Last night the three girls of Dog Blog fame were outside happily munching on some raw meaty bones, to keep them quiet and keep their teeth sparklingly white. After a few hours all hell broke lose. I can only assume some Dog must have been roaming the mountainside and thought it might be a good idea to chance a paw by a few stealth tactics.
Suffice to say no one lost a bone!
Anyway, when it calmed down and we let the Dogs in the house Faye was panting like a thing possessed. Now, this would be normal if she had been running around chasing the interloper but of course she had to guard her bone so she only went a few metres from the house.
After she came in she was panting really heavily and the poor Dog became obsessed about trying to bite her paws. We checked and could see nothing stuck but she was one unhappy girl. It got worse. She proceeded to run around the house for an hour non-stop. Upstairs, downstairs, under the table, jumping on the bed and on and on.
It was still going on when we went to bed. She ran around and around, until finally she could take it no more.
She jumped on the bed, had a cuddle from Mrs. Three Dog Blogger and tried to hide under a pillow, which is not easy for a 70lb plus Dog. It was over an hour later before she got her breath back and stopped panting.
What seemed funny for a short while got us very worried after a while. She simply would not calm down. I have never seen a Dog so out of breath. She obviously got herself so worked up and was so concerned that there was something in her paw that her brain seemed like it was about to melt.
Once she calmed down she lost interest in her paws and this morning she was back to her usual self.
Can anyone help to solve the mystery. Has your Dog gone crazed? Has your Dog run around the room for hours acting very weird?
I honestly don’t know what she was doing but she went absolutely bonkers. All I can think of is that maybe she stood on a cacti? But when she calmed down she lost interest in her paws so I am dubious.
What a weird evening it was.
I would look at the pad with a magnifying glass if you can. You could also try rubbing some olive oil on them to loosen up whatever is in there. I think your hunch is right. Probably a thorn/sliver of some kind!
Or… it could also be a bee sting… come to think of it!!!
I had a similar incident in the woods with one of my dogs he kept turning around and looking at his flank. I couldn’t see anything in it like a thorn or anything but he continued running around after we got home for a while. Eventually he calmed down, after that he was fine. I think that he had been stung in the woods by a wasp or bee. His reaction was not as prolonged as your dog but hey, everyone’s pain threshold is different.
However Feb is not the usual time for wasps or bees to be about, well not in the UK anyway…
Thanks for the great blog. Just wanted to share the story about Buud our shelter dog. buudandme,wordpress,com
Kathy
It was definitely odd. More so that she was fine the next day. I really do wonder if a cacti could have set off the strange behaviour.
Reality TC, I think it must have been that. If I put olive oil on though she would just HAVE to lick that off too!!
That certainly is odd and I can see why you would be worried. If there are cacti where they have been, I agree that it could have been that or something like that. She would then be responding to the pain.
Since it eventually passed, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but keep an eye on her, if something similar happens again.
Your pup’s reaction could be from a number of causes. The bee sting or sliver of clear material, such as a plastic, may be the cause. Additional possibilities may be that the panting and running was a reaction to something digested that was on the meat, a small touch of msg or spice could accomplish that. The material could then have triggered other responses, heavy breathing, elevated adrenaline and blood pressure. The msg comes to mind because instead of having something in the paw, possibly the pup couldn’t feel the paw. Either way, I am certain it wasn’t a malicious act, and merely an accident. You may want to wash the bones in the future and check the chewing area for natural materials that dogs react to.
I just went through a scary experience with my dog last night. She started falling down and running into things. I didnt know if she got into something poisonous or what. I got her to calm down and eventually, she was back to normal. We were thinking that maybe something was stuck in her throat and freaking her out. It was so scary!
How scary! I’m glad she eventually calmed down. Nico runs around like that when there’s something on her she doesn’t like, like a bug or something.
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It couldn’t be a reaction to those processionary caterpillars could it? As a fellow dog owner living in Spain I’m very cautious of these hairy little buggers! I’m not sure of a dogs exact reaction to them only that they are very dangerous, causing breathing problems and more. The caterpillars affect humans too causing a nasty itching.
Roro,
Good thinking. Luckily we don’t really get them this high but you are right they are a real danger and can be a large problem for both humans and Dogs. Thanks for the insight.
Kobbie my dog, started to chase his tail after we took him from a month-long stay in a pet boarding facility. He kept on it seems like an endless chase for hours. I did some research and learned that dogs tend to do such things when they are stressed, bored or traumatized. I’ve to somehow assure him that he is back home and we are there with him (took a lot of playing, patting, and hugging) and it worked.
The scuffle with the other dogs might have traumatized Faye.