When was het maar Rabies vaccination?

 

She had her Rabies vaccine in June.

 

That behavior seems to me like nausea.
She is obviously in some discomfort, what are you feeding?

 

She's kind of a picky eater. She's never really liked any particular dry food. Right now we are feeding her blue wilderness. The salmon flavor since we heard some dogs dont do well with the chicken based food. She's been eating this one for a few months now. She does do this thing where she won't eat all day and then will just scarf down the whole bowl. We had to get her the special bowl that stops her from eating too fast.

 

Have you seen a Dr.? Sometimes thay can smell sickness in/on their people?

 

I have had some health issues but it's not really anything new. I just recently found a doctor that is actually taking it seriously and running test but all the symptoms are the same. Nothing is worse and I haven't been sicker. I thought of this too but my illness isn't anything new but her behavior is. She will follow me regardless of what is going on. She is trained to go back to her bed when she hears beeping (we have a small machine with a button that beeps) and she usually will go to her spot when she hears it but now won't. We've tried putting barriers between her and me and she climbs over it even as my husband is physically trying to stop and restrain her. If she cant see me, she freaks out.

 

She's trying to tell you something. No clue what but watch her and follow her lead.

 

We have been trying to figure out what is going on but cant figure it out. We've even moved her to an empty room to see if she was just over stimulated. Still freaking out. She also keeps going to the back door like she does when she needs to use the bathroom. We let her out. She sniffs a bit comes back and starts up again. I even gone out with her and she will just stare at me and if I move an inch she moves so she is right up against my legs. She's almost tripped me because she keeps getting in front of me when I'm trying to walk. I'm so frustrated. I dont want her to be stressed but its stressing me out and I already have anxiety and panic attacks.

 

Any new cleaners or sanitizer sprays around the house in the last few days. I came to realize that in the evenings my dog was breathing very rapidly, panting, drooling, lip licking and restless. It took my a while but realized that I was spraying to much citrus scented things around the house. Citrus lysol, tangerine and citrus Airwick auto freshener in the bathrooms, Citrus wax melts. The smell was overwhelming her and making her feel ill. I stopped it all for a few days and her symptoms stopped. Now I watch how long and what scents are in my wax warmers and make sure i don't over use other cleaning, sanitizing products that are scented. Just a thought

 

No. We are very cautious of chemicals around the animals. We specifically dont use air fresheners around them. My father in law has a cat (but they are kept separate because they dont really get along) and we have an iguana that stays in its enclosure. We have taught her and she knows that the iguana is not a toy or prey and they are content to just stare at each other through the glass. We've got them both around the same time.(the iguana first) but because iguanas are particularly sensitive we won't use harsh cleansers. And there hasn't been anything new.

 

I'm wondering if she can hear some noise which is making her frightened, and given the time of year, I'm wondering if it has something to do with Christmas decorations, which would explain why it happens after dark. Maybe someone is playing a sound along with their decorations that is upsetting her.

My dog was acting very frightened one day, and kept wanting to get back in the car. I couldn't understand her behaviour, until someone told me they were practicing on the artillery range at the nearby military base. I couldn't hear the gunfire, but she and the man that told me about it could.

 

This is honestly the conclusion we keep coming to. It has to be something we can't perceive but she can. She's never had problems before. Last Christmas she was fine. But it could be someone in the neighborhood has something new. She doesn't react to loud noises. Vet checked her hearing and it's fine but she's never reacted scared with loud noise. We were nervous for new years and 4th of July but she would just turn her head towards the sound and then continue what she was doing. The only time she responds is when she hears a person or another dog very close to the house. Then she does these quiet little warning barks. If it continues or she feels its something we need to be aware of she barks louder. That's why it's weird. She's always been quiet, confident, independent and okay to just lay near us. Now she has to be touching me or on me and will try to squeeze herself in places she doesn't fit just to be up against me.

 

Well first of all, here's hoping her anxiety is not a sign of illness for you : ) One thing that I wonder - is there any chance she could be reacting to something ominous, like snake(s) in a crawlspace under the house, or bees within a wall? Hopefully not that either, but depending on where you live, it could be possible. I would think her likely to react more directly to the floors/walls, but ya never know. Just a thought.

 

Hmm... Well we live in the central valley of California and in the city. We've lived here almost 10 years and have never seen a snake. We had problems with wasps in the past but can usually tell where they are because we start to see a lot of them. We haven't seen any that I can recall. We've also have pest control spray the outside of the house every few months. So I dont know if anything is under the floors... although at this point I'm willing to crawl under the house if it means she stops acting like this. For the most part I just want her to be okay and I feel so helpless that there is nothing I can do to help her. I know she cant tell me what's wrong and I dont want her to think that any of the stuff we are trying is a punishment. (Like putting her in another room)

 

Now she has to be touching me or on me and will try to squeeze herself in places she doesn't fit just to be up against me.

I had one GSD that was really frightened of fireworks, and that's exactly how she would act when she heard them.

Of course, I'm not saying it's fireworks, but I agree, my money would be on some sort of sound she's hearing that is frightening her.

Does this go on all night? At what point does she stop stressing?

 

She was doing it most of the night and now she has started doing it during the day. She isn't afraid of fireworks. She is afraid of mice though. We had one that was in our garage and she saw it , yelped and jumped on the couch that we have in there. She then screamed until my husband threw a bucket over it and took it out.

 

I think there’s some underlying health issue.

 

I'd definitely get a second veterinarian's opinion. The vet I use is extremely conservative, so when I take him a concern he sometimes down plays it. I've seen several posts in other conversations here where the OP expresses a concern, citing the vet states their dog is OK. But, there are some things that can get overlooked if no blood work is done, like hyperthyroidism. It can manifest in some of the ways the OP listed ('hyperventilating' for one). Heavy, rapid breathing, nervousness - can be signs of overactive thyroid. Not diagnosing this dog, but just as an example. It is stress on the animal though so it wouldn't be a bad ideal to try another vet, or exhaust some more in depth testing.

 

anxiety that's worse at night...thyroid/Addison's disease ???

 

I'm gonna do some research on these and then talk to her regular vet. If I have to ask someone to give me a ride I will.

 

Here's something waaaaaaay out in left field, but have you heard of Hantavirus? Mice spread this and there have been cases of people that die from inhaling spores from the droppings. I've never seen a dog afraid of mice, but I'm open to anything in 2020. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome - Symptoms and causes

According to our friends from the north, about 40% of humans that contract Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome die. Don't want to sound like an alarmist, but worth checking out if all else is OK. Hantavirus : OSH Answers

Let us know what you find.

 

I'm gonna look into that. We have caught mice on our security cameras and our neighbors have had mice eating things in their pantry. She literally screams when she's scared. She sounds like a little girl and if I'm there she jumps into my arms. Which almost knocks me over because shes 60lbs and I'm 5'3. You're right. Given everything it's worth it to at least look into it

 

Shadow behaves this way if there are predators nearby. A pack of coyotes was routinely passing near where I was staying and it got so bad she made herself ill before I figured it out and hazed them off. I couldn't hear or see them but the dog sure as sugar knew they were there.

 

So you actually triggered a realization. Earlier this year there was a cougar spotted in the city. They never did find it. And the last place they saw it was actually a few neighborhoods over. The neighborhood dogs are always barking because we live near a fire station so I wouldn't know if they sensed it too.

 

I really appreciate everyone's advice and help. Lola is literally my best friend and its killing me not being able to help her

 

The very first thing my second favorite dog trainer said to me was "trust your dog." I didn't really understand it at the time but there have been many, many times in my history that he was 100% right.

I can't help you with the something that is happening, but it's there. It could be physical, environmental, animal, medical.

 

My dogs hear things 100% of the time before I do. I never tell them to be quiet if they're barking at the window without looking because they're always right. Always.

 

i haven’t read through all of the replies but i noticed you mentioned that there were no loud noises.... keep in mind dogs hear far better than us and also different frequencies. things can also get inadvertently paired.... example dog gets its tail stepped on at the same time the phone rings, now all of a sudden a ringing phone causes anxiety. environmental triggers are tough. i’m generally not big on meds but i think your dog is a good candidate.... have the dose adjusted or try a different one.

 

We went through a spell where Z would just kinda jump up from laying around and start grumbling or light barking. Sometimes she would just start sniffing the floor like she was looking for lost treats with or without grumbles. Our house is on a crawl space. Turned out we had rats in the crawl space. We didn't hear them but she sure did. Once they were eradicated the behavior stopped.
Is it possible there is something making it's night time home in your yard or under your house that your dog senses is there. As you said, cougar...maybe fox or some other animal that worries your dog?
Like David Winners said...trust your dog.

 

Any new Christmas decorations or candles? I had a dog that found scented candles overwhelming. He would pant and rub his paws against his muzzle and eyes.

Any unusual changes in the local animal population. A couple of weeks ago, as winter approached, we had some coyotes pass through the area. Many of the local dogs started howling and whining just after sundown. A few days later they all disappeared and the dogs went back to normal.

 

No. Unfortunately we didn't decorate for Christmas this year. So there is no lights or decorations but we do have new neighbors across the street that have an elaborate Christmas display and also some neighbors that are letting a sketchy guy live in an Rv in their driveway. I'm wondering if maybe he has been scalking around and she hears him. She has protected me before when someone was on the back alley and I was taking the trash can out. She got in front on me and wouldn't move. She got low and started growling. I definitely only want to use medication as a last resort. She just seems very distressed and I want her to be okay.

 

Does she ever bump into stuff in low light that she should be able to see? Like missing a doorway or dog door by a little bit and bumping her head, or acting like she's straining to see where something is?

 

I'm sorry you're going through this and hope you get it sorted! It must be very upsetting to have your girl acting that way.

 

Get rid of the mice. Don't just take them away, they will travel miles to get back to their home. And they can reproduce every 6 weeks. Use traps, there is something oddly comforting about that 'TWAP' in the middle of the night. Traps are cheap, throw mouse and trap away. And use gloves to pick it up and put it in the trash. Mice carry all sorts of disease. Use bait where the dog can't get to it (in the crawl spaces, etc.) It will take some time to round them all up but keep resetting those traps. Other than the bait you do not need to use any chemicals. Don't leave food where they can chew their way into the box. And they love dog food, we keep it in new garbage cans. Once your home is contminated with mouse urine, any mouse will follow that trail. That's how they find their way around. Even if that's not what is bothering the dog, you want to get rid of the mice. Not to panic you , but here's a mice disease chart, anything sound familiar? If your dog is afraid of them it would not surprise me that he hears them in the walls and is reacting. This time of year especially, they are looking for a warm space to spend the winter.

 

The one sighting was a few years back but I wouldn't be surprised if they present. I dont like to kill them because growing up we lived in a small apartment that was mouse and spider infested. We would hear them screaming and squeaking all night. If they were still alive in the morning my uncle would hit them in the head with a hammer. It was kinda traumatizing. I dont like to see animals in pain but I love my dog so much. I will do what it takes. Thank you for the advice.

 

If your building has natural gas or an LP tank, you might want to call and get someone into check for leaks. And check your smoke detectors, and possibly your neighbor's.

I used to have a dog that was hyper-aware of natural gas and propane. She was so averse to the smell of gas, she'd refuse to go into the utility room when we were messing with the pilot on the water heater. If we had ever had any sort of gas leak, she would've acted out to the extreme.

Years later, I had another dog that hated the sound of the low-battery beep from the smoke detector that we kept in the basement crawl space. We couldn't hear the low-battery beep (the crawl space wasn't accessible via the interior of the house), but I always knew when I needed to change the battery because she responded to it.

If you've ruled out medical problems (within reason), it's possible she's reacting to something in the environment, as others have said.

 

cushings and addisons are the opposite of each other.

 

So I'm thinking it has to be environmental. I dont want to jinx it but she just suddenly stopped. It's been a whole day of her being normal and I hope it stays that way. I'm still gonna look for anything that might be a trigger and I'm still going to talk to the neighbors.

 

Wow, that's good news!
The good news is that it's probably not some sort of health condition, then, which is a relief.

 

Yea. I'm glad shes doing better but it's still super weird that it came on suddenly then disappeared suddenly