# Help! Mia's pacing is driving us crazy!



## NJGoldenMom (Jan 11, 2018)

Mia is almost 15 months old. Ever since November, she has had the habit of pacing frantically in front of our kitchen windows. The longer she paces, the more frantic she becomes. She runs back and forth making a high pitched bark and oddly looking up at the ceiling like she can see something that we can't. It is almost like she is in a trance. We have to try very hard to distract her and get her out of the room to break the cycle. She paces anytime that we are not occupying her. In fact, it almost seems like she has attention deficit disorder or something like that. She can't occupy herself at all - unless she is chewing on a marrow bone. That she will do for up to an hour (depending on the bone). But how many of those can she have in a week? Right now she only has 2. We give her a frozen kong during our dinner, but those don't hold her attention as long as they used to. Often she starts up with the pacing before the kong is finished. It is very frustrating especially when trying to cook dinner or talk on the phone, plus it can't be that great for Mia either. I feel like I can't go away on vacation because I am afraid she will just pace frantically the whole time we are gone. I can't imagine a dog sitter wanting to deal with such crazy behavior. The vet said she is just a high energy dog who always has to be busy, but I think there has to be more do it than that. Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do or what Mia might be experiencing? She has always been prone to repetitive behaviors. When she was younger she'd scratch at the floors like she was digging in the house when she didn't have something to do. After she got bored with that, she started scratching at the refrigerator constantly for ice cubes to crunch. 

I know that the first question someone will ask is what is her activity level during the day. We walk Mia 2-3 times a day for a total of at least 3 miles. I realize that many on this forum don't consider walking to be exercise, but we do live in a very hilly area and the walks are fast paced. She often seems tired when we get home. I take her outside to play at least twice a day. Unfortunately, Mia will only fetch a few times before losing interest. She'd rather sniff around the yard and eat grass. I try changing up her toys (tennis ball, football, frisbee, etc.) to keep her interest. I take Mia to two different classes a week: nose work and obedience. We practice training exercises at home and I play "find it" with her, hiding treats and kibble around the house for her to find. Often the minute we finish any of these activities, it's back to pacing.

I don't think Mia is anxious. She settles nicely in her crate when we go out and she sleeps all night, until whenever we wake up in the morning. (Interestingly, her crate is in the kitchen.) She isn't afraid of thunder, the vacuum, or other loud noises. The only other place she exhibits crazy behavior is in the car. She loves to go into the car, but once it starts moving, she moves around constantly - as much as her car harness tether will let her. She barks and even scratches at the car window. I think she is reacting to the cars going by and to shadows.

I am sorry this has gotten to be so long. Please let me know if you have any ideas on what we can do to stop Mia's pacing or why you think she may be doing it. Thanks!


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

I would suggest maybe adopting a second dog. Around her age or a little older . She appearantly needs also brains stimulation. With a bestie, she will have a second world, have their own games & fun and you will not be her entire world.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

NJGoldenMom said:


> Mia is almost 15 months old. Ever since November, she has had the habit of pacing frantically in front of our kitchen windows. The longer she paces, the more frantic she becomes. She runs back and forth making a high pitched bark and oddly looking up at the ceiling like she can see something that we can't. It is almost like she is in a trance. We have to try very hard to distract her and get her out of the room to break the cycle. She paces anytime that we are not occupying her. In fact, it almost seems like she has attention deficit disorder or something like that. She can't occupy herself at all - unless she is chewing on a marrow bone. That she will do for up to an hour (depending on the bone). But how many of those can she have in a week? Right now she only has 2. We give her a frozen kong during our dinner, but those don't hold her attention as long as they used to. Often she starts up with the pacing before the kong is finished. It is very frustrating especially when trying to cook dinner or talk on the phone, plus it can't be that great for Mia either. I feel like I can't go away on vacation because I am afraid she will just pace frantically the whole time we are gone. I can't imagine a dog sitter wanting to deal with such crazy behavior. The vet said she is just a high energy dog who always has to be busy, but I think there has to be more do it than that. Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do or what Mia might be experiencing? She has always been prone to repetitive behaviors. When she was younger she'd scratch at the floors like she was digging in the house when she didn't have something to do. After she got bored with that, she started scratching at the refrigerator constantly for ice cubes to crunch.
> 
> I know that the first question someone will ask is what is her activity level during the day. We walk Mia 2-3 times a day for a total of at least 3 miles. I realize that many on this forum don't consider walking to be exercise, but we do live in a very hilly area and the walks are fast paced. She often seems tired when we get home. I take her outside to play at least twice a day. Unfortunately, Mia will only fetch a few times before losing interest. She'd rather sniff around the yard and eat grass. I try changing up her toys (tennis ball, football, frisbee, etc.) to keep her interest. I take Mia to two different classes a week: nose work and obedience. We practice training exercises at home and I play "find it" with her, hiding treats and kibble around the house for her to find. Often the minute we finish any of these activities, it's back to pacing.
> 
> ...


I think you need to talk to the vet about this behavior. It almost sounds like seizure activity, but it's definitely anxiety behavior. In either case, I would suggest talking to the vet about medication to help calm her.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

She could be hearing or seeing something you can't hear or see and it could be causing phobic behaviors. Or something scared her back in November and she now associates whatever caused that fear with something in your house. 

I don't mean spooks (although, I do believe there are such things). There could be something else going on that might not even be in your house. High pitched sounds or beeps like fire alarms.

With my Jacks - he was about 1.5 years old and this was after we'd lost my older golden back then and it was a Sun so the collie wasn't visiting (he just stayed at our house during my sister's work hours during the week). Came home from church to find Jacks shut in a closet. Bizarre thing was the closet doors fold open and shut and it's very difficult to get them completely shut from inside the closet. He was cowering in the back of the closet with his face tucked in a corner. 

I think there was a random thunderstorm while we were at church? Because his phobia started after that. And it was really bad early on. He could not handle loud noises, refused to go outside further than the shadow of our house, refused to go into rooms with windows (if he did - he'd skirt the edge of the room all the back walls as far away from the windows as possible). If outside, he'd double back into the house and dig at doors to get back in. If confined to a room with windows (like our living room), he'd pace, eyes bugging out and panting.

If it was storming or he heard just the slightest sound that could be thunder - he would go running somewhere and dig at walls. And if thundering - yep, he would have accidents in the house. 

Even clouds in the sky - he thought were bad. He refused to go for walks. And one by one he kept adding things to the list that apparently reminded him of thunderstorms!

His thyroid was all over the place - but it's open debate about whether he had a thyroid problem causing anxiety or if the anxiety was affecting his numbers. 

Took me 2 years to rehab him (with thyroid treatment) and bringing Bertie home had been the best thing for him as well.

Anyway - 

Is she kept in the kitchen at all times? Or is this just happening while you are in there making and eating supper? Can you provide her a safe windowless room somewhere in the house where she can relax? 

It could be some loud car went past and scared her when you weren't home.

What happens if you take her out in the backyard - obviously bundle up and just hang out there with her for a few minutes to let her calm down out there? 

Switch the room. It could be something is stressing her out in the kitchen. <= Not to be neurotic, but have the wiring tested in there if you have an old house. 

For Jacks - windowless rooms, company, and music helped him calm down. 

LOTR was his favorite. It would calm him right down. I still think of him when I listen to the soundtrack. 

I would say your vet is right about her being high energy - except the staring at the ceiling and glazing over. 

To me that's very similar to what Jacks did during his panic attacks. And at their worst - I was actually worried that he was having seizures. He wasn't, but that's another possibility if taking her outside to go potty and run around out there, taking her to a windowless room, and playing music doesn't help.

Thyroid medication with Jacks helped tone down the weirdest stuff (being afraid of windows, refusing to go outside, etc) - and I was able to get him out on rainy days which you can imagine had been impossible before. 

Then after I got Bertie - everything continued to improve. The past 3-4 years, he was sleeping through thunderstorms at night and he was almost a normal dog. <= I'm saying figure out what is scaring her, make sure her thyroid is normal, give her a more secure place to hang out with your company, play music to calm her down - and give her time to get better and things will be OK.

My take on getting another dog is - you have to figure out what her problems are first before your bring another pup home. Especially if there is a high pitched sound somewhere in the house or some troll in your neighborhood is blowing a dog whistle or something.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Other hand - if this is just her being high energy - she needs free exercise more frequently than just 2x a day. 

My dogs are restricted to being on leash whenever I'm out of town because I don't want anything to happen when I'm not there. But if I'm home, the dogs go outside every couple hours to run. 

Pup especially needs to full out run. And he runs. It's like a colt being turned out into the field. 

If I restricted his exercise longer than the week I'm out of town, he would be like a prior dog who had been under restricted exercise orders from the vet (elbow dysplasia). That dog would pace nonstop, panting, sitting in front of you, breathing on you, lol. But no staring at the ceiling though and no glazing over.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

This sounds like anxiety. Talk to your vet.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

I think your vet is dismissing something that could be serious- you are describing behavior that IS anxiety and also sounds neurological. 
The ceiling staring, flybiting, those are both symptoms of bigger issues than 'needing a job'. I'd start with a good eye exam- Ophthalmologist Search ? ACVO Public and from there, depending on what is found (because some of those behaviors are also visual issue signals) I'd go to a neurologist. If you have a vet school nearby the fastest way in is through the ER and that would get you past needing a referral to make an appt w the neurology dept.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Please let us know how this goes and I think your dog's breeder would also want to know about this. Fingers crossed for you.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I agree with the ladies above about getting her checked out for neurological problems - but seriously, check your house first and rule out any other causes for her anxiety. That's more information for a vet anyway. 

Think electrical beeps, whines, buzzing, etc sounds that you might either be used to or might not be hearing. 

Her reactiveness to cars seems to be a hint - if your kitchen window overlooks a street.


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## NJGoldenMom (Jan 11, 2018)

Megora said:


> Other hand - if this is just her being high energy - she needs free exercise more frequently than just 2x a day.
> 
> My dogs are restricted to being on leash whenever I'm out of town because I don't want anything to happen when I'm not there. But if I'm home, the dogs go outside every couple hours to run.
> 
> ...





Megora said:


> I agree with the ladies above about getting her checked out for neurological problems - but seriously, check your house first and rule out any other causes for her anxiety. That's more information for a vet anyway.
> 
> Think electrical beeps, whines, buzzing, etc sounds that you might either be used to or might not be hearing.
> Her reactiveness to cars seems to be a hint - if your kitchen window overlooks a street.


Megora, thanks for all of your thoughts and suggestions. The vet and I actually discussed the possibility of a sound that I couldn't hear disturbing her. The one thing that makes me discount that is her crate is right next to where she paces and she rests comfortably and sleeps soundly in it day and night. I figure she wouldn't be able to relax in the crate if there were a persistent noise in the kitchen.

Mia has the run of most of the house but she chooses to be in the kitchen because that is where I am most of the time. She tends to get into mischief in the rest of the house  The window looks over the backyard and she can see plenty of birds and squirrels, which of course interest her greatly. She doesn't choose to chase them though when I take her out.

Also, I just wanted to clarify that Mia is outside many times during the day. She loves being outside. I am only able to entice her to play fetch about twice a day and not for very long. It is always my hope that she gets the zoomies while she's outside, but she only does that occasionally. She is more interested in exploring than running. In addition, I don't really think her eyes look glazed over when she does this. I said it's like she is in a trance because of how focused on pacing she is. I guess I used the wrong terminology.


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## NJGoldenMom (Jan 11, 2018)

Prism Goldens said:


> I think your vet is dismissing something that could be serious- you are describing behavior that IS anxiety and also sounds neurological.
> The ceiling staring, flybiting, those are both symptoms of bigger issues than 'needing a job'. I'd start with a good eye exam- Ophthalmologist Search ? ACVO Public and from there, depending on what is found (because some of those behaviors are also visual issue signals) I'd go to a neurologist. If you have a vet school nearby the fastest way in is through the ER and that would get you past needing a referral to make an appt w the neurology dept.


Thanks Prism. Unfortunately NJ does not have a vet school, but I know there are many specialists. Mia does seem very reactive to reflections, light and shadows so maybe it is a visual/neurological thing, but in every other way she seems like a normal dog. The really odd thing is she doesn't exhibit the pacing anywhere else - not at her training classes, or outside, or at my parents' home when we visit. She rarely paces anywhere else in the house either. 

Mylissyk and Jennretz also mentioned anxiety as you did. She doesn't have any fears so it's hard to figure what is making her anxious, unless not having a specific activity to do is anxiety inducing for her. I don't know, but I will go back to the vet and discuss these issues.

Thanks everyone!

Luckily, even with her issues Mia is still a sound and relaxed sleeper!


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Don't waste your $$ on a pet vet eye exam- which is fine for an injury but you really need an ophthalmologist (list in last post to look up) to dilate her and examine her eyes and associated structures. That should not be awfully expensive. I do think you should look @ eyes first.


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

If your in NJ and need a vet school you could see if Cornell or Univ of Pennsylvania are close by. You may also be able to find a specialty center, but Prism is definitely right that the fastest way in is through the ER. At Univ of Penn you just pay a one time ER fee of $175 and everything else they do is billed at the normal rate.

Hope this helps.


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