Weird dog behavior?

Question

My dog has been part of the family for almost 4 years. And tonight, just a few minutes ago. He woke me up. He was banging on the door, and whining.

I went out to see what the problem is. he was running back and forward(in the garage) breathing quickly and nudging the door to get in the house.

I thought maybe he had to go out to the bathroom, or maybe was hungry.

Sure enough he went right outside, came back a few minutes later.

and then i fed him just to be safe. He ate really quickly(he doesnt usually eat if he is not hungry)

He seems a little more settled down at the moment. Occasional knocking.

Does anybody have any idea why he would start doing this now?

I dont want to wake up tomorrow and find him gone from, something.

Thank you!

Thank you all for answering so quick.

He has settled down. Maybe its the weather, there is supposedly a cold front moving through the state(california) and it was suppose to be here.

So maybe that did it. I looked around nothing out of the ordinary.

Well, instead of staying outside with him, i let him in. and he slept on the rug next to me last night.

Surprisingly he barely made a peep the entire time.

Maybe he was just lonely.

Answer 1

was it windy outside that can cause a dog to have weird behaviour as it hurts there ears also sometimes if they have a bad dream they just want company or even not feeling well in himself keep an eye on him and if it doesnt stop get him to a vet

Answer 2

That does sound weird. Do you live in a rural neighborhood, near some woods maybe? Perhaps something outside scared him. That is the first thing that came to my mind when I read your question. Is there anything poisonous in the garage he could have gotten into? But of course, if he had gotten into something poisonous, he probably would be vomiting, not eating like you said.
I guess the best advice I could give is to stay up for awhile with your dog, let him in the house for the night if you can, and keep your eye on him to make sure he seems OK. If he seems like he is ill or sick, or breathing wrong, like you said, then you should look in your phone book to see if there are any vets in your area which accept after-hours, on-call emergency jobs.

Answer 3

How old is the dog?
There are the obvious things like weather, noises etc but if your dog is in its senior years keep in mind that they can also get the doggy form of dementia.
I had a 17 yo terrier that started to odd things like you are describing including barking for no apparent reason. Over many months the episodes got more frequent and the behaviour stranger. Toward the end she didn't even approach me when I would go to see if she was all right and she would hide or ignore me. One terrible hot day I saw her walking in large circle on the lawn 10 minutes later she was still doing it and starting the look exhausted. I tied her up in the shade but she kept doing it like a robot. She also approached her water as if thirsty but would just look at it and the same with food. I took her to the vet who diagnosed doggy dementia. Apparently she had forgotten what water and food were and the initial strange nighttime behaviours were the result of her not recognising her surroundings or eventually me. It was terribly sad and for a short period she had twice weekly injections to compel her to eat and drink but it was a lost cause and she had to be put to sleep. Maybe your dog is too young but it is something to keep in mind when old dogs start doing strange things.

Answer 4

Since you're in California, could it have been a minor earth tremor? When my dog behaved in a similar way one evening, I looked outside and since the exterior light was on, I could see that it was just a cat sitting near our door!
Just another thought - animals are usually very hungry after a seizure - did he have foam around his mouth? That might indicate that he had had a fit. In which case, a check up at the vets would be in order.

Answer 5

So. You fed the dog. He ate. He quit with the scratchy scratchy. Call911 and tell them the same story but in an accent. I suggest the "my nose is tired from working all day and you expect it to breathe on top of all of the other resposibilities plus the back problems and allergies and m pretty tired of being the only nostrilled person in our wine tasing group and if you cannot understand that, then take back your duranduran albums and go back to 1985." That one gets them every time.

Answer 6

We have a cat & sometime ago, she started acting weird, she was meowing & running to the door in the middle of the night, when we went to let her out, there turn out to be 2 people trying to steel our car, we chased them off with the gun, but they only went down the road farther & stoled a truck.SO maybe ur dogs trying to warn you's about something.

Answer 7

dogs can sence if there is danger around so if the was strong wind or a storm or something like that then that would have upset the dog all you have to do is if he is allowed inside let him sleep inside for the night or even just until he calms down then put him back outside just reasure him that everything is ok and he will settle down

Answer 8

He certainly sounds agitated about something in or near the house. Dogs can sometimes be very perceptive. Just to be safe, check your carbon monoxide detectors. Hopefully, he is simply agitated that a bigger animals are near. (Mine acts like that when bears invade our yard).

Answer 9

Is there maybe a female in season near your home?sounds like he has got himself quite excited.I would ask neighbours if there is a female around and if not then check your property for signs of someone being there,I dont think dog is ill just either horny or protective

Answer 10

dogs are really phsycicly receptive if ur houseis old he can be picking up on suff mabey he just heard something non supernatural and it spooked him