‘A family’s capacity to meet an animal’s needs may change substantially.’ Illustration: Timo Kuilder/The Guardian View image in fullscreen ‘A family’s capacity to meet an animal’s needs may change substantially.’ Illustration: Timo Kuilder/The Guardian Well actually ‘12 weeks and SO disgusted by my dog’: what happens when you’re pregnant and can’t stand your pet? There may be almost no research on pet aversion during and post-pregnancy, but it may not be particularly rare
Prefer the Guardian on Google About three weeks into her first pregnancy, Sylvia Luu began to loathe the smell of her border collie mix, Ranger.
Luu could hardly be in the same room as Ranger without becoming nauseous. His drool repulsed her, and she found the smell of his fur so disgusting she wore a nose plug all day.
“Before pregnancy, I used to smell my dog’s paws a lot,” says Luu. “But during pregnancy, I would throw up if I ever tried that.”
At the time, Luu, 35, and Ranger had enjoyed 12 happy years together. Ranger slept in Luu’s bed. She walked him in all weather, and let him lick her face.
Luu’s doctor said that her nausea was normal and simply advised her to drink more water to avoid dehydration from vomiting, but that didn’t alleviate Luu’s distress. “I was so heartbroken that I couldn’t love my dog as much as I wanted to,” says Luu, whose husband took over pet care duties. She wondered about rehoming Ranger, and was relieved when, upon delivering her firstborn, her aversion vanished.
By the time of her second pregnancy, Luu was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum . The condition is caused by hormonal shifts , much like the more familiar morning sickness. For 1%-3% of pregnant people, these shifts result in extreme nausea and disgust sensitivity that can be triggered by any number of things – in this case, pet odour.
Although the diagnosis was helpful, the changes were a difficult and destabilising addition to an already labile time. Luu now wishes that she had received some emotional support from her medical team, practical tips for coping with her diagnosis or validation of the unsettling shift in her feelings toward Ranger.
Read more But there is almost no research into the specific phenomenon of pet aversion during and post-pregnancy.
“This topic is at an intersection of women’s health being underfunded and human-animal bond work being trivialised,” says Dr Katherine Compitus, director of veterinary social work at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, who has helped clients experiencing pet aversion.
Yet there are signs that prenatal pet aversion isn’t particularly rare.
View image in fullscreen Sylvia Luu with Ranger. Photograph: Sylvia Luu A survey of 1,077 women who had been pregnant within the past three years found that 15% of pet-owning respondents experienced aversion to their dog during pregnancy, according to 2025 research from the UK pet insurer ManyPets.
On Reddit, pregnant posters complain about feeling annoyed or repelled by their pets’ noises, smells and behaviours. “I’m a huge animal lover but this pregnancy I hate all of them,” wrote one user . “12 weeks and SO disgusted by my dog,” another admitted .
Perinatal depression, anxiety and OCD may contribute to intense, confusing feelings, and a pet may become an outlet for difficult emotions too risky to direct at a partner or child, Compitus says. She recommends that anyone whose feelings about their pets are becoming distressing or out of proportion speak with…