Hormones are like little chemical news alerts that inform the body about what’s happening in other systems. When people become pregnant, their bodies produce human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG). This hormone is only produced during pregnancy, and in super high quantities. Estrogen, progesterone and human placental lactogen (hPL) also spike during pregnancy. The Cleveland Clinic says these hormonal changes can alter the way bodies and vaginas smell.
Now, dogs have been known to detect cancer cells in certain human fluids. Medical News Today reports that by sniffing urine, sweat, breath and skin, dogs have been able to detect lung cancer and melanoma. The company Dogs 4 Diabetics pairs diabetic humans with pups who are able to alert them to hypoglycemia, based on scent. But, we haven’t yet proven that dogs can smell pregnancy hormones.
Annie-Mae Levy, a professional dog trainer at Woofz, says that given all the data we do have, “It’s not too far-fetched to imagine that [dogs] could detect the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
