My Dog Has Gone A Bit Demented

[swazzie]

I haven't posted here in awhile, so I hope it's ok to come in and ask a question?

I have two beautiful labs Bru and Chloe. Bru we got as a pup and Chloe from rescue. Chloe came to us with some bad habits and for the most part we've trained them out but she has always been a bit nutty. However she is so loveable and even though Bru is more interested in people , they get on great.

Recently Chloe had been doing strange things

First she ran away , something I was not expecting as neither dog has ever tried this before even though the opportunity has often been there. She slipped out the front door . Then we moved into our new house , back to the block we used to live on ( both dogs lived in old house which was on block) and she ran away three times in two days - never very far and always came when I found her and called but it's given me such a fright as we are one road away from a very busy road. The backyard is fully fenced but we had tradies in and she slipped out when someone left a door open. Its hard because I've never had to worry about doors as the dogs have never in 4 years ( 3 for Chloe ) shown any interest in running out. I also have a new baby so I'm sometimes in other rooms etc. anyhow the running away is fixable as we get putting up a front fence very soon.she also managed to find a gap out the back fence , we've fixed it but it's a constant worry with people in and out.

Next thing is ,she has gone from being a fearless dog to being afraid of stairs and the latest is doorways. It's weird it's like every few days she remembers she's scared again and will stop either at top or bottom of stairs and give out this scared bark. She's not a barker at all normally . Then last couple of days she will stand inside our bedroom and start the scared bark until someone goes to encourage her out ,but she may have been in and out of same room multiple times that morning!

We've been joking she's demented but I'm actually beginning to worry about her.

My dh thinks its the new house but she ran away the week before we moved here so I'm not so sure .

Any suggestions /opinions would be so appreciated

[trinabean]

Maybe a vet check to make sure there's nothing wrong? Roughly how old is Chloe?

[Little Gifts]

I second the vet check. I remember someone telling me they had no idea their dog had gone blind until they moved into a new house and the dog started acting all strange. Obviously it had the old house mapped out.

But on the other hand - did you build your new house? Could it be an old renovated house with ghosties????

Edited June 16, 2012 by Puppy_Sniffer

[swazzie]

She's 4 in November . No its a new house , we knocked down the old one. I think her eye sight is ok as she seems to focus well on things.

I should have mentioned all these new fears go away at food times :-)

I will take her to up to vet though just to be safe.

[Christina]

New baby & moving houses sounds like it has stressed her or brought back some bad memories.

Do you know her history ? She may have been put outside or got rid of due to a new baby or a move ? If the vet check goes well maybe some rescue remedy, extra walks & attention may settle her gradually. Life would be so much easier if they could talk.

[twodoggies2001]

I second the vet check. I remember someone telling me they had no idea their dog had gone blind until they moved into a new house and the dog started acting all strange. Obviously it had the old house mapped out.

But on the other hand - did you build your new house? Could it be an old renovated house with ghosties????

Funny, but the 'ghosties' theory is the first thing I thought about too.

[swazzie]

We've had her 21/2 years and moved last year to a rental and she was fine then . We were told she didn't have the best start for example when she was naughty she was put in the laundry. As a result she was a bit wild when she came to live with us but she a lovely dog now. The baby is 41/2 months but the dogs has definitely not bring left out or anything . One thing I hIave noticed is Chloe seemed not to notice the baby for the first few months but recently has been more interested in him. He's taken to sleeping by his cot when he's havin naps- the same room she's scared to come out of at times. I am going to take her to vet as I came home this evening and she was downstairs with dh but wouldn't come upstairs again.

[LizT]

Do you know her history? Perhaps she was "moved on" because a new baby made life difficult with an unruly dog? Newborn infants would not be the trigger but a more animated baby of 4 1/2 month could be, this can be a trigger despite your efforts to not leave her out.

Vet check is a very good idea in case she is feeling unwell and wanting to go to ground.

[persephone]

I should have mentioned all these new fears go away at food times :-)

pretty much how humans are as well - eating something nice tends to help block bad experiences fora little while ..even if we a quite anxious.

[swazzie]

Her original owners in Canberra broke up and neither one of them could or wanted to keep her - their loss . We met the woman briefly and she didnt have any kids . Chloe was very standoffish at first ie wasn't keen on cuddles /pats etc but she got over that and is the most lovable/ smoochy dog now. Have an vet appointment so fingers crossed she's ok.

OT-I've realised I should read back through my iPhone posts-or use spell check.