Strange Outburst Tonight

[Guest aceyouknow]

Hello All!

Cyrus has been adjusting to life here pretty well. Everyone tells me how handsome and well behaved he is and I feel like such a proud mom Nothing new to report on Mac front, but no news is good news. A really strange thing has happened tonight though.

 

Around 10:30-11pm tonight Cyrus goes into his crate to lay down and I head upstairs for a second. We've been playing crate games and he's gotten pretty comfortable hanging out in there on his own terms, so this isn't the strange part. I make it too the top of the landing and I all of a sudden hear sounds that honestly give me flashbacks to when he attacked Mac, until I remember Mac has made zero attempts past our two gate system. Cyrus is growling and barking and running around our living room frantically. He wasn't in his crate long enough to fall asleep and be startled out of a dream. I watch him from behind the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs just in case he redirects his aggression. I'm terrified at this point as he has never shown any signs of aggression to us, but he starts pacing laps through our kitchen and living room searching and growling. After maybe a minute he settles and walks over to sniff me on the stairs and goes to lay down on the sofa. I'd called our adoption coordinator in the meantime and he thought maybe he just had some pent up energy and wanted to run zoomies in the backyard or he was bitten by a tick..There was no indication that this was play related. I go over and sit across from him on the other sofa and all of a sudden I see him lift his lips and sort of make a face like he's going to howl, but he growls and jump off the sofa. He doesn't make any attempt at me just paces the room frantically. At this point I'm sitting on the back of the sofa clutching a pillow as I'm sure my dog is about to eat me. He runs a lap and jumps in a chair and very pointedly starts growling at the window, then sniffing under the sofa I'm on with his entire head under the sofa, two things that he has NEVER shown interest in. Maybe its a rodent? I check the floor and don't see anything. I call his name and he settles down on his bed. I walk to the backdoor to see if maybe he really did need to go out, as when he was pacing he started lifting his tail. About an hour earlier he'd done all his business on a walk and has never had problems in the house. I reconsider after realizing I wouldn't be able to really monitor our black dog in the dark so I come back in the living room and he's fine. He comes over to me from his bed and licks my hand and goes back in his crate like everything is fine. He isn't limping or bleeding so I go back upstairs for what I originally planned. The next hour goes by without occurrence. My BF comes home and I'm telling him what happened when Cy jumps out of his crate and starts growling at the window again. My BF calls him over and pets him and Cyrus seems fine and lays on his bed. He starts making faces like he needs to vomit and I'm thinking maybe he's had something in this throat and it's been distressing him, but nothing comes out and he settles back down. He isn't showing any other signs of distress at this point and calms down to the point of sleeping in his crate. I decide to sleep downstairs to watch him. He's been fine going back and forth between his crate and bed without issue, until just now when he got up in a start again and barked at the window. It's now 6am and the sun is coming up.

 

What in the world is happening? I can't for the life of me figure this out and he's not showing any other physical signs of distress other than jumping up in a start ever so often to bark and growl at the same window and pace. I've considered a number of possibilities. Toothache? A tick? Panic attack? Is our house haunted? Is the government performing low frequency testing nearby and it's being directed into one specific window? He isn't directing any aggression to either of us and he settles down and sleeps with no problem in-between the outbursts. Cyrus never barks and never really moves with any haste towards anything. Nothing has changed in this room, the house, his diet and we've spent almost every waking moment together while I've been on vacation the last few days. I'm pretty worried about him As I finish this he's roaching on the sofa like no big deal. At least one of us can live without worry...

 

[macoduck]

Are you in a rural, suburban or city area? Any new construction noises in the area? Prone to having wild animals outside (raccoons, deer, bears)? Are the curtains closed - as in, could he be seeing his reflection? Do you use natural gas or propane in your home?

Edited June 12, 2016 by macoduck

[NeylasMom]

My first guess is a wild animal of some sort outside. I'd take a look around to see if you can find any evidence of animal activity out there. Are your trash cans near that window? Maybe a racoon trying to get into it? Even a loose dog roaming your neighborhood could be a possibility.

[DesiRayMom]

Here's my interpretation:

 

"Dang! What's that smell? It's icky & shouldn't be around my home! Is it inside? Is it outside? Where the heck is it? "

 

Maybe just a waft of something that comes & goes. He doesn't know what it is, or where it is, but he doesn't like it.

[Guest aceyouknow]

We're in the burbs (with natural gas), but our neighborhood is pretty woodsy. The most exciting thing I've seen is chipmunks, which he's aware of. The curtains were open, as they've been for the last few weeks. We have an air circulator that's been there for the same amount of time and he's never reacted to. The window faces our porch, and we're up on a hill so from the angle he was when it first happened he'd be looking at the porch ceiling and maybe the tree tops. A bat perhaps, but birds fly through there all the time without him noticing. I'd considered maybe shadow movement, but that doesn't explain him being on the opposite side of the room, not looking at the window and the same thing happening.

 

I'm wondering if the heat is starting to get to him. It's been in the 90s here most of the week and it's for sure driving me insane.

[Guest aceyouknow]

Here's my interpretation:

 

"Dang! What's that smell? It's icky & shouldn't be around my home! Is it inside? Is it outside? Where the heck is it? "

 

Maybe just a waft of something that comes & goes. He doesn't know what it is, or where it is, but he doesn't like it.

 

So the house is haunted then? Heheh Don't be haunted!!

 

It's 9am now and he's in his bed and his head has slid under the sofa and ever so often he growls in his sleep but not enough to wake him.

[Time4ANap]

Skunk. Or some other critter that he can smell or hear. Most likely something digging up near or against the house. He's hearing or smelling it, or both even though you can't.

[Guest aceyouknow]

I'm glad so many think it's rodents rather than a more serious issue like ghosts. I think it goes back to the thread somewhere on here about greyhounds doing things they aren't supposed to do like bark. He's got a pretty impressive bark which shocked me to hear.

[Remolacha]

He definitely hears/smells something he doesn't like outside. Probably wildlife of some sort. Remember, a dog's hearing and sense of smell are way better than ours. A dog's sense of smell is on the order of thousands better than humans, so he easily could be sensing something you don't see or hear.

[kudzu]

I'm glad so many think it's rodents rather than a more serious issue like ghosts.

I, too, think it likely wildlife related. Possibly, it's the ghost of a mouse.

[Remolacha]

Nah, if it was a ghost the cat would have spotted it

[smurfette]

Can he see his reflection in the window? Some dogs react to it. Perhaps in combination with a strange sound or smell?

[NeylasMom]

Oh,you weren't cooking lamb, were you?

Edited June 13, 2016 by NeylasMom

[Guest aceyouknow]

Maybe it's the ghost of the cats that are buried on the property? This week my neighbor told me the last owner buried two pet cats in the backyard and pointed to the area where Cyrus has been digging to make his dirt pit. Whatever it is, it came back again tonight as Cyrus seems agitated and started barking again in the last hour. Not anywhere as bad as last night, but he's been fine ALL day. Could he really hear a mouse scratching around the house?

 

I was not cooking lamb. What would that be about? I could barely cut up the rotisserie chicken I bought for his training treats. Maybe it's the ghost of the chicken? I haven't touched meat in nearly a decade and maybe that summoned bad juju?

 

He has never had problem with reflections in windows before and regularly takes a peak out them at night.

[NeylasMom]

Some dogs react very poorly to the smell of lamb being cooked. It sounds very much like you have an animal coming around at night. I would keep the windows and doors closed at night for the time being to see if that helps.

 

I'd also personally be going outside with a flashlight when it happens to see if I could identify an animal, but that may not be the smartest idea depending. But my thinking is at least if you can identify something you can figure out if the there's a way to keep it away or get rid of it.

Edited June 13, 2016 by NeylasMom

[racindog]

Skunk. Or some other critter that he can smell or hear. Most likely something digging up near or against the house. He's hearing or smelling it, or both even though you can't.

This. He's not being "aggressive" imo. He is being territorial and possibly protective of his home-and family. He is also responding to his hunt drive genes that tell him he should hunt (and kill) the prey. That is all GOOD. It means he is a GOOD dog. There was something out there. IMO you should feel comforted knowing you have such a great alarm system. And yes, when they go into "drive" as he did, it can be somewhat scarey and violent if you don't understand what is happenning but that is just nature. All the behavior you described sounds very normal to me. Of course some dogs lack drive and will not react at all to hardly anything-but lack of drive has its own issues. Enjoy your free 24/7 security monitor! JMO.

[kudzu]

Not ghosts. It really does sound like some critter is coming around at night. It could be inside, but could just as well be outside.

[Guest aceyouknow]

This. He's not being "aggressive" imo. He is being territorial and possibly protective of his home-and family. He is also responding to his hunt drive genes that tell him he should hunt (and kill) the prey. That is all GOOD. It means he is a GOOD dog. There was something out there. IMO you should feel comforted knowing you have such a great alarm system. And yes, when they go into "drive" as he did, it can be somewhat scarey and violent if you don't understand what is happenning but that is just nature. All the behavior you described sounds very normal to me. Of course some dogs lack drive and will not react at all to hardly anything-but lack of drive has its own issues. Enjoy your free 24/7 security monitor! JMO.

 

Thanks! I wonder if this creature has always been scratching around and it's just now triggered the watchdog urge. I wasn't expecting any type of security system from him but it's good to know he's protecting his home. Hopefully whatever it is stays outside.

[turbotaina]

My old boy used to have a *very* visceral reaction to wild canids. I'm not sure if they were coyotes or foxes (at least once it was a fox - I saw it in the distance, but we also have coyotes here). My normally sweet, easy-going boy would give a low, guttural growl and snarl and would piloerect from neck to tail. It was a strange thing to witness.

[claudiav]

i also think it's a wild animal outside, that's tickling his smell/hearing sense... my Reese does the same thing.... he'll be sound asleep, and out of nowhere, he bolts up, growling, runs thru the doggie door, and barks his head off at some animal in the dog run... likely squirrels, as he HATES them, and hears their chirps... but i haven't tried to catch the animal... i just know that he's in "guard dog" mode.... he takes his guard dog role very seriously, while my girl is looking up at him from the floor, thinking "all his dogs are definitely KNOT barking"

[cleptogrey]

My old boy used to have a *very* visceral reaction to wild canids. I'm not sure if they were coyotes or foxes (at least once it was a fox - I saw it in the distance, but we also have coyotes here). My normally sweet, easy-going boy would give a low, guttural growl and snarl and would piloerect from neck to tail. It was a strange thing to witness.

Sounds like Annie when the neighborhood coyote is on the prowl. She becomes a total lunatic barking and running from room to room.

[Guest Noosh]

Greys have unbelievable hearing/sense abilities. Someone mentioned this earlier, how their guy can be asleep and immediately wake up and high-tail it out the door to the backyard, barking.

I have witnessed this absolutely phenomenal ability; my grey was sound asleep at my feet, facing me. The TV was on, and I was using my laptop on the sofa. Out of the blue, she sat up, ran to the window behind her- her body quivering, tail up and ears erect, making that high pitched throaty squeal, and stood like a statue for at least three minutes! I just couldn't understand what she was looking at- I could see a not a thing!! So I stared and stared then suddenly, hiding under a shrub, was the tiniest little rabbit! Our house overlooks a golf course- so it came in from there. What was so remarkable, was that it was so far away, maybe 15 metres, and rabbits are pretty quiet little things!

So, I would say, it was a critter!

Or as my friend says who's poodle displays the same strange behaviour - "she sees dead people!!"

[Guest aceyouknow]

So the other night I was sitting out on the back deck in the dark looking at the stars and I think I heard the creature scratching around under me against the house. Really startled me for a second. Unfortunately Cy had already chased off one creature of the night and had gone inside to sleep. I guess he's gotten used to it as his did not come out to check on me.