Countless clips of heroic dogs saving humans are being circulated on social media. But do dogs really have a magical sixth sense, or are their “superpowers” just biology that is being overestimated by their human owners?
Spectacularly staged rescue videos get millions of clicks on social media, whether they are actual scenes, cleverly edited clips or AI illusions.
Psychologically, this is confirmation bias at work. People remember a dog’s specific behavior before an accident, but forget whenever the dog reacted similarly without incident.
The willingness to believe in a special bond with your pet and its unique abilities makes belief in the dog’s foresight even more credible.
superior senses
Dogs’ senses are much better than humans. They hear at very high frequencies, are sensitive to vibrations, air pressure, and changes in weather, and their sense of smell is about 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than that of humans.
Studies on epilepsy, diabetes and cancer show that they can detect minor biochemical changes in the body – for example, in sweat or breathing. They register even the smallest changes in their caregivers’ behavior and emotions, such as muscle tension, breathing rhythms, and the smell of stress.
In a study by Neil Powell of Queen’s University Belfast, 19 family dogs reacted significantly differently to sweat samples from epilepsy patients versus control samples in the phase shortly before a seizure.
Assistance dogs for diabetes or cancer are not guided by supernatural powers. Instead, they detect physiological signals such as heart rate, breathing rhythms, stress hormones and what are known as VOC patterns (volatile organic compounds), combinations of organic molecules that reflect a person’s health status.
a biological explanation
Canadian psychologist Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia is a pioneer in dog research. Coren developed his eponymous “Stanley Coren Index” to assess the intelligence of various dog breeds. Their study shows that the average dog understands up to 165 words, while intelligent dogs understand up to 250, which is equivalent to the cognitive performance of a two and a half year old child.
Coren explains some dogs’ behavior before disasters in terms of their biology. “Many of these stories about dogs predicting disasters or accidents seem supernatural, but they can usually be explained by their extraordinary sensory organs,” he told DW in an email interview.
physical benefits
According to Koren, for example, dogs can hear the first sounds of rock layers breaking when an earthquake is about to occur, sounds that are far beyond the range of human hearing.
They also sense heat sources “like infrared sensors” and even the smallest fluctuations or vibrations through fine tactile sensors between their paw pads. This is why a dog may become restless moments before a bridge shakes or a vehicle slides on a wet road, Coren wrote.
So what appears to be a “sixth sense” is primarily a physical advantage. Dogs respond first to stimuli that are already present but not perceptible to humans.
Dogs Can’t Predict Car Accidents
Other animals also have more powerful senses than humans. A team led by Martin Wikelski of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior fitted cows, sheep and dogs in Italy with sensors and observed significantly increased activity before several earthquakes, especially among animals living in stables.
Apparently, they react to microscopic vibrations or electrical effects in rock layers. “This is not a premonition but a response to physical stimulation,” Wikelski told DW in an email.
However, this does not allow reliable predictions. “Dogs can certainly do a lot, but it seems practically impossible to me to warn of car accidents, except when it comes to owners’ panic that can lead to accidents,” Wikelski said.
He emphasizes that data is needed to separate myths from real capabilities. “Such anecdotes would have to be verified with transmitters attached to animals – as we did in our studies on earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.”
Most incidents of a dog’s sixth sense can usually be explained by coincidence, retroactive interpretation, or the dog’s hyper-sensitive reactions to actual stimuli.
Dogs can detect unusual sounds, screeching tires, traces of smoke, or their owner’s anxiety seconds before these factors are perceptible to humans. If the dog then displays stressful behavior – panting, whining, urging – it is easy to see this as an early warning in retrospect.
This article was originally written in German.