• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

Does barometric pressure affect cavalier behavior?

rtroxel

rtroxel

Well-known member
We live in northern New Mexico, USA, with our two cav pups. During the summer months, we get a lot of rain, and there is a heavy change of barometric pressure. This began a week ago, and since that time our two cavs have altered their behavior. They don't like to go outside much, and when they do, they often won't relieve themselves. Instead, they poop on the floor when they return to the house. This is unusual, since they are about 75% house-broken. Their eating habits have also changed, which is to say that they skip meals every other day. (They still respond to "treats" however.) They also seem a little lazy and take longer naps; however, they don't appear to have lost any weight..

We think this new behavior has to do with the weather. Has anyone here noticed this kind of behavior after a sudden change in weather?

Thanks,

Roy and Jean
 
I've never noticed any change with our Cavalier, even when there is a tornado WARNING.

My guess is that your dogs have developed some bad potty habits and you'll need to go back to HouseTraining Basics 101 and crate them except when they are taken outdoors.
Our dog has never skipped a meal. Cavaliers love to eat. :cool:

Perhaps they should be taken to the vet for an exam?
 
waldor,

Thanks for your quick reply.

We have recently taken the pups to the vet (last month). He suggested there is a possibility of weather influencing their behavior, due to their young age (1 year), and the peculiarities of New Mexico's climate changes. He examined both pups and determined them to be healthy and well-fed. (That was a month ago, however.)

Although they have never been %100 house-broken, they have been unusually messy for the past week, and reluctant to go outside.

Roy and Jean

PS: Our pups are always hungry, but mostly for treats (Milk-Bones) and scraps off the dining table. They eat kibble and canned food reluctantly.
 
Last edited:
rtroxel said:
PS: Our pups are always hungry, but mostly for treats (Milk-Bones) and scraps off the dining table. They eat kibble and canned food reluctantly.
Click to expand...

Here's your problem with their eating habits. Go back to basics again. Put their food down, if they don't eat after 15 mins, pick it up without any fussing or begging them to eat. Most importantly, there is to be NO TREATS, TABLE SCRAPS, or any other food until the next mealtime. It may take a few missed meals, but don't worry, they won't starve themselves

I also agree with Waldor about potty training. Again, back to basics. Don't give them the opportunity to potty in the house by giving free rein. They must have 100% of your attention or they need to be crated or in a secured area.

It does take a lot of time and patience, but once they get it, life will become much easier.
 
Roy and Jean,
It could be the rain, I know it affects my cavaliers potty behavior. I'm in Oregon and my two cavaliers hate going potty in the backyard when its raining/misting/damp (but on a walk it doesn't seem to matter that its raining). I have to shoo them out the door and go with them into the yard and firmly tell them to "go potty." No one comes in until the deed is done. My young tri boy is the hardest dog I've ever had to house train! He is very active/easily distracted and at 1 yo he sure did the same thing as your pups...go outside, get distracted, come in and then go potty. But only within the past 3 months can I finally say he is house trained (knock on wood, lol); its been a long, slow process requiring alot of patience and being firm to get him to consistently ask to go outside/respond to me saying "go potty"/stop playing long enough to go potty, etc. The key for him was crating him when it was time to go to sleep (as much as I hated to do it but my vet suggested it), I believe it helped him learn control and kept him on more of a schedule.

Karen and...
Ruby 9yo black and tan (her majesty)
Cooper 2.5 yo tricolor (monkey man)
 
Just to answer your question about the barometric pressure. I have read some posts here by people whose dogs have SM/CM stating that pressure changes affect the pain level in their dogs. But I don't think SM is the issue with your dogs.

Most probably, just the heat and humidity is just making them uncomfortable so they just want to stay in the house. I know my dogs want to stay indoors more and not do much when its hot. Honestly, I don't want to do much, its just too uncomfortable.
 
I agree with Sydney's mom on pressure affecting some dogs but not all Cavaliers. If your vet is saying your dogs age and the climate there may be a cause, then I guess I'd go with that as I'm not that familiar with NM's climate (though I went there two years ago for the Balloon Fiesta and a day trip to Santa Fe and LOVED it there!).

My Lucky has PSOM and when it was really bad before his surgery, he seemed very impacted by weather and pressure, but is better now since his surgery.

I would try to stop the treats until they are eating their food. You could alternatively try another food, but my dogs rarely turn their nose on food, although I will say when Lucky was just under a year he seemed to change his eating habits a bit and was eating less. I just picked up his food after 15 minutes or so and then he'd eat the next meal. We did have one food we were trying (he had digestive issues until we started on The Honest Kitchen) and one type of kibble we had to switch because he would not eat it. So you may want to try switching up your food.
 
There was a study down on barometric pressure and cavaliers with SM and the results indicated there was no connection. If I recall this was done by Clare Rusbridge and some others. However many owners of affected dogs feel they do see a correlation. Hard to know if it is just natural variation with the condition, or that barometric pressure changes so regularly that it is likely to often coordinate with discomfort, or if the study failed to pick up on the reactions some dogs do feel.
 
birder10 said:
Roy and Jean,
It could be the rain, I know it affects my cavaliers potty behavior. I'm in Oregon and my two cavaliers hate going potty in the backyard when its raining/misting/damp (but on a walk it doesn't seem to matter that its raining). I have to shoo them out the door and go with them into the yard and firmly tell them to "go potty." No one comes in until the deed is done. My young tri boy is the hardest dog I've ever had to house train! He is very active/easily distracted and at 1 yo he sure did the same thing as your pups...go outside, get distracted, come in and then go potty. But only within the past 3 months can I finally say he is house trained (knock on wood, lol); its been a long, slow process requiring alot of patience and being firm to get him to consistently ask to go outside/respond to me saying "go potty"/stop playing long enough to go potty, etc. The key for him was crating him when it was time to go to sleep (as much as I hated to do it but my vet suggested it), I believe it helped him learn control and kept him on more of a schedule.

Karen and...
Ruby 9yo black and tan (her majesty)
Cooper 2.5 yo tricolor (monkey man)
Click to expand...


Thanks, Karen,

You have described our current situation with Fred & Ginger. We let them outside for five minutes at a time, and keep saying "go potty" over and again. This has been working fine, up until last week, when the weather suddenly changed from sunny and dry to overcast and damp.

Roy and Jean
 
Karlin said:
There was a study down on barometric pressure and cavaliers with SM and the results indicated there was no connection. If I recall this was done by Clare Rusbridge and some others. However many owners of affected dogs feel they do see a correlation. Hard to know if it is just natural variation with the condition, or that barometric pressure changes so regularly that it is likely to often coordinate with discomfort, or if the study failed to pick up on the reactions some dogs do feel.
Click to expand...

Karlin,

Our pups don't seem to be in any pain - just irregular potty habits and a generally sluggish behavior. The behavior is unusual for Ginger,since she has always been the in-your-face "alpha" of the two.

Thanks again,

Roy and Jean
 
I know the original question wasn't about SM but some of the replies had mentioned the possible connection so was just noting there was actually a research study done :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top