# Oh Sable, why are you doing this?



## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

We have a couple of different things going on.

#1 she is skiddish/scared and we do not know why. Basically almost anything that makes noise she doesn't like and hides from unless she's the one making the noise; then it's ok. 

#2 Sable used to always play while we made dinner or got ready for work, but the past few weeks if we're making dinner/busy/getting ready for work she'll go lay in a corner in our bedroom instead of playing or being by us. This is the same corner she goes to if she's scared of a noise. I'll try to get her out of our bedroom, but as soon as I'm not looking she goes right back. Not sure what is going on?

Tips/suggestions?


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

What is her age? 
How long have you had her? 
Has she had other owners? 
How old was she when you got her? 
What are the ages/sexes of the members of your household?
Any other pets?
What obedience classes have you been to?

Thanks for more information.


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## SwimDog (Sep 28, 2014)

Great questions above - this is definitely something to address. We know how bad stress is for people as it accumulates over time. We don't want our dogs to be nervous.


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

A few more...

Is this new behavior or has she always been shy?
Is she eating, peeing, and pooping normally?
Any changes in her environment lately?


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## Carmel (Feb 9, 2015)

Is your house haunted? We lived in our house (it was only 15 years old when we bought it) for 7 years with 3 dogs when suddenly one fall the dogs started acting really crazy. Things went downhill from there. Items were moved, strange noises, my husband started being very angry all the time. Anyway, we did some research and found out that our home had been built on Indian burial grounds! The history of our neighborhood was right in the library! I guess after 150 years everyone forgot and just moved on and started to build houses.... Here is the clip from the library that we found verifying what happened. Pretty horrible. The previous page had a map showing our area of town, but the neighbors are the ones who alerted me to it. The land had been owned by their grandparents who would never step foot on my particular lot.

or shotgun and sought refuge for a siege Several
barricaded themselves in the only store where the
few women and children had assembled and a
badly frightened bunch it was huddled together
expecting any minute to be swooped down upon
by the Indians and scalped or burned at the stake
without mercy
They had not very long to wait before the object
of their fear arrived in hundred lots dressed in war
paint and presenting a frightful sight But to the sur-
prise of those under cover the Indians did not be-
gin the attack They single filed to the square in
front of the store and immediately began a war
dance lasting several hours Then as neatly as they
had filed in they filed out of town over the west
hill Toward evening incessant shooting told that
they had engaged in battle and the inhabitants were
relieved of their fear
Shooting continued until the third day had passed
and then the Indians returned to the town where
they filled up on scoo-ta-wa-boo a fermented drink
they found in the rear of the store and after a thor-
ough inspection of the town the last staggering In-
dian disappeared into the north trail at dusk to the
great relief of the handful of frightened citizens
A visit to the battle field showed what the commo-
tion had been about and furnished gossip for the
whites for many moons A ridge of timber showed
where many Indians had met their death and many
were still unburied The timber had been the divid-
ing line of the two tribes and when the Chippewas
learned that the Sioux had crossed the line they
hurried to the scene and gave battle That the Chip-
pewas had been the victors was proven by the fact
that they remained long enough to bury their dead
warriors while the Sioux beat a hasty retreat with-
out paying the last respects to their dead who were
left on the ground to decay or be devoured by wild
animals


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## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

What is her age? 10 Months
How long have you had her? since she was 8 weeks
Has she had other owners? no
How old was she when you got her? 8 weeks
What are the ages/sexes of the members of your household? it's just me and my husband and we're in our 30's.
Any other pets? no, but she goes to daycare once a week and has playdates with our friends dog that's around her age
What obedience classes have you been to? She did a 2 week daycare training with a former K-9 officer, and we do once a week group class to refresh on her training
Is this new behavior or has she always been shy? Newish, but we can't quite pinpoint what caused the change or when.
Is she eating, peeing, and pooping normally? Yes, but see below.
Any changes in her environment lately? No

Really good questions! I did ask her trainer about her behavior, and he said it could be that she's getting used to our schedule, and maybe that's why she is laying in her corner while we get ready in the morning. He also gave us tips to try and counteract her fear of noises. We've also been trying to take her for walks before and after work again, which we used before it got to cold this past winter.

Also, I brought her into the vet on Friday, and the poor peanut has another UTI and ear infection :/ We left with more antibiotics and a plan going forward. We're bringing her back in 2 weeks for a urine and ear re-check to make sure they're gone and not a lingering or new infection. She's also going to be on a strict diet for 3 months to try and figure out some allergy issues. The vet is thinking that her ear and UTI issues could be allergy related. We feel bad because the meds are upsetting her tummy, but hopefully we will get to the bottom of this and at the same time help with her behavior.


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## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

Interesting history on your house being haunted! We live in a pretty big subdivision and our house is older, but not haunted.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Thank you so much for writing back!

I'm voting on the UTI being an issue. Her ears also. She's in pain and doesn't feel good. Take her outside as often as possible since she has the UTI. You are smart to go back and have her tested again at 2 weeks to make sure the UTI is gone.

I think you are doing everything right. She's just sick and wants to hide away. I feel sorry for her not knowing how to communicate that to you. Now that you know, you can give her that quiet place to sleep while she re-cooperates. I'd keep on the schedule so that she knows that life is continuing on, you don't want too many disruptions right now.

I would pull her from doggie day care. I have noticed that sometimes a young dog can be bullied by other dogs and doesn't always "fit in". Try more walks with her or maybe somewhere you can go with her off leash outdoors. 

As for her stomach, give her probiotics (the human stuff) at the opposite schedule of her antibiotics. So if you give her antibiotics on the morning, give her the probiotics in the evening. Always give her food at the same time as the antibiotics. Antibiotics can make a dog constipated also, so make sure she gets plenty of water and exercise to help with that. Also put yogurt with her food. Just make sure it doesn't contain aspartame (which is poisonous to dogs).

Let us know how it goes! We hope the best for your girl!


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

This sounds like a job for Cesr Milan.


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## 02pinetree (Nov 17, 2014)

In people with dementia or head injuries who are unable to communicate how they are feeling one of the first signs of a UTI is a behavior change. It would go to figure that the same would be true in dogs. 

Also, our Murphy had dirty ears for years and they finally cleared up when we found out he was allergic to chicken and corn. After changing his diet we never needed to clean his ears again.

Poor Sable. Hope she is feeling better soon.


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## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

Thanks so much for your input! We're on a 1 day break from meds as they were upsetting her stomach and we're being switched to a milder medicine that she's handled well before, and I'll make sure to give her organic yogurt with her food to help. She also gets a cranberry tablet once a day to help with her UTI issues. Last night she did seem more like herself and full of energy; it was so great to see her perking back up! I think that the vet wants to make sure the infections are knocked out this time so a 2 week follow up will be great. It is definitely hard with them not being able to communicate and it's tough for us doggy parents to know when they're not feeling well.

Sable absolutely loves daycare and does really well with the dogs there so we don't want to pull her from that. We're also upping her walks to 2 times a day, and trying to start letting her be out on her own while we're gone for small amounts of time to start, until we can build up to her being able to be out all the time while we're gone.

We also switched Sable to California Natural fish based, limited ingredient dog food and switched her treats so there is nothing grain based in her diet. I believe this is the 4th food we've switched her to? If this doesn't work we're going to try a prescription diet from the vet, but hopefully being on a strict diet for the next 3 months will get our Sable back to being healthy and feeling good. We just have to make sure our family (grandpa especially) don't give her any extra treats 

I appreciate your feedback; thank you!!


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