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  1. #1
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    Question Are puppies nurturing?

    This is really a question about the nature of puppies. And yes, I appreciate that they're all different. But something happened to me today that really stopped me dead in my tracks. I'm a relatively new puppy owner, so maybe it's nothing. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but...whatever. Maybe you guys can shed some light on the matter for me.

    On any given day where we're running on schedule, I let my puppy run around in the back yard for approximately one hour (give or take 15-20 minutes), three times daily (8am, 4 pm & 8 pm). He's used to this schedule and he seems to be happy with it.

    Today at our 4 pm yard time, he started running around playing and whatnot. I decided to make myself a cup of tea so that I could sit on the concrete steps and just watch him play as I sipped away on my tea while surfing my phone, with interrupted periods of him running up to me for some one-on-one play time (which I'm only so happy to provide!). Anyhoo....as I sipped away on my tea, like three or four sips in, the tea went down the wrong pipe. It was like I was choking. Fortunately I was outside because all the tea in my mouth came spraying out. Sorry to gross you out. LOL. Non stop coughing would follow for about one minute. I coughed so loud, I'm sure my neighbors heard me.

    At the same time all of this is happening with me, my chocolate lab puppy was playing with his favorite plastic travel mug on the lawn. He gnaws at it but can't quite get a good grip on it because of its cylindrical shape. So of course, it slips from his grip and it falls back on lawn. Apparently this is like heaven for him. I only mention this because when he's playing with this plastic travel mug, nothing can distract him. He's on cloud nine when he's playing with this mug.

    So....I start coughing like crazy (because I'm choking on the tea), when all of a sudden he drops his plastic travel mug and charges at me. It was the first time I got nervous around him. It was as if he was going to bite me or something. When he gets to me, he slams on his brakes, and then he puts his front two paws on my lap and props himself up to bring himself up to my level (so now we're seeing eye to eye).

    He starts licking my face and stares at me. I was overcome with this feeling (and maybe I'm wrong) that he was worried about me coughing and hacking my lungs out (tee-hee). I was almost in shock. I must have been because I started talking to him. I said (out loud) : Are you checking up on me?
    He just tilts his head and continues staring at me and then continues to lick my face. Then I started to chuckle a little and said : Go! Play! and then he ran back to the plastic travel mug where he played for the remainder of his play time.

    Are dogs capable of detecting pain and/or sorrow and if so....do they intentionally take measures to comfort the person/animal who's not feeling well? I'm probably reading too much into what happened today but (and not to sound too corny here....) I was really moved by the way he comforted me.

    Anyone?

  2. #2
    Senior Dog dxboon's Avatar
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    Dogs are very intuitive. It's what makes them great at the many tasks they undertake for people as service animals. I think the only other domesticated animal with equal measures of intuition is the horse.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Charlotte K.'s Avatar
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    He truly knew something was wrong and was checking on you. You two have a bright future together.

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Yes, dogs are very capable of these things. I can not tell you how many times I have cried and had a Lab in my face doing exactly as you have described. When I had a full spinal fusion done my Maxx rarely left my side for weeks after I came home from the hospital, during the worst of my pain. On the flip side, excitement and joy get wonderful, butt tucking reactions from both of my dogs. Maxx does therapy work at a childrens hospital and his empathy and nurturing love for the kids is a beautiful thing to watch. He knows when to sit quietly with a very sick child and when to play the clown to cheer another one up. He makes me a proud mama every time we go. What dxboon said above about their intuition making them perfect as service animals is very true.

    Your puppy sounds like he may have some abilities as a therapy dog, it may be something for you to look in to if you have the time for training and are interested in trying.
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  6. #5
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Dogs can detect cancer cells on our bodies and on animal bodies. Dogs can predict a dangerous change in our blood sugar levels and impending seizures. I've read it's thought one way they might do this is smell. As chemicals in our bodies change with these events we begin to give out odours only an animal with the sensitivity of dog's nose can smell. Some dogs alert to the change, some just continue on with what they were doing. Some dogs that alert some how can be trained to enhance that behaviour and work as service or therapy dogs. For some reason I've read of Golden Retrievers being especially good at predicting seizures in those with epilepsy.

    Apparently fear is expressed as a smell too, in an emission from the anus in many animals, and it's a substance you can see with some. We experienced this many times with one cat; there's a word for it which does not come to mind right at the moment.

    I would guess some of the above coupled with your suddenly strange sounds and actions attracted your puppy's attention. And then, of course he showed concern and empathy. We have seen it, I made a post just a week or so ago about one of my cats when I had a migraine. We have seen them act the same way with animal friends too. As to whether it's intentional, well, I'm sure it is. But I'm also sure that sometimes, with me in particular being crashed out from a headache, they see it as an opportunity for a nice, long, warm snuggle that I am unlikely to end by getting up too soon.

  7. #6
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    What a wonderful moment! Those are the kind of moments where I really felt the bond forming between me and Thor. He's a very cuddly dog normally but he has this way of leaning into me and resting his head on my lap when I'm particularly upset that is just so comforting. Then when I laugh and scratch his head he'll go back to his 1.5 year old crazies. "ok, mom, I made you feel better, now it's play time!"

    Also, isn't it funny how perfectly ordinary items become their favorite toys? For Thor it's boxes. All those expensive dog toys, but he prefers to throw around the box they came in.
    Mighty Thor, "So Much Dog", born 1/6/2014
    And baby Barley, born 3/9/2018

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  8. #7
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    Thanks for the responses guys. I have to admit, this was quite embarrassing for me. I thought maybe I was losing it or something.
    It's funny how our bond takes on a new meaning almost daily. Today while he was playing outside I was inside (on a phone call). He just sat at the sliding doors looking into the house. He didn't seem anxious or anything; he wasn't barking. He just sat there looking at me (on the phone).

    As soon as I got off the call, I could tell he wanted my attention. I opened up the sliding doors and then he jumps off the steps (effectively making a path for me to walk on) and looks at me like : took ya long enough. Let's roll!

    BTW....here's my baby : Morning playtime - YouTube

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  10. #8
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    LOL, I read this and just smiled. Welcome to the world of labs. Yes you witnessed something, a moment of concern, a moment acknowledgement, a shared moment together where you were able to understand your lab. Just remember your not crazy and this is only the beginning. Now that you have had this moment and seen it. Be aware of these moments all through your dogs life. They never stop. Labs forms special bonds with people and they have a way to communicate. My boy and I have conversations much like you experienced all the time. Soon you will see the extreme intelligence you never knew existed in there. My advice would be talk to your pup, they listen and understand a lot more than people think. You will have several connecting moments and there will be times when you just know exactly what they are thinking and what they want. There is a lot of play and fun in their lives and they love nothing more than to play with you but there are other things. When they have these moments that they are really interested in something, be it health or other objects, take advantage of it.

    My boy Hemi and I share these moments all the time. There is something that just pulls you in too that you are able to communicate with them well beyond what you thought possible. Many times the connections are silent. Some are verbal. My favorite one was also when my boy was a pup, maybe because it was one of the first ones. He was maybe 3-4 months old. He desperately wanted to jump on the bed. He would put his front paw up there and then hop on his back legs but couldn't get up. However I knew he could if he would just get a running start. I had seen him jump on the couch from a running start and the bed wasn't much higher. So one day we were in the bedroom he was trying and trying to jump on the bed. I basically motioned to him to come with me. Which he did, we walked back to the door of the bedroom and I stood there and looked at him, he looked at me all smiling and I took off running and dived into bed. He was right beside me and leapt and jumped and got right into bed. He was so happy he was bouncing and jumping and and I was using my happy voice. Then all of a sudden the back paws slipped off the edge of the bed, the sheer look of terror on his face like oh no, I just got up here I don't want to go down. I reached for him but too late he was down. He was trying to hop on his back legs again. So I got off the bed we walked back to the door and we did it again. He was so happy, but this time he was more careful not to fall off. But that was one of those moments where we just bonded knew what the other was thinking and I could guide him through a problem. There will be many of these moments as a puppy just take advantage of them and enjoy them for all they are. Just remember your not crazy, your eyes were just opened to the possibilities of communicating with your dog.

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  12. #9
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    What a cute baby!
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    Ozzy - 10/2002 - 06/2011 - Rest well my sweet boy. You are forever remembered, forever missed, forever in my heart.

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  14. #10
    Puppy Kelly's Avatar
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    Aww, what a great story. Yes, I really think they can sense our feelings. Our little pup happened upon me crying one day and he was in my lap leaning on me and licking me. He's not normally that demonstrative but he knew I was upset. He did the same with my daughter too. One can argue that maybe it was the salty tears but he'd never done that before so he didn't know what tears tasted like. My other labs always did the same thing too.

 



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