My dogs strange behavior scares me... :(

[wowovicevmail]

Hello I'm Dimitrije and I'm new to this site.
Anyway im here because im concerned about my 3 years old, mix breed, dog's (Bella) strange behavior. In case it's important she is sterilised and vaccined (not right on time but completely)

It started about 1-2 weeks ago, and what she does is that, since im living in a 3 floor house + garage, she either stays in the garage (in her bed) or at the top floor (under my and my brother's desk), it's almost impossible to get her to come down on her own we either have to carry her or to pull her down to eat. And the worst thing is that when she is down in the living room (even when there is no one arround here) she trembles and her tail is under her body like she is scared, her heart beats stronger and faster than usual even though sleeping and playing there was her normal day routine.
She has also became more agresive to other dog's she used to play with (more dominant - even though that is something she always was), yesterday my brother and his girlfriend took her out for a walk and she started attacking every dog she had seen.
Bella has never had any medical or mental problem and since this is new for me I am sincerely really for her (will she stay like this? is she scared of us?).

Last night is when I decided to ask for help here, on internet, just after the terrible experiance of her trembeling and refusing to rest by reacting to every little sound there is, in my bed after I tried to calm her.

Some friends told me that she might be predicting something but i started to think that it has something to do with the fountain and the hose in the garden (kinda connected with the living room), which bella used to visit daily, since a couple of days ago me and my brother wanted to spray her with water since it was really hot that day and she ran under the dining table in fear.

I am so sorry for writing a text this long, but I am really scared for my dog and I am looking for help hoping that something I've mentioned would be of help resolving her problem.

Thank you!

[marko]

First off welcome to the forum!

A few questions:
1 - what is the breed mix in general. (poodle mix, Collie mix etc.)
2 - How old is your brother? and how badly did he squirt the dog? Is it possible that he traumatized the dog? (you were there, so u need to be the best judge).
Does he often play with the dog in a rough way?

3 - before this incident, did the dog freely roam the house with no anxiety?
4 - You wrote "Bella has never had any medical or mental problem and since this is new for me I am sincerely really for her (will she stay like this? is she scared of us?)." When was the last time this dog saw a vet?

Others may have immediate advice for you, but i think these questions might prove useful in their replies as well.
Good luck!

[wowovicevmail]

Thx Marko,

1 - not sure but she is considered to be a medium-large dog (we are sure that she had at least one doberman as her ancestor even though she is smaller)
2- he is 18 and it wasn't really bad, we both agreed to do it because it was really hot and we did not mean to tortue her just to cool her a bit. But for what we know, she has a fear of swimming a deep water, doesnt fear of having a shower but doesnt really like it - which made me think water might be her actual fear. Her other fears are vacume cleaner, and the voices in the telephone.
3 - No, before this, she walked freely trough the whole house as she is allowed to do that.
4 - The last time she was needed to go the vet is the last time she got the vaccine, after that there were just normal early controles. Ofc im going to take her to the vet since she's been acting all strange, but I can't do it before the weekend and that seems a bit far.

[hazelrunpack]

I do think your dog needs to see a vet, Dimitrije. Rapid heartbeat, the appearance of anxiety, hiding, and aggression toward other dogs can be signs of pain or illness. If she checks out physically, then perhaps the vet can give you some pointers on reducing her anxiety. But I think it's good that you'll be getting her to a vet for an exam.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

I do think your dog needs to see a vet, Dimitrije. Rapid heartbeat, the appearance of anxiety, hiding, and aggression toward other dogs can be signs of pain or illness. If she checks out physically, then perhaps the vet can give you some pointers on reducing her anxiety. But I think it's good that you'll be getting her to a vet for an exam.

I agree with 100%! I would bring the dog to a vet right away , anxiety, hiding, and aggression all at once is a red flag to me . I would keep a close watch on the dog until she get the vet, and I think I OP should try not to act too scares
around the dog , she can pick up of this and that will only made her have more anxiety. I hope there is nothing really wrong with here.

[Soundy]

Afraid of the stairs, afraid to roam the house, getting more twitchy towards other dogs... I'd start to wonder if something is wrong with her eyesight. It would make for a pretty major change to how she senses her environment and would definitely ramp up the anxiety.

[Choochi]

My thoughts also, pain, possible eye sight issues... Get her to the vet for a thorough check up and tell them what is going on. It may also help to start keeping a journal of her behaviour, make notes of date, time, and what happened and how she acted. Even if this is medical in nature, the first visit may not always catch the problem if it is some thing more complicated, hence keeping a journal really helps the vet and possibly a behaviourist if you end up seeing one.

[Soundy]

+1 on the journal... better yet, video of what she's doing at home.

[wowovicevmail]

Thanks to everyone here,

but as i just went to walk Bella round the block we met one of her dog friends and it's owner who also told me that his dog seemed traumatised and was shaking in fear and hiding under the bed for last couple of days.
So I thought that there might be an earthquake coming (for those who are not familiar with animals predicting earthquakes - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_prediction#Animal_behavior) but I still dont want to risk so I'll take her to the vets and if that's really what's going on I will probably see or hear of more dogs with the same behavior there.

[LavenderRott]

Just out of curiosity, when did she get her vaccinations? And what are you feeding her?

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by wowovicevmail

Thanks to everyone here,

but as i just went to walk Bella round the block we met one of her dog friends and it's owner who also told me that his dog seemed traumatised and was shaking in fear and hiding under the bed for last couple of days.
So I thought that there might be an earthquake coming (for those who are not familiar with animals predicting earthquakes - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_prediction#Animal_behavior) but I still dont want to risk so I'll take her to the vets and if that's really what's going on I will probably see or hear of more dogs with the same behavior there.

My sister and I where once visiting some people that had two parrots . They where resting on their perches and all of a sudden both birds freaked out and flew across the kitchen .We had no idea why the birds got so frighten until we heard the evening news . We had an earthquake and the birds flew off their perches a second before it happen! We did not feel the quake .