How smart are our dogs and cats?

1. Do dogs eat grass when they are feeling sick in order to induce vomiting?

Dogs cannot analyze things like we do, though some people propose that dogs might turn to eating grass when they don’t feel well, as a way to make themselves vomit and feel better. Evidence suggests that most dogs that eat grass aren’t unwell beforehand, or at least they don’t seem so, and less, than 25% of dogs that eat grass vomit regularly after grazing.{{more}}

2. Do our dogs miss us when we travel?

Of course they do and if the bond between us and our dog is very strong, I believe that they actually are quite sad and do actually grieve. I do not think that they are able to tell the difference between a week and a month, but will be overjoyed to see us when we return.

Reminds me of my dogs at home, how they react after I return from travelling after a week or so. They all compete to show me how much I was missed. The same happens when two of my favorite patients, Cody and Itchy, spend time boarding at our facilities. Whether it is for a few weeks or a few months, they both put on a tremendous show when their owners return to pick them up. They lose all inhibitions and their joy of being reunited with their owners knows no bounds.

3. Some animals seem to have a built-in alarm system in their brain. For example, a patient of mine, a cat by the name of Jerry, always woke his master at exactly 6:00 a.m., every morning, to be let out of the house to do his business. I have also been told of countless other dogs and cats that do the same to their owners, at the exact time, every day or night. I have also observed this behaviour in cattle, where at a specific time of the day they would head to a particular spot to drink water.

4. Some dogs belonging to people who are epileptics are able to warn them of an impending epileptic attack. They predict an attack by pawing the floor, licking, barking, whimpering or circling. How they are able to sense these attacks before they occur is unclear, but some researchers speculate that the dog could be using subtle visual or olfactory cues that occur before a seizure.

5. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some dogs may be able to detect a fall in their diabetic owners glucose levels (hyperglycemia) before symptoms are noticed.

6. There have been heated debates among scientists about whether dogs and other animals have the ability to predict seismic events such as earthquakes or avalanches before they occur. The suggestion that animals can sense earthquakes before they occur was first recorded in Greece in 373 BC, when dogs howled and many rats, weasels, snakes and centipedes moved to safety several days before a destructive earthquake.

In China and Japan, animals are considered to be an integral part of their national earthquake warning systems. One early indication of their usefulness occurred in 1975, when officials in the Chinese city of Haicheng were alarmed by odd and anxious behaviours of dogs and other animals. These observations led them to order 90,000 residents to evacuate the city. Only a few hours later, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake destroyed nearly 90 percent of the city’s buildings.

7. Can pets sense our emotions? Have you ever felt that pets can read people’s minds? Does your cat get clingy when you’re depressed or feeling sick? When you and your partner argue, does your dog go and hide? Can your cat pick out the one person in the room who doesn’t like her? Our pets aren’t clairvoyant, but they do have an uncanny ability to sense our emotions.

For further information, contact: Dr Collin Boyle
Unique Animal Care Co. Ltd.
Tel: 456 4981
Website: www.uniqueanimalcare.com