My dog has begun to act strangely, advice?

[Deleted]

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!

[Deleted]

Could it be that she is going to be prepared for copulation? I do not know if that is the right word. Our cat behaved in the same way right before she was going to do that.

[Deleted]

Could it be that she is going to be prepared for copulation? I do not know if that is the right word. Our cat behaved in the same way right before she was going to do that.

If you mean coming into season, she has already come into season before, and since then she has been spayed, so that shouldn't be it I don't think, I did some reading up and most people said that they experienced similar behaviour from their dogs when they were pregnant, but that is impossible, the only thing that throws me off is that she looks as if something is really scaring her.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

If she was not fixed, what Kerdoz said might very well be true. (good job with the right, and quite proper, word)

I had something similar happen with my dog, but it was due to some really *ahem* (jerky) neighbors. She had barked at their dog and they shot her with a pellet gun. After that she was quite nervous all the time.

I doubt anything that terrible has happened to your pooch though.

Edit: Now that I see your dog has been fixed... Have you noticed if she does this when a certain person is around her? Are there any particular events that happen to her prior to being clingy?

[Deleted]

Edit: Now that I see your dog has been fixed... Have you noticed if she does this when a certain person is around her? Are there any particular events that happen to her prior to being clingy?

Not that I am able to tell, it happens at the most random of times, it has happened when I am alone in the house with her, she has done it to my sister when she has been alone with her, and at very different times of the day, she has woken my sister up at night clawing on the door and wimpering, which is very unlike her to do something like that, I've racked my brain trying to think of what could be bothering her but there is nothing obvious that I can tell. The only possible thing I could thing of is that there are some pretty mean cats that live next door that have clawed my other dog's face before now, but that wouldn't explain her suddenly becoming clingy even when she hadn't been outside..

[This name sucks]

Check if there are any strays around.

Might also be classical conditioning where she generalized being shot by a pellet gun with a certain sound or person.

[Saravat]

Her behavior has nothing to do with whether she's been spayed or is/is not in season, sheesh.

Are you absolutely certain she isn't having seizures? Did you ask your vet about that specifically?

Has she been outside by herself at all lately (where something could have happened)?

It's possible she's hearing something outside of your hearing range that is panicking her.

It might not hurt to get in touch with her breeder/the person you got her from, and ask about any similar behaviors in her parents or siblings. If none of this helps at all, then I'd advise you to get in touch with an established Border Collie breeder and describe what's going on and see what they advise. If there are reputable dog trainers in your area, then you might bring it up with them as well.

Good luck. It sounds like the poor girl is having a rough time.

[Deleted]

What kind of people have access to your dog? Is it only people you trust? Can it be that someone scared/hurt her somehow and now she is acting out of stress? What other possible reasons can be for her to act stressed?

[Deleted]

Her behavior has nothing to do with whether she's been spayed or is/is not in season, sheesh.

Are you absolutely certain she isn't having seizures? Did you ask your vet about that specifically?

Has she been outside by herself at all lately (where something could have happened)?

It's possible she's hearing something outside of your hearing range that is panicking her.

It might not hurt to get in touch with her breeder/the person you got her from, and ask about any similar behaviors in her parents or siblings. If none of this helps at all, then I'd advise you to get in touch with an established Border Collie breeder and describe what's going on and see what they advise. If there are reputable dog trainers in your area, then you might bring it up with them as well.

Good luck. It sounds like the poor girl is having a rough time.

She can go outside by herself, we have a doggy door into a fenced off garden area where they can go do their business, there's no way people can get into the garden though and we have high hedges, it's possible she came across a fox or a badger or any other type of wild animal that might have scared her. As for the seizure thing, I'm 99% sure she isn't having seizures, I know what seizure's look like, my old dog that unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago was epileptic and we had to deal with that for some time, this doesn't look the same at all.

I may consider trying to contact the breeder, I hadn't thought of that before, I will do it if things continue to be bad.

The question is, if she has been terrified by something outside, or anywhere else, how can I help her not be scared?

Thanks for your input!

---------- Post added 2013-02-27 at 06:31 AM ----------

What kind of people have access to your dog? Is it only people you trust? Can it be that someone scared/hurt her somehow and now she is acting out of stress? What other possible reasons can be for her to act stressed?

Just family and friends really, I live with my mum/dad/sister, and often have friends over, always the same people though, she's very used to everyone that comes over and they all love having her around them, she always comes to the door to greet visitors.

[Wafffles]

Does she have contact with other dogs? If you can rule out more serious problems you might want to consider (gradually) increasing her exposure to other dogs. Our female husky had similar behavior around the same age and it turned out to be nothing more than low self-confidence. She suddenly loved climbing on laps (no mean feat for a 55 lb dog) and got nervous around strangers. Basically, she was at an age where she becomes 'alpha-male' or 'follower' and lapsed significantly into the latter category until we did some confidence exercises and increased her playtime with other dogs.

Also, make sure there's nothing outside of your hearing range bugging her. Dogs can get really, really upset (understandably so!) if they are stuck listening to pervasive whistles or hums all day long.

[Deleted]

Does she have contact with other dogs? If you can rule out more serious problems you might want to consider (gradually) increasing her exposure to other dogs. Our female husky had similar behavior around the same age and it turned out to be nothing more than low self-confidence. She suddenly loved climbing on laps (no mean feat for a 55 lb dog) and got nervous around strangers. Basically, she was at an age where she becomes 'alpha-male' or 'follower' and lapsed significantly into the latter category until we did some confidence exercises and increased her playtime with other dogs.

Also, make sure there's nothing outside of your hearing range bugging her. Dogs can get really, really upset (understandably so!) if they are stuck listening to pervasive whistles or hums all day long.

That's actually very interesting because now I think about it, the only other dog she has regular contact with is our other dog Jack, we take her out often for walks but usually in wooded areas (we drive to places to take her for better walks) and there aren't very often other dogs around. I will try to look into walking her maybe in some local parks or something where I know there are other dogs, good advice thanks!

[crazymack]

I wonder if it's some sound that is upsetting her, a sound which you may or may not be able to hear it. A good clue would think about if you change anything around the house about the time when she first started to act strangely.

[Jokerfiend]

It's anxiety. Even in close quarters, with your dog, they can get this way. Different curtains, a new rug, an air freshener, or anything. It's a fear reaction for sure, but why, is only something you can figure out.

Just google it. I care not to write about it much anymore. My dog suffers from it, and when she wants attention, she will constantly whimper and lick the shit out of you. She will also crawl(forcefully at times) into your lap, pant, and shiver until she calms down.

Your dog might be the same. She got frightened by something, you coddled her. She now knows that for attention, she can act a certain way and you will give it too her. Counter-conditioning is the only thing that will correct it. Take your dog to a behavior specialist if you want an "informed" opinion.

Though, I'm almost certain it's anxiety.

[Kalliope]

Yea I'd think about what everyone else has said, although if you really think it's out of character for her to be acting at all like she has been then I'm not sure it would be some of the suggestions made.

Have you by chance changed her dog food or been feeding her human food (or if you already did that different human food)? My roommates dog tends to get upset stomachs sometimes and she gets VERY clingy when this happens. She rubs against my leg like a cat when I'm at my desk, tries to sit on my lap if I'm on a couch or chair and tries to get into my room when I'm going to sleep. I just let her outside, she eats some grass and it seems to sometimes make her feel better.

It's just an idea, I know some dogs tend to want to be alone when their stomach is irritated, but some do get very clingy.

EDIT: I should also mention that vets sometimes don't always find or know what's wrong, no matter how good they might be. It's likely anxiety from the things Jokerfiend said or anxiety from an upset stomach but I'd just keep a close eye, take note of anything else out of the ordinary so you can talk to your vet about it if the problem continues.

[Deleted]

Our border collie has the exact same thing, and as far as I know they are known for it and they are just seeking attention... Also known for stomach problems indeed, but since you already had her checked?

[Korie]

Ghosts....
Nah, it might just be a sound(as other people have said), have you gotten any other animals into the house after your dog? (cats as example), our dog started getting extremely clingy and started losing hair because of the new animal(stress)

[Deleted]

I'd consider presuming she is hearing something that you aren't, and see if you can figure it out. Could be something outside. If that's what it is and you can discover it, you may be able to condition the dog to it so the behavior stops.

[Lysah]

There might be a cause and you might be able to fix it, but also remember that animals can develop mental disorders just like humans. My wife's dog was "normal" for the first year and a half or so of his life, but since then he's been living in terror pretty much every minute of every day. Best bet so far is acousticophobia, he's simply afraid of noise. Not any particular noise, just noise itself. Nothing you can do to help him, he's just going to have to live with it. He's 14 or so now and pretty much deaf, and, of course, not nearly as anxious and afraid all the time.

Examine all possible causes, of course, but I wouldn't stress over it for the next ten years.

[sircaw]

We had a Ridgeback back in the day when we lived in Zimbabwe, she used to cower and shiver when ever she used to hear thunder or see lightning. It became really terrible later in her years esp around new years and stuff like that when people used fireworks camera flashes etc.

We noticed eventually that she could even sense a storm forming even up to a few hours early and her behavior become neurtoic because of this.

She used to cower and try hide under tables or chairs and shiver.

Ofcourse when there were no storms she was the most awesome dog in the world,chasing stuff in the bush, jumping into pools and streams etc normal dog stuff.

Dont know if this helps but yer.

Peace

[Anium]

Next time she does it, pay real attention to your surroundings. Maybe pick her up and walk her around the house to see if her behaviour intensifies at a certain location, to see if you can identify the stimuli (if there is one). She'll feel safe and reassured if you're there. Sorry I can't be of more help