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Can Dogs Predict Weather?

Posted on July 13, 2016

Many stories suggest that dogs can predict the weather. And they’re all true.

Dogs have a sixth sense and so do humans, but we’re always too busy to tune in. They have a better sense of smell and hearing and that is why, before a storm, dog owners find them frantically pacing around the house and even jumping or barking. Dogs are capable of sensing the barometric pressure drop and any shift in the static electric field.

Thanks to their keen ears, dogs can hear at much higher and lower frequencies than we can.

A dog can hear the rumbling of thunder you might miss. Since lightning ionises air with the formation of ozone—which has a metallic smell—it’s possible that dogs detect this odour or some other odour that’s associated with the storm.

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They are much more sensitive to the decrease in barometric pressure than humans are. Barometric pressure is the pressure of the atmosphere. A drop in pressure means that conditions may be suitable 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. Dogs may also pick up the vibrations that precede a storm. They don’t miss the slightest rumbles that precede the storm. They also learn to interpret the dark skies and the cloud patterns.

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They are so frightened by the storm that they may bark, hide, jump frantically and some dogs become destructive, particularly when forced to endure a storm alone. Others may react to the sound, but may remain calm. The more anxious the dog in thunderstorms, the more he may react before the storm actually arrives. But aren’t we better off enjoying a cuddle or the barking over watching the Weather Forecast?

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