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Midnight panic



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 19th 07, 11:05 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
roc97007
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Posts: 1
Default Midnight panic


This is a new one for me.

We have three dogs, the youngest a rescue from a feral litter. She
looks like she's part rat terrier, but otherwise we have no idea.
She's one of the Hillsboro Aviation rescue puppies that was in the
news awhile back. (Page still available via yahoo.) She is not quite
a year old.

Raising her has been an adventure in several respects, but for all her
odd behaviors, (hoarding stolen objects, selective destruction,
stealing and then later returning objects, like my wallet) she's been
affectionate and loyal.

I'm regularly on call, and often have to get up in the middle of the
night to handle problems at work. Last night, while finishing an
issue around 2:00 AM, I heard a dog rushing around below. Now, our
middle dog, a golden retriever, becomes hysterical at the sound of
thunder, and we've had thunderclouds lately, so I figured it was him
and I just missed hearing it.

As I headed downstairs, I was nearly bowled over by the little dog
running upstairs like a shot out of a cannon. She ran wildly around
the room and shot downstairs again. I heard her hit the doggie door
at a dead run. After a minute or so, she burst through the doggie
door, flashed down the hall into my bedroom, ran a tight circle, shot
back down the hall and back up the stairs. This was very unusual,
especially at 2:00 AM.

I tried to get close to her to see if she was injured, but she avoided
me, acting like she was terrified of me. I woke up the wife, and
together we tried to get close to her, but she continued to streak
around the house in a full panic, avoiding both of us.

I finally cornered her, huddled in a corner in my daughter's room. I
picked her up (protecting my face, because I still didn't have any
idea what was going on) and took her into our room to examine her.

No trace of injury or illness. Respiration clear but fast.
Temperature normal. Heartbeat very high, (I could feel it just by
touching her ribs with my finger tips) and she was shaking. She tried
to bolt several times, but we kept ahold of her and talked to her
quietly. She finally calmed down and started breathing normally, her
heartbeat slowing. Still no physical signs of illness or injury.
Very strange. She slept with us for awhile and then went back to
sleep on my daughter's bed where she usually sleeps.

I do not believe it was thunder or any other outside noise for two
reasons: (1) she's never shown a sensitivity to noise before, even on
July 4th. (2) the Golden freaks out at the slightest roll of thunder
or the most distant firecracker, and he was calm.

If I had to describe her condition, I'd say it reminded me of the
Night Terrors my daughter used to have at two.

Do dogs get Night Terrors? Any other ideas? I tell you, it was
spooky. I've had dogs all my life, and never seen anything like this.


Ron

  #2  
Old July 20th 07, 06:47 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Paul E. Schoen
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Posts: 1,654
Default Midnight panic


"roc97007" wrote in message
oups.com...


As I headed downstairs, I was nearly bowled over by the little dog
running upstairs like a shot out of a cannon. She ran wildly around
the room and shot downstairs again. I heard her hit the doggie door
at a dead run. After a minute or so, she burst through the doggie
door, flashed down the hall into my bedroom, ran a tight circle, shot
back down the hall and back up the stairs. This was very unusual,
especially at 2:00 AM.

I tried to get close to her to see if she was injured, but she avoided
me, acting like she was terrified of me. I woke up the wife, and
together we tried to get close to her, but she continued to streak
around the house in a full panic, avoiding both of us.


I have experienced something like this in the past with Muttley, who was
also a feral dog when I got him about 1-1/2 years ago, and he was probably
about 1.5 years old at that time. There are many wild creatures living in
the woods behind my house, and I have had deer looking in the windows, and
baby raccoons scratching at the back screen door. Sometimes Muttley will
get very agitated, and will whine and scratch at the door to get out. I
usually snap on his tether and let him out, where he will run around and
bark. I never see or hear anything. After a little while, he calms down.

Muttley is big and powerful enough that probably nothing less than a
mountain lion or bear would really scare him. If he got hold of a deer we'd
probably have venison for dinner. But perhaps your smaller dog met up with
something much larger. Maybe you can search for animal tracks or spoor to
identify an animal that may have come close enough to cause this behavior.
It may also depend on the temperament of the dog. My dog is very laid back
and aloof, but he has high prey drive. I hope your dog settles down well
and does not have too many more such incidents, or at least maybe you can
find out the cause and take care of that.

Paul and Muttley


  #3  
Old July 20th 07, 11:33 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
shelly
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Posts: 6,155
Default Midnight panic

Paul E. Schoen wrote:

Muttley is big and powerful enough that probably nothing less than a
mountain lion or bear would really scare him.


A dog's size--large or small--has absolutely nothing to do with
fearfulness. There are plenty of Chihuahuas who think they can take
on the world, and Great Danes who are afraid of their own shadows.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
  #4  
Old July 20th 07, 02:32 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Suja
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Posts: 2,483
Default Midnight panic


"Shelly" wrote in message:

Great Danes who are afraid of their own shadows.


Don't tell her I said this ('cause she fancies herself to be Da Big Bitch),
but I've got one of those lying by my feet right now.

Suja


  #5  
Old July 20th 07, 02:36 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
shelly
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Posts: 6,155
Default Midnight panic

Suja wrote:
"Shelly" wrote in message:

Great Danes who are afraid of their own shadows.


Don't tell her I said this ('cause she fancies herself to be Da Big Bitch),
but I've got one of those lying by my feet right now.


Pobrecita! It's a good thing she has you there to protect her.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
  #6  
Old July 20th 07, 02:43 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
shelly
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,155
Default Midnight panic

roc97007 wrote:

If I had to describe her condition, I'd say it reminded me of the
Night Terrors my daughter used to have at two.

Do dogs get Night Terrors? Any other ideas? I tell you, it was
spooky. I've had dogs all my life, and never seen anything like this.


Night terrors in humans aren't usually accompanied by movement.
Normally, your body would be semi-paralyzed while you're dreaming.

I don't have any idea what it could have been. I'd recommend
contacting your vet, though, to see if s/he has any creative ideas.
One thing, though, that strikes me--are you absolutely *positive*
that the dog was actually afraid? Dogs get weird zoomy episodes,
and while they usually happen during the day, I suppose it's
possible that something could have prompted your dog to have a
midnight zoomy episode.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
  #7  
Old July 20th 07, 03:19 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Suja
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,483
Default Midnight panic


"Shelly" wrote in message:

Pobrecita! It's a good thing she has you there to protect her.


You have to wonder what she's thinking. If she's looking for someone big
and strong enough to protect her, she needs to find a new owner!

While we're on the subject. We were watching some show involing elephants
on Discovery last night. Towards the end of the show (The drought is over!
All the animals are happy!), they showed two elephants, kind of hanging out,
making those low volume rumbling noises that they do. Pan dropped her
rawhide, ran over to the TV, and stood there watching the elephants with a
low menacing growl. Apparently, she is willing to protect us from
maurauding elephants on TeeVee.

Suja


  #8  
Old July 20th 07, 03:24 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
shelly
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,155
Default Midnight panic

Suja wrote:

You have to wonder what she's thinking. If she's looking for someone big
and strong enough to protect her, she needs to find a new owner!


Perhaps she has body dysmorphic disorder, and thinks she's a wee
little dog?

Pan dropped her
rawhide, ran over to the TV, and stood there watching the elephants with a
low menacing growl. Apparently, she is willing to protect us from
maurauding elephants on TeeVee.


Ha! Brave, brave Pan, saving you from the elephant menace.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
  #9  
Old July 20th 07, 03:34 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Suja
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,483
Default Midnight panic


"Shelly" wrote in message
...
Suja wrote:

You have to wonder what she's thinking. If she's looking for someone

big
and strong enough to protect her, she needs to find a new owner!


Perhaps she has body dysmorphic disorder, and thinks she's a wee
little dog?

Pan dropped her
rawhide, ran over to the TV, and stood there watching the elephants with

a
low menacing growl. Apparently, she is willing to protect us from
maurauding elephants on TeeVee.


Ha! Brave, brave Pan, saving you from the elephant menace.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)



  #10  
Old July 20th 07, 03:38 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
FurPaw
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Posts: 1,469
Default Midnight panic

Shelly wrote:
roc97007 wrote:

If I had to describe her condition, I'd say it reminded me of the
Night Terrors my daughter used to have at two.

Do dogs get Night Terrors? Any other ideas? I tell you, it was
spooky. I've had dogs all my life, and never seen anything like this.


Night terrors in humans aren't usually accompanied by movement.
Normally, your body would be semi-paralyzed while you're dreaming.


Dreaming - including nightmares - in the the REM stage of sleep
is accompanied by sleep paralysis. Night terrors are different;
they are associated with "deep sleep" (Stages 3 and 4 sleep),
which, AFAIK, isn't accompanied by sleep paralysis.

When experiencing night terrors, humans appear to awaken during
stage 3 or 4 sleep, experiencing fear or terror (but they may not
be fully awake).

Something like this conceivably could trigger the dog's fearful
behavior... just speculating here; I don't know if there's any
evidence for night terrors in dogs.

FurPaw

--
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched,
every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense
a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and are not clothed."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

To reply, unleash the dog.
 




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