Today, my son and I took a long hike with Doc, my Rhodesian Ridgeback. Doc just turned a year old the other day. He needs a lot of exersize, and lately, I have had no time to get him in the woods. Well, today we went out so he could tear up some ground running, and he would not get more than 100 yards from me, then come back and make a weird wining noise. I thought something was bothering him, but he'd take off again, then come back and get in my way. It was like he was telling me to not go further. King of odd for him!
This dog is my constant companion. We kicked up some deer, and he returned to my side, which he knows to do. No deer running allowed.
I told my son that Doc is acting kind of weird today, then it hit me. As we pushed on, I got really weak, and felt like my feet had just gotten heavy. I was getting dizzy and started sweating. I told my son that I did not feel well, and my dog knew it!
What I want to know is can a dog sense a problem coming? This has never happened. I went home, and I feel pretty good now, but Doc will not let me get more than 5' from me. I will go to see the doctor tomorrow, and he always gets me squeezed in when I don't have a visit planned. I really think that my dog knew something was no right, but how do they know?

If you still have any of the symptoms you should probably go to the ER right now, or you may not wake up in the morning.
Regarding the dog; I'm sure they can pick-up on things that are medically wrong with people they are close to. They are training dogs specifically for that purpose.

Ditto what Waggler said.
I would not wait.

Osky

Your dog knows something is not right.
They are amazing animals and never stop amazing me with what we can learn from them. Go to the Doc. My dog is stuck to me when I don't know I'm sick yet. Remember he's man best friend

Dogs certainly can sense medical episodes as well as natural disasters. When I tried hiking my line Joy wouldn't go far from me even though there was sign all over. She was constantly looking at me to see if I was still behind her.

How are you feeling now?

If there are still problems get to the er.

Good dog, I would keep him around.

Hope its nothing serious. If you aren't sure, get it checked out soonest. And yes the bond between a dog and it's person allows them to pick up on subtle things that people don't. Get feeling better Gary.

I feel good now. I have been having problems for a while with being sick. I checked my blood presure, and it was only slightly elevated, but is normal now. I do take two meds for bp, so I will talk with the doctor in the am. I had a problem several years ago, with a dialated aortic artery, and had dizzy spells. The day I found out about that, I quit smoking and never smoked again. Fear is a great motivation!
When I have been sick lately, my dog, Doc, will get real close to me, like he is telling me to chill out, and rest. I have had lots of dogs, but this guy seems to look at me, and knows when I need to be still. He is not a dog that likes to be touched a lot, and normally will move away if you mess with him. Thats normal for a ridgeback, but when I feel bad, he lays with his head on me. I think Doc knows me pretty good!

Doc......a very good name for this dog!

[quote=Marty]Doc......a very good name for this dog!

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I actually named him on his registration, Doc John Henry Holiday, and our Great Dane is Big Nosed Kate Elder. Lol. I am a western history lover. Docs only a year old, so he's not allowed to carry in the house yet!!!

That's what some service dogs do as their main job just what your asking!

I have a grand-niece that has a Diabetes Service dog that alerts her when she is having a problem but may not realize it.

Moosetrot

I have a problem with sleep apnea and I stop breathing sometimes at night. My dog sleeps on his bed next to my bed and if I stop breathing he will wake up and climb up on the bed and lay his head on my chest. If that doesn't get my attention he will cold nose and lick my chin until I wake up. Nobody has taught him or trained him to do it but he does it without fail. My wife has observed him doing it and actually took video of it. Have no idea how he knows it needs to be done but I'm thankful he does. He is my constant companion and the only places I go without him is to work or deer hunting.

Of course a dog can sense something coming! People can too, if they're tuned into it

I don't mean to be too serious, but my father just passed away last week on January 8th at the age of 53 from a seizure leading into a stroke - his dog, Boone, a big block headed loyal Australian Shepherd did the same thing and wouldn't leave my dad's side and was actually aggressive towards anyone who tried getting near him.

My dad had a couple seizures the last couple years. I'd get it checked out.

CJ R

My coydogs is able to do the same with me also.When I was laid up for hip surgery they stuck by my side and watch what they did around me then what they would do when I was ok. Some time before that when I came home from work and did not feel well from the heat of that day and done what I try to that rest of the day and went to bed and the next morning I did not wake up for how i had felt and the 2 of my boys (coydog) got me to wake up by keep at me till I did and made sure I did and got me on my feet.I do not know if I would of got up if it was not for them and I still had a hard time after in that morning to walk but they made sure I did.I do not have those 2 anymore due to there health one came down with cancer and one month short of 12 years old and the other was lyme caught up to him when he go5t it when he was younger and he was just over 16 years old and I had to have him be put to sleep the 19th of Nov of last year.But the one I have now he sticks with me and make sure there is nothing wrong with me.

Dogs sense energy. Most will recognize that their person does not feel well long before the person does. Dogs will recognize when their owner is afraid or anxious.
You will see this a lot when teaching basic dog training classes and in dealing with dogs that have behavior issues.
Not all of course, but a large amount of the time it seems that dogs exhibiting certain behavior at a dog class can be traced right up the leash or lead attached to the dog's owner.

An example: When you have a dog owner that feel anxious and is expecting a problem when another dog approaches their space, this energy is picked up by the owner's dog. The anxious dog owner will have a dog that recognizes that the owner is upset and anxious and will immediately behave differently. The dog will feel that something about the situation, what ever it is, is "bad" because the of the owner's reaction.
Seen many, many examples. Dogs pick up on energy and how you feel.

Sometimes, well most of the time, it is harder to train the pet owners than it is the dogs.

Mac

We have a six year old yellow lab female that absolutely knows when something is wrong. She stays by your side and will not leave. She has been an amazing dog in this household.

I have said it for years that a coyote could diagnose a person with cancer long before any doctor could.

Thanks for all of the replies. Dogs are way smarter than one may think.

Listen to Doc, Gary!

Dogs can smell or sense organic compounds in parts per trillion, including chemicals in your system that indicate impending seizures, cancer, high blood pressure, all kinds of things! They have amazing sniffers paired with their ties to humans they care about. It's a powerful combination!

Please let us know how this turns out. All our best to you!
Patrice

If your dog all of a sudden starts staying close to you and won't leave your side you best get checked out. That was my experience anyway.

I'm sorry but dogs don't pick up on "engery" dogs are visual and scent oriented. What the dog is picking up on is body languge and smell. In you anxious owner post the dog picks up on facial ticks and other body language features. In the OP thing im sure the dog is picking up different than normal than he is used to seeing body language and scent.

Dogs are used by medical field to sniff out cancer, detect siezers, and numoures other things.

Dog's are very Empathic, and are used by the Medical profession to help diagnose some problems, such as Diabetes. Also, they can tell if your feeling "Blue", and will want to snuggle. Can drive you nuts sometimes tho. LOL

Short answer is yes. And some dogs let you know.

Well, no real news. Doctor cannot pinpoint anything in particular. Blood sugar is normal ( my dad has test strips) and ekg normal. I thought it could be that I forgot my blood pressure meds yesterday, but that's not the case. My dog, Doc, slept against me all night , which is rare for him. He'll normally move around a lot at night, and does not want to be touched a lot. That is normal of the breed, like lots of hounds. Last night, he seemed like a babysitter, with a newborn. Today, I feel just fine, and Doc is acting normal.
My crew at work won't let me help much, which is ok with me. I got caught up with reports today, and they did the work. Even though I'm the boss, I still like to help with the work, which has always been the way I am.
I'll make sure Doc is with me at all times. I think he may be smarter than me! Take care all!!!

2 months later than this picture I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer,
She knew before I did!

To go with the headline of this post
YES 100 % and then some

Sorry to hear that. I hope all is well now. Looks like she's staying close. And nice picture, it looks really cool with the trees in the background. I have not made it to Alaske, YET! It is on my list of things to do.
Now, due to this latest episode, my wife says she's going with me, on my hikes. I said, come on if you're coming.
On another note, we ran into a woman at a pet store, that saw my dog. This started us talking, and she knew Doc was a Rhosesian ridgeback, because her father had one. She said that her dads dog, saved him in a house fire, by dragging him out of the house. I wondered how he got the door open!

Thanks that was 9 years ago. Point is when there is a change in your dogs actions just be aware. Might just save your life

several years ago I attended an inservice training at work where a man and his therapy dog spoke... His family was in the medical field and he volunteered at the local hospital with his dog, and the dog had a "gift" of sorts. It assisted in identifying patients hospitalized with unknown illnesses. I don't recall the entire story anymore but they would gain permission to take the dog into the hospital room, and the dog would climb onto the bed with the patient and lie next to them, and after a while certain parts of the dog would get warm- that coincided with where the illness was in the human counterpart. It took his expertise of knowing the dog's anatomy, but they visited the area hospital on a semi-regular basis until the dog passed. Hearing that testimony, and knowing the nature of my own animals, I believe they have ways of telling us when we aren't well.

I am starting to think that dogs can feel when we have problems. It may be a difference in our actions, movements, smell etc... when we don't feel well. I know that when I am really sick, I'm like a baby. When just feeling a little bit sick, we may not realize that we act slightly different. Dogs may notice anything different, who knows? Tonight, I counted my meds, which were recieved last week. I am one shy on a blood pressure med, and one too many on the other bp med. i never count them when they come in, but My count is off on what I have left, so I think I doubled up on one, and did not take the one that controls my heart rate. That is a mistake that I have never made, and I still don't know for sure, but I think I did this to myself. I know that I felt really excited that day, and my bp was elevated. Either way, lil' Doc knew something was different that day.
I do keep some of my meds in my vehicle, just in case I forget them on work days.

Well, here's the latest. After all of the tests, the docs think that all of my problems are a combo of lumbar disk damage, which is causing pressure on nerves, which have caused a chain reaction of other problems. I will be getting another MRI done soon to see if it has gotten worse. I have been dealing with this since I fell from a ladder( at home) doing something stupid. At the time, I thought I broke my back, but my last MRI showed no breakage, but disk damage toward the front. Most times, herniated disks are bulged toward the back, which is not good either. Anyway, I guess time will tell with my back problem. The good news is, that all other tests showed that I'm normal. But, there is no proof of that. Lol
We went for a long hike last weekend, and Doc the ridgeback was acting like I was not there, so We kept going farther. To make a long story short, we had a perfectly normal day. Woohoo

I am an epileptic as well as have extreme blood sugar fluctuations (due to seizure medication). My lab knows when things are fixing to happen. He will stay very close to my side and whine beforehand.

It is amazing how a dog knows. I think our pups know us well. They must pick up on anything different in our movements. Subtle things to us, may be a big thing to a dog. I know mine will be with me all the time, from now on. Shoot, thats why I got him to begin with.

I had that same back issue in 2015. I am not a fan of surgery but it hurt so much anything was better. Had the micro discectomy. Walked out of the hospital 4 hours later. 100% better. Wish you the best. I was 54 when I had that done

I am 54 now. I will try to avoid surgery, but I don't know how much longer I can sit on ice.

Totally agree with you scott k. I ruptured a disc in my back and tried everything I could to treat it, but I had no quality of life. Long story short, I had a micro discectomy as well last year when I was 31. I know that my back will never be the same, but it did give me my life back and I am relatively pain free now. I would highly recommend the surgery if it is bothering you that much.

+1!