My dog is acting weird...?

Question

Mine is up in his golden years. Ever since deer season started my dog has been acting weird. Part of this problem was the guns. But I have never seen him this bad. He shakes real bad and just wants a place to hide. I found him in my parents' closet laying down shaking like a leaf. It used to be that he was only afraid of guns, thunder, and fireworks. You move any furniture, anything he gets skittish. I dropped a pen on the floor and you might as well thought the world ended.

Anyone help me on this? I'm lost

More information..
He barks at night. We give him sedatives.

He hates being around people. Like at our thanksgiving party he had to be locked in the cage. Slept through it all.

He is the very stubborn. He is at the point where he will not listen.

He shivers only when he gets nervous.

Answer 1

Have you checked his ears real good. Is he messing with his ears. Ear infection could cause the noises to sound worse. Older age can cause a multitude of problems. How long since he saw his vet? And have you called his vet about this problem?

Yes, there are meds if suddenly he has developed a severe anxiety to noise. But I suspect this is medical and urge you to get with the vet this coming week. In the meantime give him extra attention. See if ears are red inside, smell real sour? Try to soothe him through these shaking episodes in case it is a anxiety problem.

Answer 2

Yes, as someone above posted, the vet has calming meds for dogs who are overly nervous / skittish. There are even some calming products that you can buy at the pet store ... but I would suggest a thorough evaluation from your vet first. Afterall, he's in his golden years ... so best to be safe and rule out anything serious.

You mentioned deer season ... that triggers in me the thought of deer ticks - which might explain **some** of the shivering and definitely confirm the need to get him to the vet asap.

Below are some sites regarding calming products and also some sites regarding ticks.


http://www.petsmart.com/global/search/search_results.jsp?cm_ven=ovt&cm_cat=paidsearch&cm_pla=Dog&cm_ite=Health_Care&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302047822&N=2047822&Ne=2&TS=2%7CALL&bmUID=1164435246991

http://peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cls=0&Cat=1303

http://www.herbal-treatments.com.au/dog_nervous_rehabilitation.htm

http://www.medaille.edu/vmacer/126_lec_04ticks.htm

http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/common_ticks.htm

http://www.cvm.okstate.edu/instruction/kocan/ticks/tickok.htm


Best of Luck to you and your pooch !!!
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Your dog may be senile. Perhaps these sites will help you:

http://www.petservice.com/ask_the_vet/article_archive/senility.html

http://www.petservice.com/ask_the_vet/article_archive/senility.html

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1551&articleid=1095

http://fnl.atendesigngroup.com/ONSITE/render.php?currentObjId=3217

http://www.cdsindogs.com/

Answer 3

call the vet and get the dog some tranquilizers so the dog does not suffer through this........It would be like us having a constant anxiety attack. And you can ask the vet why the pet is like this.

Answer 4

Take him to the vet. They have meds for this.

Answer 5

ok ask you vet what to do (he is gun shy) they probably won't give you any medication just some advice.