brought home the deceased dog and the others would cluster around, sniff the dead animal and in less then a minute, they left and never have "looked" for a missing member. It was like, "oh, that's why he/she's not around" and they moved on. It is as many have said, not the paranormal but animal normal that we humans have no way of tapping into. Their senses can be 100's of times more sensitive then ours, but then we have speech, color vision and opposable thumbs which animals really appreciate. Just scratch under their ears with those fingers and see the delight our fingers bring!
larry kramer
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 4:35 p.m.
my dog got hit by a car. $2000 later, he had brain damage, but was alive. he used to sit when I gave him the command "sit, ralf, sit!" now when I say "sit" he just takes a dump right there. sixth sense?
theodynus
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 3:17 p.m.
Evolution has favored dogs who are keenly aware of what their masters are up to. That is all.
Just_Six
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 2:37 p.m.
Well... a few years ago my husband was painting the sign at the front of our complex, about 1/4 mile from home. Absolutely out of sight, no way the dogs could see him. Our mastiff mix was frantically trying to get outside, so I set him loose and followed him... to the front of the complex, where he greeted my husband. Can they really hear or smell from that far away? How did he know that my husband was working so close to home that day? I should note that my husband DROVE to the work site, did not walk, so the dog couldn't track him. Amazing, however it works.
Speechless
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:22 p.m.
Agree with other posters that the apparent intuition seen in other species is probably related to modes or degrees of perception unfamiliar to humans. People, and cultures as well, typically seem to confront not-yet-explainable everyday mysteries by invoking the paranormal or the miraculous. What would be interesting is an ongoing field study of Bruiser and other companion animals who appear to sense the non-routine return of their human ahead of time. Since the person in question isn't around to provide clues involving vision, smell, sound or touch, it would be fascinating to look further into what other types of signals may exist in the surrounding home and neighborhood environment. For example, in some cases it may be that the animal reads subtle, unintended cues from another human in the same household which correlate with that person's own anticipation of an arrival.
spm
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:13 p.m.
My dogs are just quite observate but aren't always correct so I don't think they have any extra senses than normal. I tend to take them out for walks at regular times, but sometimes I'll need to take them at other times so when I get my coat on to take them out I have to get the leashes out before they realize they're coming with me. Other times when my husband is late from work my dogs will start whining at the door the minute they hear anyone walking down the sidewalk, then when they finally give up and go to sleep he'll come through the door completely surprising them.
YpsiLivin
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 12:42 p.m.
My dogs seem to know when I want to give them a treat, often before I do. And one of the dogs is very good at reminding me that I've forgotten to have some ice cream, but other than that, no. I think they're just a lot more observant than we are.
LAEL
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 10:54 a.m.
They read body language and voice just like humans do (and understand more human language than we usually give them credit for), and as Sarah Rigg mentions, they may also be picking up scent clues and other sensory clues that are beyond our senses. I can think of many unconsciously given clues that could trigger Gretchen to know that it's medication time. Bruiser is trickier, but maybe there's a larger pattern to Chris's work schedule or some other clue (wildlife going quiet when a car slows down at end of the drive?) that tells him Chris is almost home.
Urban Sombrero
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 10:07 a.m.
I think animals are smart, and intuitive, but I don't believe in a sixth sense.
Sarah Rigg
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 8:53 a.m.
No, I don't believe in the paranormal, supernatural or the sixth sense. I just think animals' regular old five sense are different than ours and they can perceive things we can't or at levels we can't. There are also, in some species, special senses, but they're physical and not supernatural in nature (i.e. bat sonar and so on). People are always amazed at horses who can "count" and so on because they don't see any obvious cues from the owners. I think we don't realize how much we tell our pets with really subtle physical cues. They may even smell it when we get nervous.