Can Dogs Sense Earthquakes?

It is no secret that dogs are very special animals. They are great companions, they can do lots of tricks, and some people even say that they can sense danger, even earthquakes.

This has been a rumor for many years, but is there any truth to it? Let’s delve into this interesting hypothesis of whether dogs can sense earthquakes.

The idea that dogs can predict earthquakes goes all the way back to 373 B.C., when the first reports of dogs acting strangely before a quake began. Since then, veterinarians and psychologists have been trying to figure out the truth of the matter. Now, it is important to note that there is not hard and fast evidence that they can predict quakes but there are theories.

Some say that dogs can sense P waves which earthquakes release. Essentially, these are compressional waves that effectively shake the ground in the opposite direction that the wave is moving. In most cases, P waves are unnoticeable by humans. However, it has been proven that dogs have a sharper sense of sound, so they have a better chance of detecting these P waves.

You may be thinking that if a dog senses these P waves that they might only have seconds to warn their owner of an impending quake.

So what about the alleged cases of dogs predicting earthquakes days ahead of time?

That may be attributed to dogs having such sharp senses that they can actually detect the high-pitched sound of rocks scraping and grinding together under the earth. A phenomenon which eventually leads to earthquakes. Pretty amazing stuff!

The ability to detect earthquakes may also fall back on the type of dog you have, or more specifically, the kind of ears they have. Since the potential detection of earthquakes is about sensing acute sounds, researchers have found that dogs with floppy ears are less likely to detect quakes then dogs with prick ears.

While there is no strict evidence of this phenomenon, is it is hard to ignore the stories we have heard of dogs acting erratically prior to the occurrence of an earthquake.

At Scarlet’s Fancy Poodles, we may not be able to prove that we have earthquake sensing dogs, but we do know that we have an inventory of the cutest and most loyal fancy poodles in the Central Coast area. Contact us today to learn more about pricing and to schedule an appointment.