One thing researchers do know is that dogs and cats can be sensitive to changes in their environments. In the case of the recent house fires, Gaughan said smoke or heat from the blazes or a previous experience with fire could have been factors in prompting the animals to wake their owners. Dogs, also, can be sensitive to changes in the weather as are some people with arthritis. The trigger is not always the noise associated with thunderstorms. For some dogs, the cascade of anxiety corresponds to the change in barometric pressure which occurs prior to the storm.
Some dogs are even able to detect an oncoming medical change in their handler or owner.
Gaughan said seizure-alert dogs can detect the preliminary signs of a seizure and alert their owner before the seizure strikes. Prepared by Beth Bohn.