My dog has begun to act strangely, advice?

[Frenegade42]

Colby 2013

[Deleted]

something outside of your hearing range that is panicking her.

You should consider this aswell. Our neighbours had a dog that whenever the TV was on, would start to shake, whine and turn around in circles. They later found out the TV was emitting a very high pitching sound that humans couldn't hear, but the dog did.
Perhaps you have some faulty electronics that are freaking her out.

[Deleted]

sounds like anxiety/insecurity/fear of being alone

personaly i would not let the dog have its way when trying to jump up in the lap and i would also try leting it have more human and dog contact. Dogs are not people and rely on you to learn and set the rules.

i would also like to edit that we have a collie ourself and she used to freak out and try to jump into or laps when she heard really high sounds like fireworks. Not leting her have her way everytime along with time spent with my sisters german shepard have made her alot more relaxed.

[Azalis]

One thing I will say is border collies typically need a LOT of activity and can get restless without it. This could potentially be an issue.

[Saravat]

While you are working with her on this issue, you might consider 'Rescue Remedy' drops in her water.

Reality check: Rescue Remedy is not a miracle cure. It works better for some animals (and people!) than for others. However, it has enough of an established history for helping out with highly stressed animals to be worth at least considering.

Google it. It may help out.

[HadleysHope]

Hey guys.

I have a female Border Collie aged 1, we have had her since she was about 3 months old and she has always been a very independant, happy and energetic animal, we love her to bits and she makes a fantastic pet.

However recently she has begun to act very strangely and out of character, it's a bit hard to explain but I'll give it a shot.

Basicly, out of the blue, she becomes very clingy, and I don't mean a little bit, but VERY clingy, she climbs all over us, trembling as if she was terrified of something, if we try to push her down she is very forceful, it's like she can't get close enough to us, she will then lie on us trembling until she falls asleep. The first time she did it, she was panting very heavily, and we thought perhaps there was something medically wrong with her so we booked her into the vets.

Well she went for a check over at the vets last week, and she was given the all clear, she had a urine test, blood test, and a full check up and we were told she was healthy and nothing was wrong with her, a little bit overweight but that was it, so now I am convinced she's medically sound, I'm wondering what could have caused this weird behaviour.

It comes and goes from day to day, sometimes she will be her normal happy self, then all of a sudden it hits her, and she begins to slip into that clingy mood again, it's quite worrying, I'm wondering if something has freaked her out, or if there's something that could have happened to her while I wasn't there that has spooked her.

basicly I'm just posting here to see if anybody else's pet has shown similar behaviour and if there is anything I can do to make her feel better or help her out of the pattern.

Any help appreciated!

Vellerix, did you ever get to the bottom of the clingy issue with your dog? we have a 10-year-old pound puppy that has been, for the most part, good as gold. In the past couple of months shes starts doing the same thing as yours, climbing all over us like she can't get close enough to us. She pants heavily and either sticks to myself or my wife like glue.

Any insight is greatly appreciated, we don't know what else to try. She has arthritis and is medicated so this doesn't seem like pain but who knows.

Thank you so much for your post, it gives me hope that we might be able to find something that works.

[Allybeboba]

All dogs have different personalities. She just could be a snugglepuss. Our ACD is big snuggler.

Peace

[Independent voter]

Take her on a long walk like a hike in the country, she if she exhibits the same symptoms. It would be the start of scientific testing to narrow down the cause of her problem. Or like was mentioned up thread, she could be nuts, I've heard of dogs taking prosac before.

[Krigaren]

How long have you lived in your current house?

I'm siding with those who are saying it's probably just anxiety. Without knowing what your daily schedule is like and whether or not she's left alone for any significant amount of time. If the people in the house leave for a long period of time every day (like going to work) it may be her coping mechanism to do what she's doing.

Another far-fetched idea could be something paranormal - which doesn't necessarily mean ghosts or poltergeists or something. There could be electro-magnetic fields that are affecting her, like if you have old wiring in the house, a large transformer or breaker nearby, an old refrigerator, etc. If she's only 1 year old, she might also be reacting to something new, like the sound of the furnace or the A/C turning on for the first time, assuming you're someplace unseasonably cold/warm right now.

Best thing to do is to immediately take stock of your surroundings the next few times she does it to see if there's an environmental commonality.

[Authary]

My parents' dog does that, except she climbs up furnitures instead of people. It's always because she's scared of something (she's a bit crazy so it happens quite often). It's usually because of sounds (wind by itself, wind closing doors, fireworks...) but it can also be red objects, travel bags, people not being at the exact place she expects them to be at this exact time...

Most of the time, we can't see/hear it but she can and she's in a situation where she can't escape.

[Crissi]

Die, necrod thread!

Closing