Is it true dogs can see ghosts?

[CAJ1]

I'm living by myself at the moment as my other half is away. I live in a house that was built last year on a site that used to be a farmers field.

Last night I was watching tv, I have a corner sofa and was sat in the corner with my puppy lying at the end of the sofa. All of a sudden she leapt up and sat staring at a spot near the window then her eyes seemed to follow something that I couldn't see all the way round the room. She stopped when she reached me but stared intently right behind me and then started growling. I've never heard her growl and she definitly wasn't looking at me. She then barked and ran over to me and was whining and pawing at my knee while still looking behind me.

It absolutely freaked me out and scared me thinking she could see a ghost lol, I ended up going into the kitchen and when I went back to the living room again she got on like normal. Can dogs really see spirits etc? If not, what would you put her behaviour down to?

[andy-hughes]

Thanks CAJ1 - you have made my day!

[CAJ1]

Hmmm thats strange too Wendilla

lol Old_Geezer, I'll go home and say to Rosie if she saw a ghost then she is to put her paw up, that'll resolve it ;-)

Thanks Ron, I never thought of it as noises vibrating round the room.

You're full of great questions snags lol

And you mine Andy! :)

[craft1948]

My dog often sees spirits.................

[wendilla]

The dog does not know it is a ghost it just senses something. It is us that thinks it is a ghost.

[Hopkirk]

Dogs can't see ghosts for one simple reason.

There are no such things as ghosts.

(They come from the same place as Santa Claus and the tooth fairies)

[CAJ1]

HOPKIRK!! Are you saying there's no such thing as santa???!!! :(

[looobylooo]

hi caj1,
ive posted this up before in a past thread, so apologies for repeating,

i had an 'odd' experience once years ago,

i was alone in the house, watching tv in the living room, our dog was laying on the floor asleep by me,
next thing, in the hall, which backs onto the living room where i was sitting,
the sound of heavy footsteps came bounding down the stairs, as though they were being taken 2 at a time!!
and then, when at the bottom, 4 of the loudest, hardest thumps were made on the once was door, that used to lead in from the hall to the living room, as though it was being angrily thumped by a clenched fist!!!
i froze and the blood just drained from me!.....
i got up out of the chair, and the dog came with me into the dining room where you can see into the hall at the bottom of the stairs...
i was expecting to see an intruder standing there, god knows what id have done if there hadve been!
but, there was noone there, nothing....
but the dog was staring in that direction, as though he was seeing something, and his hackles were all up, growling like id not heard him growl before....

so, what it was that came bounding down those stairs and pounded on the once was door that day, i still do not know....

and even now, i get goose bumps every single time i think/talk about it...

[Kleiber]

Looby, that gave me goosebumps, too! It reminded me of a story my first husband told me. He was a police dog-handler & he & his partner and their dogs were searching an empty house for a child who had gone missing. There was one room that neither of the dogs would go into - they just stood on the threshold, growling. My ex told me that when he and his partner went into that room, it felt very cold, as opposed to the rest of the house (it was summer time). They never did find out what caused the dogs to react like that. (The kiddy was found, safe & well, btw!)

[RATTER15]

Im sure if ghosts and spirits existed your dog would be able to smell them :-)

[classylady60]

I tend to think that animals have a sizx sense that we rarely tap into ourselves, there's been so many accounts of animals "seeing something" that we can see... or pick up on things we don't register. A friend's boyfriend passed away suddenly some years ago, he always used to visit her and sit in a particular chair. That evening after he has passed away, her German Shepherd dog who was very fond of her boyfriend, pricked up his ears and ran over and sat in front of the chair that the boyfriend used to sit in. She said it was as though there was something there she couldn't see but her dog did and he only ever reacted like that when her boyfriend was in the room. Strange things happen and we rarely get to find out how or why...perhaps we're not meant to know at this time.