Please help!!

Clara is acting so strange. She is cowering in the corners and hiding under beds. Im the only person in the house she was also shaking so i brought her on a walk and she seemed happy but then start shaking again I brought her home and she hid under the television unit she doesnt want to be in the same room as me she was fine this morning and she slept in my bed as normal last night just at breakfast time she start acting strange she ate her breakfast and was playing with me for awhile and then she was following me around the house then it started I haven stood on her or hurt or yelled at her. I really need some advice

This is sometimes a pain reaction {I presume she isn't just cold?} - I think a trip to the vet might be in order just to make sure she hasn't hurt herself.

Nicki said:

This is sometimes a pain reaction {I presume she isn't just cold?} - I think a trip to the vet might be in order just to make sure she hasn't hurt herself.

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Shes not cold but her gums arnt as pink as usual Ive rang my vet and she will be goin tonight. Shes still respondnin and waging her tail jus shes hiding I think shes been spooked.

I would take her to the vet now and not wait. I hope she's ok. :hug:

*Pauline* said:

I would take her to the vet now and not wait. I hope she's ok. :hug:

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I agree, it sounds as though something is hurting her

If the vet knows her general state and said this evening then I would presume that is fine -- but if you see anything that looks like a worsening, I would ask if you can get her in right away or try another vet. At this point you are probably close to getting her in though. Post and let us know how she is after your visit.

This may sound like a silly reply but assuming she gets the all clear from your vets this evening, would it be possible that she maybe heard some fireworks and got frightened??
Its that time of year and they've already started in our area.
If Millie hears one and gets a fright, it would be normal for me to find her under the table and looking really spooked. So I generally try to keep a certain level of noise on each room that the dogs will be in by keeping a radio on to drown out the noise as much as poss.
It's just a thought....

Hopefully she will be okay after your vets see's her..

yes id agree with the last post if a loud bang goes off then harley is like that for a short while, and ages ago my border collie started acting like that and i took her to the vets at 10.00 in the evening and he couldnt find anything wrong with her, a couple of days later i noticed blood inside her ear, so that was obviously giving her pain, have a good look and feel around and see if there is any tender areas, hope you find out what it is, di

Its nothin like that she came around and was playing out the back then got spooked again. Im thinking her ear infection is gone and she can now hear properly and every little noise is scaring her. Also she is scared of me my mam and sister and shes not scared of my dad and brother Shes closest to us and not the men? Anyway il see what the vet says

Just hoping that the vet can figure out what is wrong with Clara and that she is soon back to her usual self!


Heather R

Hey everyone back from the vets everything is fine vet thinks she just got a fright and was pickin up on my feelings shes grand now bouncing around the house thank god

So glad she's not sick!

I do think you have some issues to consider though -- these relate both to her going through this shivering episode where she was clearly frightened and hiding for some reason, and also that as you noted, she is fearful of the women and not of the men in your family.

Something must be different between the way these two groups interact with her. For some reason she is feeling anxious and worried when around the women, and not around the men -- anxious enough to creep away and hide. The fact that she is mostly around the women is probably the clue and probably related to some overattention, overstimulation, and some interactions that scare her. Do the women pick her up a lot? Carry her around? Pick her up by her front arms (which can be very painful for dogs)? Take her out of a crate or secure place like a dog bed when she is resting or asleep? Get her up to play with her a lot? Is she scolded, pulled around on a lead? How often is she being asked to do obedience training and for how long per session? Is she left alone to eat? How much time does she get where people are around but leave her to herself? How often do people let her come to them rather than going and getting her? Do they squat down or bend over her from above (the latter is very threatening to dogs). Is she squeezed and hugged a lot (also things dogs generally dislike as threatening though they do generally learn to tolerate or enjoy this with owners, in moderation). Do people try and hang on to her when she wants to get down or go away?

Any of these things could be contributing to her reactions and often people don't even realise they are problem-causers or realise the puppy is really tired and getting very anxious. The fact that she seems most happy around the people who probably pay her the least attention is probably a signal that at least some of the above is happening and is stressing her out to the point where she tries to avoid the people she associates with attention she finds overwhelming, frustrating or frightening.

Puppies need a lot of rest time and they also need lots of time when no one is fussing over them. They don't like to be carried constantly and simply the height of being carried can be terrifying. They don't like to be forcibly restrained. Negative punishment (scolding, shouting, leash 'corrections', pulling around on a lead) all will make a puppy avoid the people associated with these activities. They don't like people reaching and grabbing for their heads to pet them (instead pet their chest gently or sides) and dislike people towering over to bend down and pet them. Because they are so cute we tend to want to give them constant attention, and easily forget they can be overwhelmed. Also it can be easy to forget they aren't a cuddle toy.

There's some really good info in the puppy section here:

http://diamondsintheruff.com/behavior.html

This has really good pictures of why humans can be frightening 'space invaders' to dogs:

http://diamondsintheruff.com/bodylangspaceinvaders.html

Maybe take some time to sit back and analyze what goes on around your puppy on a typical day when the women are around and what the men are like when around her. You might be surprised and I bet the information will be useful.

Cathy T said:

Good to hear!! I just going to let you know that I went through the same thing with Jake several years ago. All of sudden, out of nowhere, he would act like some one had goosed his bottom He'd jump off the couch and start shaking, would just want to huddle in my lap. I took him to the vet's the next day, there was nothing wrong that she could find. He did this for several days. I would comfort him when it happened. I was advised to act as if this was a "no biggee" and not comfort him. Just go about our normal business. Sure enough he stopped doing it and was just fine. Silly little dogs....sometimes they are so hard to figure out.

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Sorry, but I feel I just have to say something here, although I really do hope it does not apply in Clara's case.

I know someone who had her 'spooky' dog checked by two veterinary practices. They could find nothing wrong despite X-rays and other tests.
She was told to ignore the dog's constant demands for reassurance as she was just 'a drama queen'

Two years later she found out about SM. The cavalier was MRI'd and found to be badly affected.

50% of the young cavaliers being scanned at the low cost centres have shown the presence of a syrinx, so I am afraid it is something that should be kept in mind if this puzzling behaviour continues

Apologies. Didn't mean to discount the situation as if it were just "drama". Jake is definitely a drama king, after 7 years I can definitely tell the difference between his drama and something serious. I never did figure out why Jake did his behavior, but there were absolutely no other symptoms. Plus, he was old enough at the time that it wouldn't have been related to socialization. I get very irritated when told "Cavaliers are just big babies and prone to drama". That is not normally the case and that's the reason I left my last groomer when after pulling Jake out of a crate by his front legs and him yelping her response was "he's a big baby", never went back there again. When a dog displays "drama" there is usually an underlying reason. The same thing for "quirky behavior" I knew Shelby's "quirky behavior" was not normal for her, had her mri'd and found she has a syrinx. I would never discount a dog's behavior willy nilly.