Just like elephants, they know when you are removing a loved one and won't take kindly to it. Your emotions may get involved too, when you hear the dramatic trumpeting of the death march to the burial ground. Keep the family dog away from the cows unless it is a cow dog there to work cows. Cows don't need to like your dog any more than they should like coyotes. During this time they learn to recognize each other and check to see if all systems are go.
Calves born in a cow lot during cattle work get very confused.
They look around and think they have a lot of mothers and have a tough time bonding. This is when you keep cow and calf in lot for a few days to ensure that bond. Calves have to have Mother's milk within three hours of birth or else will likely die . Most cows know this. If you expect her to have a tough time calving you better get her in the lot right then.