Facts about the animal kingdom

Can Dogs Predict Death?

Josie F. Turner
By Josie F. Turner, Journalist specialized in Animal Welfare. Updated: October 31, 2017
Can Dogs Predict Death?
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Can dogs predict death? This question has been asked by many experts in canine behavior, as many believe that dogs are able to identify the presence of cancer in human beings, among other diseases.

It is also believed that dogs can detect the presence of positive and negative forces in the environment that human beings can't feel - some even say that dogs can see spirits. It may be something supernatural, but there may also be a rational explanation. In this AnimalWised article, we'll speculate on this matter a bit further.

You may also be interested in: 7 Things that Cats Can Predict
Contents
  1. Can dogs smell death?
  2. Can dogs smell life?
  3. Can dogs smell sickness?
  4. What are necromones?
  5. Can dogs predict death?

Can dogs smell death?

While humans rely on sight, dogs rely on smell; in fact, their brain is dominated by the olfactory cortex. Their sense of smell is superlative, and thanks to that dogs are able to accomplish great feats that human technology still has not managed to emulate.

In fact, a dog's sense of smell is about forty times better than ours. This allows them to detect changes in the composition of atmospheric air, which would mean that they can predict natural disasters or gas leaks before humans notice. Up to an extent, dogs can smell death.

Can dogs smell life?

We have all seen images of rescue dogs working in disaster sites as assistants to firemen and rescue teams. These dogs, trained to detect survivors among ruins caused by landslides, earthquakes, floods, wars and other catastrophes, react differently when detecting survivors or dead bodies.

When rescue dogs detect a living person buried in rubble, they signal the "hot spots" with insistence, after which fire fighters and rescue teams can start their rescue immediately. However, when they find corpses their behavior is much different; occasionally, they show signs of anxiety or fear.

In those instances, the buried victims, whether alive or dead, are not in sight. Therefore, the rescue dogs detect them by their smell. Dogs also have a keener sense of hearing than humans, being able to register slightly lower frequencies and much higher ones. They are also better at locating the exact source of the sound; if a buried person shouts, dogs will likely hear it.

If the victim can't speak up, though, how can dogs distinguish whether they are alive or dead? The most plausible conclusion is that there is a clearly distinct odor between life and death in a human body, even if the death is very recent. These are scents that trained dogs are able to differentiate.

Can Dogs Predict Death? - Can dogs smell life?

Can dogs smell sickness?

The intermediate stage between life and death has a specific name: agony. Some agonies are noticeable, as the person about to die because of sickness or an injury is in clear pain. Anyone can predict their death within a certain time span, as the signs are obvious.

But some wasting diseases cause a different kind of painless agony, in which no imminent signs of death are appreciated, and where technology has not yet reached the accuracy of canine smell. It is not unreasonable to guess that if living bodies smell one way and dead bodies smell differently, there may be a third smell for bodies in the in between.

The case of Oscar, the therapy cat who has accurately predicted the death of about 50 people in the nursing home where he lives, is well known. In his case, scientists have argued that there is probably a chemical released by organisms about to expire that cats can smell.

Serious diseases, like cancer, affect the organs' very structure. It is not far-fetched to guess that dogs may pick up on that change, which humans cannot notice, and act differently around that person.

What are necromones?

It is known that some animals, like wolves, somehow announce their imminent end to their pack. Ethologists, specialists in animal behavior, argue that this may be a way to prevent contagion to the rest of the pack, signaling that it is better to stay away from the individual.

This behavior has also been observed among cockroaches and crustaceans. Why do wolves and cockroaches, which are really different species, show similar behaviors? Scientists offer an explanation: Necromones.

Pheromones are chemical secretions that members of the same species can detect and socially respond to. The best known example are sex pheromones, which signal that the animal is in heat. Necromones are a type of pheromone secreted by dying or dead bodies; it is likely that dogs can identify them in sick people who are approaching their end.

Necromones have been studied primarily among insects, such as cockroaches, ants or woodlice. In such insects it has been observed that the chemical composition of their necromones comes from their fatty acids, especially oleic acid and linoleic acid, which are the first to deteriorate at death. Scientists sprayed areas with these substances and noticed that the cockroaches avoided passing over them, as if they were a contaminated area.

Can Dogs Predict Death? - What are necromones?

Can dogs predict death?

By their keen sense of smell, the release of pheromones, and by their training, it could be argued that yes, some dogs can predict death. It may be that all dogs can pick up the scent of disease or death, but that not all of them can recognize it. It may be that dogs can only detect dead bodies when specifically trained to do so, and that it is not a natural instinct.

Whatever the reason, dogs do have feelings and create relationships. This is why it is not so surprising that some dogs and cats have been known to watch over their carers' final hours. They may not understand the situation fully, but they can sense it.

Do you have any experience to share on whether dogs can predict death? Tell us in the comments section!

Can Dogs Predict Death? - Can dogs predict death?

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9 comments
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RH
My ~14 y.o. dog passed suddenly the other day. We also have a young dog. During the dying process the young dog howled and wouldn't leave my eldest dog's side. At the time of death the young dog howled again. Now she is depressed and sits on the couch in what was his favorite spot.
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Ramandeep Singh
I had 6 cases of tracking death from the future by the dogs. I'm a Indian. India is a large country known for its religions,gods and goddesses. Whenever a dog weep someone will surely die 100%. Dog can start Weeping 5 days ago in india indicating that someone is going to die. Suppose if a dog or many dogs are weeping in front of my house then someone from my family ( including married sisters of me and my father also) is going to die. Don't know how but i varified this 6 times. My elders tell me that dogs can see yuma(God of death, or his assistants). I know not all of person reading this beleave this. If you think such things like yuma don't exist then come to India go to himachal pradesh (kullu) land of gods. You will find anything you want to know about gods. Search on the you tube"divine powers of Himachali gods" see they move on their own. It's really supernatural phenomenon
Rebecca Bowlin
My hubby and our dogs,Gizmo is top,and my ESA dog Wookie is laying beside hubby. We are at peace, and thank you for your comment.
Rebecca
My ESA have been laying down soo close to my Hubby, who is slowly dying of heart failure, she has never done this before, he is wondering why she want leave his side,I know that it's getting closer for Hubby to pass
Administrador AnimalWised
We are sorry to hear of your husband's health problems. Dogs love their owners and are very sensitive to their well-being. We are glad your beloved dog is able to show him love at this time.
Chris
A family had lost All their children in a house fire. I drove by the house after it had burned and killed All the kids. I took my dog with me and he started to cry and then started shaking uncontrollably and almost like he was gasping for air. Would the dog have been able to know what had happened to the children ? I thought it was really odd but wasn’t sure if the dog had really known what had happened in that house and the loss of all of those children . I wanted to see if it was just a coincidence so I went back again and took the dog with me in the car. He was fine until I arrived at the scene where the house. Caught fire and all the children died. 7 in total. Sure enough he stated to cry or whine and started shaking again. I had to get out of there and it took quite a while for him to settle down. Just wandering if you think the dog knew what happened there , that All the 7 children died . It just happened a couple of days ago and the men are investigating the house. Seems quite interesting to me. I don’t know if I should take the dog back there again don’t want to keep upsetting him.
Nini
My grandma passed on New Year’s Eve at home. My mom and I noticed how erratic the dogs were acting. The day she passed on all 4 dogs were lined up sitting by her bed just looking at her. They continued to bark until that night when she died. It was like they knew.
Diana
I had friend who was very sick was really close to her dog. A few days before my friends death her dog started showing signs of death herself .!She stopped eating and using the bathroom., she just laid there as if she was about to die. My friend passed in her sleep and when I went to visit her house the next day the dog was up and running around like nothing had happened. It was so weird to see her acting normal when the days leading up my friends death, she wouldn’t even move or open her eyes. I know that she sensed it was coming.
Rating:
Dinesh N. Mudkarni
My mothers last stage was going few days before my dog used always sit in the bedroom where my mother used to sleep my mother was suffering from brain clots.
Vinay
In the past, I have heard the moaning of dogs nearby the premises where the dead body is placed. But recently I had a strange experience, in which a dog from my neighbour's house was continuously moaning from afternoon. As I already have the notion of moaning of dogs in the event of death of humans, I was worried whether any person had died in my locality. I have enquired my friends in the locality about the same. But none said about any death at that time . But unfortunately in the late night, one of our beloved neighbour who was ailing , died at their own house. As mentioned earlier the particular dog was continuously moaning and groaning till next day afternoon. The dogs have good olfactory cortex, sense of hearing etc. that I do admit. But the death occurred some 300 -400 metres away from the house where the dog was moaning. How can the dog detect the variation in atmospheric air, really intriguing ... ?
I have read that the audible range of humans are 20 Hz to 23000 Hz. Do the dogs have ability to sense ultrasonic sounds ? Whether the dogs are able to detect supernatural beings or paranormal activity ? An authentic scientific research should be made to unravel the mystery . Pls render your valuable suggestions...
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Can Dogs Predict Death?