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Acting Weird And Staring


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I don't know if this belongs here or in behavior. Since last night Ruby has been acting weird, like she hears something. She alerts and then stares for a minute or more each time. This has happened maybe 6 times. She is also very restless. There is nothing going on outside or in the house. No company, no changes. She is eating well. She doesn't look like she is in any pain and is eager for her walks.

The last couple of weeks instead of laying in her bed all evening like normal, she gets up and wanders over to me for a pet about every 10 minutes. At first I didn't think much about it, but the last 2 nights, she has done it every 3 minutes or so. A few times I have told her to go lay down, which she does, for a couple minutes. She is sleeping in her crate at night just like normal. It is not cold outside here and the house is warm.

Any ideas what might be going on ?

Karen

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I don't have any way to record it right now. She is voiding, pooing and eating normally. Also waited for her treat like normal after her walk.

I am worried about focal seizures which I know nothing about or her thyroid being wacky. Does it sound like either one ?

Edited by Busderpuddle

Karen

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My first thought was focal seizures, but I've only seen them in people. Hope you figure it out.

Mine, too. I suggest a vet. Visit.

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Could be seizures, might I suggest that you google and see if it the same.

 

Also, could it be that you have an animal that has taken up residence in your house .. maybe a raccoon, rabbit, or mouse. The noise that these animals make would be very distracting to a dog and a person would likely not hear it.

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Also, could it be that you have an animal that has taken up residence in your house .. maybe a raccoon, rabbit, or mouse. The noise that these animals make would be very distracting to a dog and a person would likely not hear it.

I was thinking about this, too. I had some tiny field mice in my home, I didn't know it, but one of my dogs did at night. He was restless and would bark in the middle of the night. Maybe have her thyroid checked, too.

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I don't think there are any new critters living in or near the house. My husband keeps things very tight around the edges and puts new bait out twice a year.

We took her with us to my sons house tonight and she was very restless there. Usually she just lays down and enjoys the kids petting her. She stared a couple more times tonight and did the visiting act every few minutes.

I will Google the seizures and see how the morning goes. I just told my husband I think she may need to go be seen tomorrow. She ate her dinner like normal this evening though.

Thank you for all the advice.

Karen

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How old is Ruby? It sounds like it could be the beginning of some "old timers" disease. As they get older they can get more clingy and needy, like humans often do.

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Check and make sure Ruby's spine is OK. I had a similar situation with Gilly Boy. The vet was a very good one and immediately located a place on his spine that was painful. After treatment he recovered and the weird behavior stopped as soon as he began treatment. Greys seem to have a lot of issues with their spine that is often manifest in somewhat peculiar ways. But I never suspected he was in any pain-he was just acting weird and very restless.

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Could be pain, could be neurological, could be age, could also be gas. :) I'd try gas-x and see if it resolved. If it didn't, I'd take her to the vet.

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I'd actually lean to hearing loss. Kasey used to do something similar and I think his hearing is going. Oddly he hears somethings better than others, and I've figured it's not selective hearing ;)

 

So she may have heard something and then is struggling to figure it out....or the sound could just be in her head and again she's trying to discern what's going on.

 

Ryder is Kasey's alert now - which is how I've figured this out. Ryder stirs, Kasey knows something is up. I've often walked in the house (when Ryder wasn't around) and Kasey is at a complete roach in the middle of my bed, didn't hear the garage door opening, or me opening the door to the house.

 

Also - could be a sudden cramp. I've had Kasey shoot out of bed before - like having a charlie horse...and just stop and stare, and then go lay back down.

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Since your gut is telling you something is off, I'd make an appointment with the vet. Start with bloodwork and mention all of the things people have brought up here. It might be something that's easy to diagnose or it might take some investigating. Either way, it's best to start early with the vet involved. I hope it's something easy to figure out!

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Since your gut is telling you something is off, I'd make an appointment with the vet. Start with bloodwork and mention all of the things people have brought up here. It might be something that's easy to diagnose or it might take some investigating. Either way, it's best to start early with the vet involved. I hope it's something easy to figure out!

I think this is a good idea.

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Thanks again everyone for your advice. I woke up this morning and decided to watch Ruby for a while before scheduling her an appt. She was acting completely normal. I gave her a turkey neck for breakfast and she did her usual zoomies, throwing it into the air and more zoomies before settling down to enjoy it. My husband and I decided to just watch her for a few hours and see what happened. Nothing happened of course all day until around 7 tonight. She ate her dinner well, went for a walk and settled in on her bed where we watch TV. It wasn't 1/2 hour before she jumped up and bolted to her crate, which she never does unless there is thunder or it is bedtime. I coaxed her out and she was trembling and panting. This continued for about 2 hours with her pacing to the bedroom and back a couple times, shaking, panting, but no staring tonight. Then it stopped and she has been normal the rest of the evening, and is now calm as can be in her crate.

It is almost like she sees a ghost or something and then forgets about it a while later. I have been concerned about her hearing for a few weeks but my DH has said he didn't think that was an issue. Our vet office is open tomorrow and my alarm is set to get up and call 1st thing.
I am going to ask about her thyroid, dementia, hearing, anxiety (not new but haven't seen it in a couple years), and if she has pain issues.

If there is anything else you recommend me ask about, I will check this site before her appt. tomorrow.

Thank you all

 

forgot to add that she is 7 1/2, has a heart murmur and has always had mild kidney labs which the vet said are nothing to worry about. Still eating, peeing and pooping normally. We also tried GasX with no changes.

Edited by Busderpuddle

Karen

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Sending good thoughts for your sweet Ruby. Will be checking back for an update. :goodluck

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When you say you tried gas-x, do you mean before you posted or just that you gave her one yesterday?

 

Also forgot to ask, is she on any medications? If she is, you might ask the vet if this could be a side effect of one.

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Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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We saw a different vet today and he seemed pretty thorough. He couldn't find any painful spots on her at all and said ears and eyes look good. He did do a bunch of labs and I requested the in depth thyroid tests. He said if the lab tests come back normal, he suspects she is having the beginnings of dementia. I wasn't too thrilled to hear that, so honestly hoping she has a thyroid issue. Her thyroid has been low in the past but her symptoms indicate Hyperthroidism now. She has also lost 6 lbs.

So I will hopefully know more on Monday.

Appreciate all your ideas and I ran them all by him today.

Karen

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