Can anyone explain why my male St. Bernard layed right on top of my husband, nose to nose when my husband was sick with a bad cold and fever. My dog never did this before. My husband was laying on his back on the couch sick with a terrible cold and fever and my St. Bernard got up on top of him and laid his body stretched out right on top of him. Was he trying to keep him warm or something. He never, ever laid on anyone before. Can someone explain this behavior.
2006-12-10 14:11:09 · 16 answers · asked by sky 3 in Pets ➔ Dogs
This is a very interesting question. There are a few different things going on here. One is that your dog sees you and your husband as part of his pack so when your husband got ill and in a weak condition your dog seen him as being a weak and vonerable member of your pack because he was sick and the dog was taking it upon himself to look after him to see that nothing would harm him. The other reason I believe is because St,Bernards for hundreds of years have been bred to be rescue dogs and have a strong drive to come to the rescue of someone in trouble. One of the main types of rescue work these dogs were bred for is mountain rescue. When these dogs would locate someone that was burried in the snow or that had fallen through some thin ice they would dig them out or swim out and retrieve that person. Once they had pulled the person to safety the St,Bernard would lay across the person to help regulate the persons body temprature. The reason the dog new to do this was that they were thought to detect chemical changes in the human body that told them that the persons body temprature was not normal. So the dog would lay it's massive thick coated body across the person in an attempt to help regulate the body temp using it's own body heat. What I believe your dog did was scence a chemical change in your husband body that instinctivly told him that your husband's body temp was not normal. It made no difference weather it was a fever or hypothermia. All the dog new was it was not normal and the only way for him to regulate it was to lay across him. He was just doing what he was bred for and what came natural to him. GREAT DOG.
2006-12-10 18:04:23 · answer #1 · answered by Dogman 5/O 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because animals have an amazing sense of when something is wrong. Laying on your husband was your dogs way of fetching some chicken noodle soup in a sense. It was his way of comforting your husband. When Im sick (the sicker I am) the sloser my cats stay to me. Animals are wonderful arent they?
2006-12-10 14:19:52 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
He was warm for the dog and I suspect it was instinctual for the dog tto comfort a sick companion and keep them warm during fever.
2006-12-10 14:18:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
He knows Daddy didn't feel good! When we had to put my little dog down, I was in tears for a week. Every time I would cry, my big dog would try to sit in my lap or bring me all her favorite toys. They can tell how people are feeling, especially those close to them!
2006-12-10 14:20:10 · answer #4 · answered by emmadropit 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Dogs are smart. They know when things aren't right. My mom is a diabetic, and she has a chihuahua. On more than one occasion her dog has woke her up when her blood sugar was getting dangerously low. (This was before her eye surgery and she was accidentally overdosing on her insulin.)
2006-12-11 20:44:26 · answer #5 · answered by Dippy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trying to comfort your husband and to take some of the pain away. Aren't they intuitive?
2006-12-10 14:35:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's part of the pack instinct, to protect and comfort the pack leader. My cats do this too when I don't feel well. It's normal behavior.
2006-12-10 14:19:41 · answer #7 · answered by weary0918 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Animals can sense when you are not feeling well. He obviously wanted to stay very close to him until he was better. They are wonderfully sensative and give us lots of love when we need it most. He's a keeper...
2006-12-10 14:19:57 · answer #8 · answered by Cynthia 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'D GET MY HUSBAND TO A DOCTOR ASAP.
Dogs know a lot more than they're given credit for.
2006-12-10 14:19:36 · answer #9 · answered by mc_mommy 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
animales know when things r going wrong so they do these kind of things. it's not straing it's just your dogs reaction to his sickness. don't worry.
2006-12-10 14:23:09 · answer #10 · answered by smile a 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋