Raising Healthy Dogs

So one of Raising Healthy Dog readers asked the question “does my dog know when I am sick?” While there are no empirical studies, ask anyone that has ever been sick and they will tell you how their dog stayed by their side or just behaved better while their guardian was ill. But for this reader, the reverse was true. She had been taking cancer drugs and at first her dog was standoffish. As the drugs built up in her body, her dog refused to even be in the same room as her. Heartbreaking as this is, if this is happening to you, know that it is quite common. Basically, cancer drugs (pregnancy and other medical issues) make you smell different. The famous author and dog trainer Jean Donaldson says “dogs unpack the universe with their noses”. Just know that your dog is not snubbing you, he is just wondering where his real mom is.