# Do Your Pets Know When You Are Sick/Hurt?



## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Just curious how common this is...

Do your pets seem to know when you are sick or in pain?

Does it change how they act around you?


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Without a doubt.

When I was recovering from some surgery a year ago, and mostly home alone with my dogs, they spent the day resting patiently alongside the bed.

When I am healthy, they are considerably less patient and sedate.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

I've never been seriously sick or injured during the three years that I've owned Kaki. 

I'm inclined to say no. She is always patient when I need to relax.
Plus, she's usually the one hurting me with a high five to the face or a big tackle during rough play. My pain does NOT slow her down.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

The cats do for sure. The dogs... sometimes yes, sometimes no. Pip is the most attuned to that sort of thing.


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## pittsabowawa (Jul 26, 2009)

Not sick or injured necessarily but Bella and my cat know when I'm very sad or very stressed out. Bella is not the kind of dog that loves to be petted and loved on, she'd rather be playing with you, but when I'm upset she always plops her but right down on top of my feet and leans against my legs and lets me love and pet her as much as I want. When I'm upset my cat, Malo, stays right by me no matter what.


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

Sometimes. You know about my pain problems. I'm *always* hurting, but they only seem to notice it when I let my pain show. Most of the time I hide it and they dont act any different. When the pain gets intolerable and I'm obviously in agony, they (meaning Remy) hover and act worried.


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

The cat definitely knows. Today, for instance, he hasn't left my side. He's curled up napping with me.

The dog knows, but I think it scares him right now. I sat down on the sidewalk outside cus I wasn't feeling good and he got kinda anxious. He "asked" to go back in his crate... 
He's been a lot more quiet and gentle since Thursday...and he won't come when Dan calls him. He stays with me all the time. He'll come when I so much as pat my leg. (I'm a lil smug about this LOL).


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

That pretty much describes how mine act when I'm really hurting. It does make them anxious and nervous.


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Poca has the opposite reaction. She seems to revel in our pain. She gets excited like its a trip to the dog park, jumping on us, play biting, and booing. I point out to her that she is dependent on me for food and care and should therefore be nicer to me. She thinks that's pretty funny, too. It's just weird.


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## scheppie (May 24, 2011)

I've had a herniated disc and walking just to the bathroom SO painful-thank goodness for dog walker coming to take care of them. I'd have to make these awful moaning noises and would cry and this freaked her out and she'd hide.

My good ol boy Duke died a while ago-if I cried or even sniffled a bit, he'd run over to comfort me. I thought it was amazing and it was always helpful. Miss him so much.


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## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

Nope, the dogs don't notice/care.

I did have a mini horse though who I think was my soul mate.. he knew when he could goof off and be silly, and when we needed to focus on work. And when I was sad and crying, he would stay by me and try to cheer me up.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Jubel seems to understand when I'm sick. I got the flu back in November and was wiped out completely for about a week and felt like crap for just over 2 weeks. The week I was home from work and he basically only got potty breaks and 2-3 10 minute walks around the neighborhood a day he was fine. He seemed to get that I was sick and his usual absolute minimum two 30 minute walks weren't going to happen. Normally he gets at least a 30 minute walk in the morning and a hour + at the dog park in the afternoon. When he gets less he's often whiney and pesters me because he's bored. None of that when I was sick, he just snuggled and slept with me most of the time with no complaints.


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

CoverTune said:


> Nope, the dogs don't notice/care.
> 
> I did have a mini horse though who I think was my soul mate.. he knew when he could goof off and be silly, and when we needed to focus on work. And when I was sad and crying, he would stay by me and try to cheer me up.


Horses have a great intuition. They're good listeners too, at least mine is. I always tell him about my day and vent to him when I'm upset about something. He stands there looking at me, like he truly understands every word I'm saying


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Nope. I don't think she's aware of that stuff at all, to be honest. She does notice when I am stressed or upset, but her reaction is actually to go lie in her crate, not to cuddle me or something. She's a very sensitive dog. Even if someone raises their voice in excitement she tends to flee to her crate. Makes me feel pretty bad, actually.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Izze knows, one day I had a migraine & I was in bed sleeping it off, OH let Izze in for me (it was winter & this was before Jo). He said she came in & went to the side of the bed that is usually mines but I had crashed out on the opposite side. He said she went over to that side & put her head on the bed & remained there for the longest time before finally laying down on the floor right beside me.

Jo is still in stupid puppy syndrome, so I don't think she cares lol.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

He seems to be calmer and more comforting when I'm sick, but he doesn't seem to take the hint when I'm in pain. When I got my wisdom teeth pulled a couple months ago, he tried climbing on top of me and sticking his head in my mouth, lol!



Labmom4 said:


> That pretty much describes how mine act when I'm really hurting. It does make them anxious and nervous.


You know, I never really thought of it this way. It does make sense though. But I guess Basil likes to express his anxiety by scratching me or jumping on me, lol.


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Nargle said:


> He seems to be calmer and more comforting when I'm sick, but he doesn't seem to take the hint when I'm in pain. When I got my wisdom teeth pulled a couple months ago, he tried climbing on top of me and sticking his head in my mouth, lol!


Well, you see, he knew where the pain was coming from LOL


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

lisak_87 said:


> Well, you see, he knew where the pain was coming from LOL


Or at least he knew where the tasty smelling blood was coming from! Lol!


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## Rowdy (Sep 2, 2007)

A few years ago I had some heart rhythm problems. Toby would know every time it was happening and would come over and put his head on my lap. Cameron never noticed.


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## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

Lola gets psyched for the possibility for a nap partner, but I don't think she notices.


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

Hard to say, I was in shock at the time. But I was essentially run over last fall while walking Bella. 

A tire (and rim) had come off the axle of a truck driving down the road we were walking on (of course!) The tire made a bee-line right for me. I heard the _Screeeeeeeech_ of the tireless axle on the pavement, looked back and before I could say "WHAT THE F**K!?!" I was hit. 

I remember Bella trying to go kill the tire which was already about 100 feet away (hit me and kept going) and I had to hang on to her with my face in the mud (and of course it had rained all night).

She came back and stayed with me. The driver had stopped but didn't see me right away. When he finally saw me in the grass he came over and Bella went NUTS! Wouldn't let him or the neighbor across the street near me. Until my other neighbor came out (her "nanny") and took her away. 

That is very unlike her. She usually greets everyone very happily. But she knew I was hurt. I didn't. I went to work like normal after the paramedics checked me out....that was not a good idea. But Bella would not leave my side for days. 

*However*, about 6 months prior I broke my ankle while taking her out for a walk. Had just stepped off the last stair from the proch and "CRACK"! (BTW - be aware of those Shape-Up sneakers!!). I was in soooo much pain, but she just stood there looking at me like, "well? We goin' or what?" 

LOL


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Nargle said:


> Or at least he knew where the tasty smelling blood was coming from! Lol!


Ewwwwwwww [is it 10 characters yet?]


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Harper definitely knows if I'm having issues, physical or mental!  If I'm sick or hurt, he's the most calm, patient little guy ever! And, if I'm upset he'll hover and just "be there". He's like my little "soul dog".
Abby, she's slower to react to stuff like that. When she finally slows down and seems to notice, I'm not sure if she's noticing me not being well, or if she's reacting to Harper's calm "caretaker" behavior!  She's definitely the more high strung of the two.

The parrot, on the other hand, doesn't give a hoot if I'm sick, he'll still make loads of noise and whistle, and talk, no matter how much I'd like to have a quiet rest!  Darn him!


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## Indigo (Mar 31, 2011)

My dog didn't give a flying fart. He would notice something is different, then go on his merry way.

He would however take advantage of incapacitated people if he could get away with it. Lying down on the couch sleeping? Slobber on face!


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## workerant (Feb 28, 2011)

Absolutely Kenda knows when I'm ill or injured. She's a very high-energy dog so it's out of character for her to be subdued. This past winter I spent the better part of three weeks with the Chest Cold from Hell, and she was right there with me. Despite a curtailed (hey... cur-tailed!) walking regimen, she was calm and comforting.

A few weeks ago we were poking around an abandoned subdivision (there's a road in and a road out but no houses - perfect for off-leash funzies.) Some heavy weather had uprooted a bunch of trees across a walking path. I duck-walked under one of them but tried to stand up too soon. A broken-off branch caught me in the back and scraped/bruised me pretty badly. It hurt, and I just squatted there for a moment catching my breath. Kenda came running back to me and watched my face intently as I regained my poise. She gave me one kiss on the lips, I stood up and we kept going.

She definitely knows when I'm out of sorts and does her best to help me.


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Rusty knows when I'm sick or hurt, but his bedside manner needs major improvement.

The other morning, my very tricky knee popped out of joint. While I was rolling around on the floor trying to slip the offending joint back onto its track, Rusty seized the opportunity to steal my hat and rifle my pockets. It is his favorite game, and my issuing curses and threats of grievous bodily harm only seem to make it more enjoyable. RDMA!


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

If I sneeze my pup comes running to check on me with a really distressed looking expression on her face until she sees that I'm ok.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Mine definately know, I was sick yesterday with either food poisening or a severe stomach virus and Angel would NOT leave my side, she stayed right next to my bed and followed me to the bathroom, her barking was what that got my husband back in the room when I nearly passed out. FOr all the ditzy things she does, when it comes down to crunch time she's there for me!


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Brady's patience for my pain has worn out.
He lasted pretty long for a lil guy.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

A few weeks ago, I had a pretty bad fall and ended up with a mild concussion. I didn't go to the doctor (yes, me stupid) but my cat would crawl up on me every hour in bed and start purring to wake me up. He does this occasionally but on this night, it was every hour. It's weird because my other cat, Schweppie, is usually my protector. My dog couldn't give two s***s. Although she didn't ask for her usual walk, so okay, she gave one s***. LOL

My brother used to have two labs, one yellow and one chocolate. One time, I was walking them and my dog and I tripped over the curb and fell. Tyco, the yellow lab and most ill-behaved, stopped and made sure I was okay. The other two ran off like nothing happened. Another time, I had a wound on my knee that wouldn't heal and Tyco licked it. It healed soon after that. He's on the Rainbow Bridge but I miss that dog. He had no manners but he had love.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

When im feeling down either mentally or physically, Izze knows better then Jo. She knows when im tired after a long day, she will always come back after walking ahead to make sure im ok. If im working somewhere by myself, she always has my back & protects me.

Its funny lol when OH & I have a fight, she is always suspicious if him for a while after lol lol. I guess he should be thankful she accepts him at all lmbo.


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

I was thinking about this thread last night. My pain got out of hand. I was on FIRE and almost in tears. I took a pill and Glenn helped me to bed and wrapped my arms in heating pads. As I was trying to fall asleep, Remy jumped up on the bed, landing on top of me and did his wiggle thing all over the place, bumping my arms


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Fuzzy pants OMG!! LOL! That is so funny! Like you had a killer sneeze or something!


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