Can Dogs Sense Fire

Just to get right to it, dogs do have the ability to sense fire. Their ancestors, wolves, have a fear of fire. Canines can sense fire threatening their den. A strong sense of smell and excellent hearing enable dogs to smell smoke and hear flames as a fire advances towards their home.

Some dogs are so acutely aware of fire that they have become man’s best crime scene fire detectors and can learn how to detect signs of arson. Your domestic dog can sense that a fire is threatening his home. Stories of dogs rescuing families from fires prove their ability to sense fire. 

The Signs of Dogs Sensing Fire

The first sign you will notice if your dog has sensed a fire is near, is the way they will start sniffing and smelling the air. Dogs can paint a picture of their environment through their noses. A canine’s nose is stereoscopic, and each nostril can pick up separate smells. At the end of their nose is the olfactory epithelium, full of receptor cells, and these cells receive the smell and send a message to the dog’s brain to decipher the smell.

Dogs can smell what happened in the past, the night visitors, and scents from the day before. They can sense what is going to happen through aroma in the air, a storm coming or the strong smell of smoke. The bigger the fire the more obvious the danger. There is the sound of the fire as well as the fear generated by oncoming flames.

Your dog may growl to warn you of the danger or their hackles may stand on end. Lip licking signifies nervousness and your dog may want to find a place to hide. However, in terms of rescue behavior, dogs can be amazingly brave and save families from the fire. Dogs have run in search of help and pulled young children from the depths of a burning house. It is certain that dogs sense fire and show signs of reacting to its dangers.