Can Dogs Sense the Supernatural?

Does Yoshi see a ghost in that pumpkin?Dogs are certainly sensitive creatures that are much more aware of nature than we are. Their hearing and eyesight are highly developed. They know when someone is coming to the door before you do, when a family member is coming home from work or if that squirrel they’d like to catch is outside.

When weather events are closing in, dogs seem to know. They can often predict an oncoming storm.

But do they see ghosts?

Many a paranormal investigator will swear that their trusted companion dog knows when spooks are about. The shows “Ghost Hunters” and “Ghost Adventures” have often included a dog in their investigations. And the dog has been able to sense something the human cannot see.

Many people believe in ghosts. Some people are “sensitive” to spirit activity. So perhaps our dogs can also be sensitive to the unseen.

There are many stories of dogs sensing the presence of a dead master, wagging their tail and responding to someone who is no longer there. I would like to think that if I passed I could come back and visit with my beloved dogs. It is a comforting thought. But if it is possible, no one really knows.

Our Japanese Chin, Yoshi, has always been the dog that seems to see things that are not there. She will often stare into an empty room and bark, howl or wag her tail. The other dogs do not see what she sees. And our chihuahuas don’t seem to be interested. Maybe it’s my mom who passed several years ago, come to visit. She was extremely fond of Yoshi.

Certainly many dogs seem to react to or sense a presence that we can not see with our human eyes.

World-renowned biologist Dr. Rupert Sheldrake PhD believes there is a strong connection between humans and animals that lies beyond present day scientific understanding. His book, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home & Other Unexplained Powers of Animals, provides compelling evidence to support this view based on five years of research and thousands of case studies.

In the book, Tails of the Afterlife: True Stories of Ghost Pets, Peggy Schmidt discusses questions like ‘Do pets return from the dead to contact their owners?’ and ‘Can pets actually see spirits that exist in your home?’ She wrote about many eyewitness testimonies of dogs interacting with unseen spirits.

On television, the Animal Planet series The Haunted on The Animal Planet explores the connection between animals and the supernatural realm.

So it is almost Halloween; when the vale between the living the dead is the thinnest. Will your dog be spooked? I would be very interested in your personal stories. Please let me know!

Interested in reading more? Check out the following:

Chocolate Poisoning in Dogs
The Dangers of Xylitol Poisoning in Dogs