Worried about my dog - do you know what this could be?

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Twinkletoes

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Hi

I've not been able to get a vets appt til 1700 tomoro, and in the meantime want to post on here in the hope someone can help.

My dog (neutered), aged 3 1/2 has never ever (and we've had him since 9 weeks old) run off, or shown these signs before. On Friday, we were throwing his airkong toy in one of the fields, and all of a sudden, he dropped it once retrieved, looked at me in a very strange and scarey way, his tail was right between his legs, (Ive never ever seen him do that before) and he bolted. Bearing in mind you have to prize this dog off any toy or stick, I knew something was up. He got a couple of acres away and stopped, I was calling him calmly but loudly, and then he just turned and bolted again. He got to our car, and ran straight into the back wheel, scrabbling to try and get into the car.

Nothing had spooked him, and he was completely disorientated. I have Never had to whistle or call this dog more than once before he is at my heel. We took him home and he went back to normal relatively quickly, but slept a lot in the eve.

Sadly, pretty much the same thing has happened three further times over the weekend, in different places, and once in the house, in the night. The dogs sleep downstairs, and he cleared the baby stair gate to get upstairs to me so I could let him out, and he just ran into the garden and literally ran into the shed (the side of it). Im really worried, have you seen this before?
He is usually a very bouncy active fun boy, he's never been scared of anything, ever, and is a bold confident character.
He's not off his food, his gums are healthy, his temperature is normal, but I just know, something is really wrong. Our routines havent changed, nor has his feed, etc.
Advice please x
 
Sounds scary but am afraid I have no idea what to suggest. Kind of sounds as if he is having some sort of brain problem...and I hate to say that but if there is no obvious sign of anything I can't think what else it could be. Fingers crossed for you tonight, let us know how you get on.
 
That is a worry and I am afraid I have no advice either
frown.gif


Let us know what the vet's opinion is.
 
Sorry to hear about your dog, since I only have vague thoughts about possible reasons I want to begin with saying, I think you've written a very informative post, I actually wish it could be "stickied" somewhere as a good example of how to write a post asking for ideas/help etc.


My first thought was that an inflammation of the urinary tracts can affect the behaviour, everything from being uncharacteristic to acting gaga/senile.
Second, if your dog is bitten by a tick in Sweden there's a small risk that the tick carries a disease that it passes over to the dog, one of the signs of the disease can be a change in the behaviour. But one of the problem is that sometimes the dog don't show signs of the disease, until months or up to a year or so after the tick-bite, so if you have something like that in UK, that could be a possible cause.

Problem is that sometimes just being ill can affect the behaviour, so the number of diseases where a change in the behaviour can occur is numerous. So though I admit that by your description there's a risk the cause might be in his brain, I would try not to worry to much, because it really is not the one and only thing that could cause what you're describing.

But until you've been at the vet it might be best to not even let him out in your garden without a lead, so he doesn't risk hurting himself.

Hope it goes well at the vet tomorrow, fingers crossed.
 
Thank you for your reply, and I will update tomorrow after the vets, at which he will wag his tail and look at me with his sparkly eyes as if to say 'And we are here because......'? I have written down every symptom, and times etc so if I get all ridiculous and emotional then at least he will get the facts.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Second, if your dog is bitten by a tick in Sweden there's a small risk that the tick carries a disease that it passes over to the dog, one of the signs of the disease can be a change in the behaviour. But one of the problem is that sometimes the dog don't show signs of the disease, until months or up to a year or so after the tick-bite, so if you have something like that in UK, that could be a possible cause.

[/ QUOTE ]

My sister-in-law's dog is currently being treated for Lyme, following a bite by a tick. They took her to the vet because she suddenly started being very aggressive to other dogs, and even tried to bite her owner. She's usually a gentle, outgoing dog, so they knew something was up. I'd go to your vet and ask them to do bloodwork.
 
Id agree, as would my housemate, that is sounds neurological, however I have never seen a dog with lyme disease so this might also be possible.
Either way vets is DEFO required, if it gets worse just call for an emergency appointment, it would be worth the extra money!

good luck and let us know what the result is!
 
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