06
May
Whether dogs get headaches has yet to be confirmed but some vets theorize its possible. Dogs with thunderstorm phobias can often sense a drop in barometric pressure that accompanies these storms says Wendy Hauser DVM an on-staff veterinarian and VP of Veterinary Relations for ASPCA Pet Health Insurance.
High- and low- pressure weather systems move across the country resulting in changes to barometric pressure.
When do dogs sense drop in barometric. For example as air warms and expands or as clouds form and lower into the atmosphere the barometric pressure will change. Stormy weather can cause the pressure to drop while fair weather can typically help maintain a rising barometric pressure. Luckily your dog can keep track of this pretty well.
During a storm the barometric pressure in any outdoor environment drops. This change in air pressure and the amount of moisture in the air can cause an increase in static electricity which can build up in a dogs fur. Long or thick-haired dogs especially may be prone to feeling the effects of static electricity buildup in their fur during storms which can be.
When the barometer drops and winds die down indicating a low has moved in their dogs tend to hold their heads lower to the ground when following a scent. There are those astute owners who are particularly bonded and attentive who have reported they are alerted there will be a change in the weather by watching physical and behavioral changes in their dogs. In particular when pressure drops indicating cloudy and rainy weather your dog might be more accurate than the TV weatherman.
Barometric Pressure A barometer is. Whether dogs get headaches has yet to be confirmed but some vets theorize its possible. After all their sinuses are filled with air like yours.
Theoretically a dog with a longer snout and a larger sinus cavity would feel the effects of barometric pressure more intensely. Barometric pressure is the pressure of the atmosphere. A drop in pressure means that conditions may be ripe for a storm to develop.
A dog may learn to associate this pressure drop with the arrival of a storm. Changes in the static electric field may trigger the same anticipation. Dogs may also pick up the subtle vibrations that precede a storm.
Dogs are capable of sensing the barometric pressure drop and any shift in static electric field. Change in air pressure and electricity are indications of adverse weather. Apart from this dogs are also good at hearing sounds of thunder of storm before we can hear them.
Once the associations have been made the dog reacts to a drop in air pressure as he or she does to the thunder itself. Thats why for example dogs with Separation Anxiety often begin to pace and drool when you put on your coat or take your usual weekday morning shower before going to work. Barometric pressure travels in terms of peaks flats and valleys and will rise and fall accordingly.
Atmospheric pressure is a key means to predicting weather 12 to 24 hours in advance and has a 70 accuracy rate. Pressure sensors will detect a drop in atmospheric pressure as inclement weather approaches. Your dog can detect small changes in barometric pressure which changes and charges when a storm is approaching a location - this is what alerts the dog that there is something changing with the pressure in the air.
Dropping barometric pressurewhich dogs can sensecoupled with darkening skies wind and the sheer noise of thunder can cause fearful reactions in dogs. As most of us know dogs do have a better sense of hearing than people meaning that they can hear much higher and lower frequencies than we can. And some posit that dogs can hear that distant low rumbling of thunder before people do alerting their owners to an approaching storm.
Likewise while we dont know exactly how much better dogs. Researchers believe that cooler damper weather causes a drop in barometric pressure which is the force exerted by the weight of the atmosphere. This drop can generate an inflammatory response in the joints causing the tissues to swell which then puts pressure on the nerves.
Dogs rely heavily on their strong sense of smell to get their. Weatherincluding rain and snow temperature fluctuations and changes in barometric pressurecan affect dog behavior. Its similar to the effect weather can have on your own mood and energy.
Youre likely peppier on sunny spring days while on a cold grey rainy day you may feel more interested in a movie marathon on the couch. So the concentration of an odor being soughttracked by your dogs might remain higher over a given period of time than it would when pressures are lower and there may be a storm system nearby with. Changes in barometric pressure can affect dogs behavior significantly according to the American Animal Hospital Association.
Yours might become agitated – if hes afraid of wind or storms – or he might become overexcited and curious ready to pick up scents in the air and go exploring. Falling barometers typically predict the approach of worsening weather conditions while rising barometers point to mild weather. Meteorologists measure changes in air pressure using barometers.
High- and low- pressure weather systems move across the country resulting in changes to barometric pressure. A dog is more sensitive to the drop in barometric pressure and the shift in the static electric field that comes prior to climate changes. Dogs are actually able to sense barometric pressure changes.
When this pressure in the air changes and charges in electricity change it can alert the dog that changes in weather are happening. Sensing this change in pressure alerts your pup and causes them to try and seek shelter or a safe place to ride out the storm. When a cat senses severe weather approaching she might react in several ways from fleeing to a small dark cubby to frantically grooming her face.
Such behaviors may seem strange but theyre been observed for centuries since before 18th-century sailors looked to cats aboard their ships for weather predictions. Change in barometric pressure. Dogs with thunderstorm phobias can often sense a drop in barometric pressure that accompanies these storms says Wendy Hauser DVM an on-staff veterinarian and VP of Veterinary Relations for ASPCA Pet Health Insurance.
During a thunderstorm the ions in the atmosphere change. What happens to animals before storms roll in or at the onset of winter. Infrasonic sounds could still be the culprit because hurricanes and thunder produce sound waves at those frequencies.
But theres also the matter of changes in barometric air and hydrostatic pressure. Normally these pressures fluctuate slightly.