What In The World Is Going On ?

[Busderpuddle]

My sweet girl Ruby has been doing all sorts of weird things lately. I have her off all her meds and her behavior has been greatly improved since doing so. Also have been able to leave her outside when I have to be gone so that has helped her SA.

The last 2 weeks she has started digging holes under the trees to lay in the dirt. Not sure why since she has a nice shaded area with a comfy bed to lay in that she normally likes. She also has started whining constantly. If she goes out to pee she immediately comes to the back door and whines. When we leave or return she is whining at the fence. It is LOUD and annoying. I don't let her in when she is doing this because I don't want to reward her bad behavior. The worst thing though is she is snapping when my grandbabies come over. This is the same girl who adores my 3 and 5 year old and always has. The addition of the 2 new babies seems to distress her when they visit. She lays on her bed and stares at them and I have seen her twice snap at the air and seem overly excited (angry?) when they are here. I have never seen any aggressive behavior at all from her. My grandson (3) has always laid with her, taken his naps beside her, etc. Never ever seen a bit of a problem until the new babies. They are not crawling so they are not bothering her in any way. I am really worried about this since she cannot be acting crazy around them. It can't happen.

Any ideas as to what could be going on? She has had recent labs done and all was normal, including her thyroid and UA.

[Batmom]

Air snapping = excitement, not aggression. Usually pleasurable excitement.

 

Whining when in the yard or when you leave/return -- she probably wants to be with you, or else just wants to go in the house.

 

Digging holes = fun! or for making some nice cool (or warm, depending on your seasons and sunshine) dirt to lie in. Common dog thing .

[greysmom]

I would agree with Batmom. These are normal, non-aggressive (though excited) behaviors. You have a dog that talks, which is somewhat normal for a greyhound, and a dog that digs to reach cool dirt in the heat of summer, which is absolutely normal dog behavior regardless of breed. Distraction and appropriate rewards will retrain her response. But really, don't you *want* her to tell you when she wants to come inside? Or go outside? Or greet you when you come home? If your 3 year old grandson was standing by the back door saying "Gramma, I wunna come in!" you'd let him in, wouldn't you?

 

The air snapping is also normal when excited. Babies are little, squeaky, wiggly and everyone is making "happy" voices when they're around. It's natural that she would be excited. You should watch for unusually focused staring - you are unable to break her concentration on the baby; a highly held and quivering tail, and/or hackles raising and/or excessive drooling; any form of growling. These would be signs that something other than normal excitement is going on. DO NOT LEAVE THE BABY ALONE WITH THE DOG EVER!

 

If you are concerned about her reaction then simply DO NOT allow your young grandson to have those close interactions with her - keep him off her bed, especially when she is sleeping; keep him out of her food bowl when she's eating (this is a NEVER ALLOW); don't allow them to have any form of rough-housing or play. This is the only way to assure your both your dog and your grandson remain safe. IMO, this behavior should not have been allowed to begin until the child is old enough to respect and understand the rules around the dog.

[Busderpuddle]

Please don't get me wrong. I would NEVER allow the grandbabies to be alone with Ruby. My grandson is never alone with her either but they have formed a bond from day one. I was told Ruby was raised around small children and that is one reason we chose her. He is allowed to lay on her bed but ONLY when Ruby is awake. He usually lays next to her bed on his blanket and Ruby squirms her way onto his bed........lol. They do however nap together at times but I am sitting right next to them. He is very very gentle with her and knows not to play rough with her, touch her when she is sleeping or take food from her. She doesn't guard food in any way though. My older granddaughter (who is rowdier)is more cautious with Ruby and they don't really interact except maybe to play fetch occasionally.

I am happy to hear the snapping is a form of excitement and I have never seen the hackles or drooling, etc.

Ruby is always allowed inside and doesn't have to stand and whine to come in. My point was, this is a new behavior. She has never done this before and the constant whining is annoying. I do ignore her until she stops and then let her in right away. Of course I want her to let me know when she needs to go out or come back in but she used to just head to the door. The whining is new.

[GeorgeofNE]

You said that you can "leave her outside" when you go away.

 

Did you mean she's outside, unattended, in the yard and no one is home? Perhaps the digging and whining is simply a different manifestation of SA. She's digging either because she's a dog and she likes to dig, or she's bored and lonely, or stressed out. Who knows? The simple solution is not leaving her outside unattended.

 

Don't get me wrong--I'm not against a dog having the run of the yard. But I do think if she isn't able to get back in the house, it's probably not all that good an idea to leave her outside when you're not there.

 

She may be whining at the door now because her new signal that you're leaving is being put outside. Or she may spend half the day at the door whining while you're gone cause she doesn't like being out there.

 

You've already gotten great advice about the children, and I have nothing to add to that portion of your question.

[Busderpuddle]

Yep...........I do leave her outside when we both have to be gone. Both my vet and I decided that that would be better than leaving her with the run of the house to go crazy in (read that chewing up the walls, etc.) or putting her in her crate and having her bend all the bars while away. She has a beautiful fenced in backyard with a big old soft bed, a giant bucket of fresh water every day, an antler or two to chew on and a shaded porch. Been doing this for a few months and her SA has improved and we were able to stop all meds. She only whines when we are here according to the neighbors who say they NEVER hear her when we are gone.

She is not outside in the dead of heat for hours and hours. She is out there about an hour or two while I am at work and my husband has to leave for work. Our jobs overlap. It's not like I am leaving a toddler alone outside to drown or die of heat exhaustion. When the temp reaches 80 and above, we even plug a big fan in on the porch for her.

[TheFullHouse]

If she's only whining when you're at home, my guess is she wants inside with you. I wouldn't ignore her, it's her way of telling you she either wants in or out. It could be that maybe you didn't notice a few times when she wanted in or out and so she's amped it up a bit to let you know what she wants. I would encourage that. If she's not whining when you're gone then to me it's a win, win situation.

[Guest SusanP]

1. My dogs enjoy digging shallow "beds" for themselves outside. It's normal.

2. Whining at the door to tell you she's ready to come in is not misbehavior; it's communication. You build trust by attending to her needs when she expresses them. I'd let her in.

3. One of our hounds (who has never had SA at all) cries and carries on when anyone in the family comes home--starts when he hears the garage door open. He is simply excited and happy that we're home.

4. I don't think air snapping necessarily = aggression. It's hard for us to know what's going on without seeing it, but if she's always been good with kids, I'd simply keep her separated from the babies (a good policy anyway) and continue to supervise her carefully every second she is with the kids and be sure to give her breaks away from them and a place where she can go to relax where they can't follow her.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Perhaps the digging and whining is simply a different manifestation of SA. She's digging either because she's a dog and she likes to dig, or she's bored and lonely, or stressed out.

 

She may be whining at the door now because her new signal that you're leaving is being put outside.

These would be my guesses.

 

Agreed with SusanP also.

[Fruitycake]

If she's whining when you're home and she's outside, she probably wants company. Either for you to let her in, or for you to come outside and be with her. Either to play, or just to hang. They are pack animals, and you're her best bud (well, except for your grandson, apparently) and she just wants you closer.

 

We have a whine-talker too (well, he's a talker all around), and he whines when he wants out, or when he's bored, or when he wants attention, or when he's about to do zoomies, or after he potties.... He actually barks at the more exciting times (see's someone on the street he knows, is going to get fed, gets to go for a car ride...). This wasn't an instantaneous thing: at first he wasn't nearly as talkative as he is now.

[Guest carmasims]

have you tried leaving her in a basket/track muzzle while you leave and leaving her indoors? we have to do this with our dogs when we leave because they get in to our recycling bins by the back door when we're not home.