By Robin M. Strom-Mackey
“While
there is a prevailing belief that animals can sense things paranormal, I would
suggest you first seek out explanations based in the, well, normal first.”
I’m asked more often about pets
and the paranormal than any other topic of discussion. Why is Fido acting afraid in the kitchen or
barking at the wall in the den? Could,
should we consider the paranormal? This
always leaves me in a bit of a quandary because I’m a paranormal researcher,
not an animal behaviorist. So I hit the
internet and the books for evidence for and against. I will speak primarily of dogs, with no
disrespect to cat people, but the last three inquiries were specifically about
dogs. My line of questioning was simply
what can make an otherwise normal-acting animal start to act weird? What I
found is that there are many sources for anxiety in animals, one of which may
be sensitivity to the paranormal.
Egg
on your Face
The worst thing I feel a
paranormal investigator can do is to label something paranormal before
exploring the more rational explanations. If you come out on the side of the
paranormal when something normal is proven you look all the more like an idiot.
Case in point:
The Animal Planet channel hosts a television show entitled The Haunted which “chronicles” the
haunting experiences of animals and their terrified owners. One particular
episode is about a young couple who move into an older home with their beloved
pet rabbits. This particular couple was
very free with their furry friends, letting the rabbits out of their cages to
roam free about the house. Not long
after moving into the home they noticed that the rabbits were becoming sick and
dying. Saddened beyond words at the
tragedy unfolding, the couple concluded that negative spirits in the home had
tragically killed their beloved bunnies one by (big sigh) one.
Now, I thought this was a rather
abrupt leap of faith. After all, it’s
common knowledge that houses built before the 1950’s are famous for lead
paint. Undoubtedly the lead paint has
been covered over with fresh new paint. But what do rabbits do naturally? They
chew. Happily, gleefully, these fuzzy rodents love to chew on anything, but
especially wood – or wood work.
Wouldn’t it first make more sense to seek out toxins in the environment, before
assuming evil spirits were killing the animals?
The show producers of course never even suggested this explanation.
After all lead paint poisoning does not drive up ratings, evil demons do. It’s much more exciting, though less
plausible, to suggest something sinister.
While television shows such as
this one make for a half hour of spine tingling entertainment, they do nothing
to promote rational thought. Still, when the family dog or cat suddenly starts
acting bizarrely I can see why people would seek out an otherwise irrational
explanation. While there is a prevailing
belief that animals can sense things paranormal, I would suggest you first seek
out explanations based in the, well, normal
first. So below, I’ve compiled the most comprehensive list I could as to what
may make an otherwise normal animal start acting abnormally.
Fido
may be Feeling Funky
On the Doggit discussion board of
Reddit.com I found an interesting exchange between dog lovers who were having
similar problems. The first suggestion
made was to take the animal in question to the veterinarian. An animal may develop a hearing or sight
problem unbeknownst to their owners that would cause them to start acting
skittishly. Having spent my youth among
horses I can recall having dealt with horses that have lost eyesight in one eye. These animals become very skittish when
approached on their blind side. It makes sense, as they can’t see anyone
approaching, and then suddenly you’re there touching them. Another of the
writers recounted how her dog had developed pain in its hip. It began to act
afraid of her, somehow connecting its owner with the pain it was
experiencing. Animals don’t reason
through situations, but react to the stimulus present.
The article, “7 Signs that a Dog
is in Pain” offered some telltale signs of doggy pain. Such symptoms such as
limping or crying are no-brainers. But the author also mentions:
1. Excessive salivation
(salivation above the norm that is) along with obviously diarrhea, constipation
and vomiting as signs of gastrointestinal discomfort.
2. Whining and whimpering for no
apparent reason can be a sign of pain, though knowing where the pain originates
may be harder.
3. Temperament changes could be
a sign that your dog is ill. An otherwise gentle dog may bite for no reason,
while others may seek out more attention than is usual.
4. Strange and unusual behaviors that may
indicate a neck or back injury are a
refusal to go upstairs, or to lower their heads to eat. They may stop jumping
up on the couch or a favorite chair.
5. Loss of Appetite
especially if they’re experiencing oral pain, such as a toothache.
6. Excessive Licking especially
if a localized spot may mean the area is sore or tender.
7.
Panting
can
be a sign of pain in dogs. Dogs in pain may pant excessively; sometimes
trembling at the same time. The author
suggests you watch for panting at odd times, such as the middle of the night,
when the animal normally would not be panting.
|
Strange
Smell or Sounds
A veterinarian on the radio talk
show recently pointed out that smell is a dog’s most developed sense. In fact
the sense of smell is 1000 times better in a dog than a human, especially dogs
who are trained to track (Gilbert) Think of it this way, humans see the world
through their eyes, but dogs “see” the world through their nose. If a dog
begins to react to one spot of the house in particular, barking, growling,
backing away, it might mean they’re getting a whiff of something worrisome. It is true too that dogs can have visceral
reactions to a similar stimulus.
For example, if a dog got the
losing end of a tussle with a raccoon she might retain the memory. If she later encountered another raccoon – or
caught the scent of said coon –she would remember the episode and recoil in
fear. I always think of raccoons because
they’re stubborn creatures. For years
now, my parents have had a problem with raccoons making nests in the attic
crawl space above their garage. Every
spring my parents have the creatures forcefully removed, and every fall a new
family moves in. By now I’m sure the scent of raccoon is pungent throughout the
property. So I postulate that if a pest
or pests find a way into a house, the scent may be sending Rover into fits of
fear. Check for telltale signs of pests,
such as feces in the attic, holes in an outside wall, foot prints in snow or mud
that appear to stop right at the foot of the house etc. There may be sounds as
well. When the raccoons have moved back
in for another winter foray, we will hear them scrabbling overhead or pitter
pattering in the walls.
Hearing is another sense in which
dogs excel. Dogs can hear sounds that humans simply cannot detect, especially
high pitched noises. Take the phantom sounds of the dog whistle for instance. I
postulate that a dog may act oddly, therefore, to a high-pitched whine in a
building that humans are otherwise unaware of. Electrical appliances, lighting
fixtures, ceiling fans, televisions; all such appliances may create a
disruptive hum when malfunctioning. Or perhaps the dog is reacting to the
chattering of a critter living in the wall that we cannot otherwise hear?
Architectural
Fears
We’ve certainly all met people
who won’t cross a bridge or fly in an airplane. It makes no difference that far
more people die in automobile accidents than aircraft crashes in a year. The fear is still there. It appears that dogs can develop irrational
fears just as humans can. The T.A.P.S.
team investigated a house where the dog was afraid of the kitchen. The dog appeared to avoid the area by the
back door for no plausible reason, so the family assumed something paranormal
was to blame. T.A.P.S. brought their own
dog to the investigation, and the dog was perfectly calm in this area of the
house. The team noted that the flooring
in the kitchen by the back door was rather slick, and concluded that the dog’s
fear was probably due to the fact that it couldn’t get a sound footing on the
floor.
For years our family dog had a
similar fear of storm drains. We would
take him out for a family jaunt and everything was fine, until he hit that
storm drain grate. Then without warning the dog would take off in the opposite
direction sometimes hauling us after him.
We finally figured out that the dog didn’t like that echo-ish sound the
grates made when walking over them. He probably feared he’d fall in. Finally after many grates had been traversed,
he got over his fear.
If an animal appears afraid of
one area of the house but not others, than it may behoove you to do a little
investigative reasoning. Are the
floorboards creaky in this area, or the flooring slick? You might also try some training techniques.
Put the dog on a leash and take him into the area calmly. Have him lie in the
area for a while. Use your best calm and assertive behaviors and always reward
the actions that you wish to see repeated.
When the animal acts calmly give him a treat to reinforce the calm
behavior you wish him to exhibit.
Storm
Phobias
Storms are a common source of
distress for many dogs, and they can undoubtedly sense an oncoming storm before
we can. I spoke to one gentleman who said that his dog spent every thunderstorm
cowering in the bathtub. In the article, “Why do Dogs Act Weird when a
Rainstorm Comes” Animal Behaviorist, Nicholas Dodman admits it isn’t really
understood how an animal might sense an oncoming storm; whether it be sensed
changes in barometric pressure, or changes in the odor of the air, or rising
static electrical fields which herald an onslaught. Dodman did say that in some
dogs the polarized ion buildup that occurs before a thunderstorm can cause the
fur to become statically charged. In other words, Zippy may be taking some
uncomfortable zaps of electricity, and it may be these dogs that develop the
worst storm phobias. By the way, dogs
that take refuge in bathtubs, sinks, shower stalls or behind toilets do so for a
reason. Apparently these spots are
non-conductive and help dissipate the static electricity.
The terror that some animals
experience due to storms is real.
According to a 2005 study in “Applied Animal Behavior Science” the
cortisol level, a stress hormone in dogs, spiked 207% in the tested saliva of
dogs with storm phobias. And the cortisol levels stayed high for hours after
the storm had passed.
Dodson continued to speculate
that storm phobias in animals may be triggered by more than one element, and goes
on to suggest that it may symptomatic of a “general noise phobia.” During
storms the panic attack may be triggered by high winds, thunder, and rain
pounding on the roof…. At times when there isn’t a storm their phobia may be
triggered by noises that are similar. So
check the barometric pressure and bar the door, for a storm may be brewing and
Rover is way ahead of the Doppler radar reports.
Dogs
and Electromagnetic Energy
Paranormal investigators are
extremely fond of anything to do with electromagnetic energy. However, I found no studies on the effects of
high EMF’s on household pets. However, a
2013 study that has gained notoriety on the internet examined the polar
electromagnetic sensitivities of pooping pooches. The Czech
study, which appeared in the Journal, Frontiers
in Zoology, examined 70 dogs comprising of 37 different breeds. The dogs were allowed a free area to roam and
were not leased. After watching the animals poop and pee over 6000 times the
study found that when the polar electromagnetic field was calm dogs preferred
to align their bodies in a north-south pole when defecating. Apparently a calm
magnetic field is not all that usual. The researchers noted that during the
study the field was only calm around 30% of the time. And when there were
electromagnetic field disturbances all bets were off.
The researchers admitted they had
no idea why the animals behaved this way, whether they perceived the fields
through their senses or whether the animals simply felt more comfortable at a
vegetative level when pooping to the north is unknown. The researchers also raised the question as
to how a magnetic storm would affect an animal’s behavior.
What is also unknown is why a researcher would want to watch dogs poop for two
years and then admit it in public! However,
ashamedly, after reading the study results I did start watching my own dog who
I noted predominantly faces south, and poops with his rear-end facing
north. This, I speculated, is what becomes of a
person who reads too many scientific studies.
So the question is raised, if a
dog can sense electromagnetic fields, are they also similarly sensitive to fluctuating or high EMF fields
within a domicile? Could an area in a
building with an abnormally high electro-magnetic field also perversely affect
a canine?
Young
Female Animals &p; PMS
Young female dogs especially,
going through their first heat may start acting anxiety ridden. Animals that are normally independent may
start acting clingy. Others may be testy
or even become aggressive. When hormones surge, especially for the first time,
females of many species will act differently.
Obsessive
Compulsive Disorders
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders,
yes dogs can exhibit such symptoms too. I blame our schedule-driven, immobile
society. Dogs like humans used to have
tasks to do. Hunting dogs pointed, groused and fetched. Herding dogs kept the
other farm animals at bay. My own dog
now lies leashed twelve hours of every day so that he doesn’t destroy the house
while we’re gone earning our kibble.
Intelligent animals with very little to do can develop obsessive
compulsive disorders. Some of the symptoms listed include:
·
Self-mutilation especially around the forepaws,
tail and back legs
·
Tail chasing, tail biting, whether bobbed or not
·
Staring
into space
·
A
behavior that intensifies over time and cannot be interrupted, even with
physical restraints
·
Circling behaviors
·
Biting at imaginary flies, or chasing imaginary
light
·
Sucking on a toy or on a part of their bodies
As animals age their playful behaviors decline, and that is when compulsive behaviors will often begin. As the animal ages so the behavior may progress. For our own dog, it often results in tail biting and carpet licking. The author notes that while such disorders can occur in dogs they are not all that frequent. She adds that the behaviors are labeled compulsive when they become an exaggeration of normal behaviors, they are exhibited for long periods of time and are repeated at times which appear to be abnormal and happen out of context of the situation (Radosta, 2015).
Compulsive behaviors in dogs are
developed during times of stress, high anxiety or frustration.
Separation
Anxiety
It probably comes as no surprise
to animal lovers that some animals – especially dogs – can develop separation
anxiety. Such behaviors can include urinating, defecating, howling, barking,
chewing, digging or attempts at escape.
According to WebMD such attempts at escape can be truly destructive
especially at egress points such as doors and windows and may result in animal
injury. So while you may think you have
a poltergeist at work, it may be Rover just trying to get the heck out.
Adolescent
Dog Anxiety
There is even a theory that young
dogs have periods of high anxiety as they mature. This theory is as highly
debated as some of the paranormal theories I’ve read, with veterinarians
suggesting there are no such periods and enthusiasts swearing there are. Dogs especially are pack animals, and pack
animals as they mature must vie for positions of authority in the pack. Some
adolescent animals may become anxious, therefore, as they age, worrying what
their position may become in the pack- much like middle-school children begin worrying
about their future contribution.
Cats
and Low-Light Vision
Cats
are by nature nocturnal, thus their vision is adapted to low-light situations,
which makes them different from both humans and dogs. While they see better in low-light situations
they cannot see in total darkness. Some
of the anatomical differences are obvious just by looking at the eyes of a
cat. The pupil is a vertical, elliptical
shape, which allows it to bring in more light into the eye. More light means
better vision in low light situations. Another important feature is the tapetum
lucidum a membrane within the eye that is reflective. This membrane literally
bounces available light onto the retina; think tinfoil reflecting sunlight. Cat
eyes are also comprised of more rods than cones. Rods are better at absorbing
light than cones. Thus nature has prepared the purrfect (couldn’t resist) eye
for these nocturnal hunters, allowing them to see far more detail in the dark
than humans could ever hope. This might
account for them seeing something in the dark, such as a spirit or a mouse,
that we do not perceive.
Animal Hearing
It
appears that the hearing of dogs and cats is somewhat different on the spectrum
than what humans hear. According to one source humans typically hear from
64Hz-23,000Hz. Dogs’ low tones start at
67Hz but top out at 45,000Hz. Those account for those higher tones, like a dog
whistle, that humans simply cannot hear. And cats can hear both lower tones and
higher tones starting at 45Hz -64,000Hz. Thus we explain animal’s hearings
something we cannot.
Animals
and the Paranormal
I realize that this article was
purportedly about animals and the paranormal.
The prevailing public opinion is that animals are more attuned to the
paranormal than humans. But public
opinion may not always take into account that animals sense the natural world
differently, which may make them appear to have preternatural abilities. For instance, dogs and cats, and birds for
that matter, appear to have the ability to sense impending earthquakes. Is this
ability clairvoyant or do they sense earthquakes through sound, smell or
vibration? It also appears that dogs can
smell certain illnesses in people, just as they can sniff out drugs or
chemicals. But can they sense the
paranormal, and more to the point for parapsychologists, do animals have a
sixth sense? Parapsychologists have long
speculated that we detect paranormal activity, not with our eyes or ears, but
with our physic sight.
Obviously studying this premise
is difficult at best. We can’t make
paranormal activity happen on cue, let alone study it in conjunction with
animal behavior. While particular
animals with apparently highly developed psi skills have been studied, none
were studied in conjunction with paranormal phenomenon.
Ernesto Bozzano attempted this
feat in his study of 69 collected accounts involving animals, humans and
paranormal activity. He published his study in the Annals of Psychic Science in 1905 and again in 1926 in the Animaux et Manifestations Metaphychiques in
which animals as agents induce telepathic hallucination; in which they act as
percipients simultaneously with, or previously to, human beings; in that they
see human or animal phantoms, collectively with human beings in which phantom
animals are seen in haunted spots or periodically appear as a premonition of
death (Melton, 2001).” Of the original 69 cases he determined
that in 13 cases the animals, “were subject to supernormal psychic perception
in precedence [before] to humans, and in 12 they perceived things that the
persons present were unable to see (Melton, 2001).” In over one-third of the
cases, therefore, animals appeared to have better faculties for detection than
their human counterparts by either seeing the phenomenon first or seeing it
when the humans could not.
He believed that animals, “’besides
sharing with man the intermittent exercise of faculties of supernormal psychic
perception, show themselves further more normally endowed with special psychic
faculties unknown to man (Melton, 2001).’”
Among these he listed as their abilities at direction and migration and what
he felt was their precognitive ability to predict earthquakes and volcanoes. A highly developed psychic sense he
attributed to instinct, which all animals, except man, appear to have
developed. But one study is hardly conclusive.
Greg Pocha of the Eidolan Project
Canada takes a different view of animal abilities. He makes a distinction
between true psychic ability in humans and animals and “gut feelings” for which
he notes there is a physiological explanation. Pocha writes, “I believe that true human medium
or psychic ability is found very, very rarely. Intuitiveness is more common
- the so called "gut feeling". But there is a physiological
reason for that instinct that dates back to our cave man ancestors. Scientists
have discovered a second primitive "brain" located in the tissue
around the stomach, small intestine and colon, which recently lead to the
science / study of gastroenterology. This "brain" is connected to our
survival instinct, and may account the feeling that one gets in places of no
noticeable danger or threat. Its original function was to warn us of impeding
dangers, such as a predator in the neighborhood. It may be what a
"sixth" sense would be based upon. There is no reason that the
ancestors of dogs and cats would not still have the remnants of such an organ
as well. But this primitive brain does not explain psi abilities, only
reactive, instinctive "gut feelings”. If the ratio for other animals
is about the same as for humans, then only a handful of animals have a psychic
ability (Pocha, 2015).”
This instinctual response to
danger might then explain why horses especially appear to be able to predict
avalanches. Or how dogs and cats sense earthquakes.
Pocha points out that much of what we
know of animal reactions is anecdotal, but that it doesn’t make them untrue. He
writes “….Recently I have heard from a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police regarding one of their dogs who got spooked at the doorway of a room and
nothing could get him to enter that room. This is a trained police dog that was
frightened of something "not there". Was it merely reacting to its
handlers’ fears? No, the officers entered the room without issue or problem
(Pocha, 2015).”
Resources
Anonymous
(2013). “7 Signs your Dog is in Pain.” Pawsitively Pets. Retrieved January 27,
2015 from http://www.mypawsitivelypets.com/2013/01/7-signs-that-your-dog-is-in-pain.html#.VMfXaDg5DIU
Anonymous (2015) “Separation Anxiety in Dogs.” Web MD.
Retrieved January 31, 2015 from http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/separation-anxiety-dogs
Anonymous. (2015) “Night Vision in Cats.” Cat Health. Retrieved January 31, 2015 from http://www.cathealth.com/vision/night-vision-in-cats
Bragg, Rebecca (2015). “Why do
Dogs Act Weird when a Rainstorm comes?” On Demand Media. The Daily Puppy. Retrieved
January 27, 2015 from http://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/dogs-act-weird-rainstorm-comes-7958.html
Discussion
Board Doggit (2013). “My dog is suddenly
skittish and scared for no reason.” Reddit.com Retrieved January 25, 2015 from http://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/comments/1hmxx6/
Gilbert,
Joe (2013). “My Dog Is Acting Weird,
Like She Is Scared Or Worried, What's Wrong?” Official Site Anxietrex™
Melton, Gordon J.
(2001). Encyclopedia of Occultism &
Parapsychology; 5th Edition Vol. 1. Pgs. 37-38.
Pocha, Greg
(2015). In response to Query Animals and the Paranormal. Eidolan Project
Canada: Parapsychology and Paranormal Research and Investigation. Edmonton, Red
Deer, Calgary, Alberta Canada. Http://www.EidolonProject.org
Pocha, Greg
(2015). In response to Query Animals and the Paranormal. Eidolan Project
Canada: Parapsychology and Paranormal Research and Investigation. Retrieved
February 2, 2015 from www.allexperts.com:
Ghosts and Hauntings.
Radosta, Lisa D.V. M., D.A.C.V.
B. (2015) “Can Dogs have Compulsive Obsessive Disorders?’ Pet.MD. Retrieved
January 30, 2015 from http://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/evr_dog_behavior_compulsive_disorder
Scuiletti,
Justin. (2014). “Dogs Poop in Alignment with Earth’s
Magnetic Field, Study Finds.” PBS News
Hour Retrieved January 26, 2015 from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/dogs-poop-in-alignment-with-earths-magnetic-field-study-finds/
Published
article originally from the Journal, Frontiers in Zoology.
