Some pets have been trained to sound the alarm when their owner is having health problems; blood sugar that is too high or low and helping moments before their owner has a seizure but can sense when you are pregnant?
Animal behaviourist, Nikole Gipps who wrote about this subject on babycenter.com thinks they can.
“Your pets probably don’t understand that in nine months a new baby will be joining your family, but dogs and cats do detect differences in your mood, posture, behaviour, and body chemistry that clue them in to the enormous changes you’re going through.
It’s common for dogs to go on alert and become overprotective of their expecting owner from the very beginning of her pregnancy. I’ve worked with dogs that growled, barked, or blocked doors with their bodies to prevent other family members — even the baby’s father — from coming into the same room as the mom-to-be.” Read more…
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I knew of a dog that at seven months regressed in his house training. I was called to help solve this issue. But, before our appointment, the mother had a “baby” emergency. Although the baby was delivered early, both mom and baby were okay.
I strongly suspect that this terrier/Chihuahua mix sensed something wrong with the baby. Those feeling caused the dog to feel stressed. (This dog had a very strong relationship with the mommy of the family.) Stress, especially with dogs around six to nine months of age, can cause regression in house training. I did solve the problem for them in no time at all after the baby and mommy arrived home.
Book reference: Training the Hard to Train Dog