My dog–an apparently healthy 4-year-old lab mutt–has lately been exhibiting some odd behavior.
Now, when there are flies (or, more frightening, wasps) in the house or out on the deck, she’ll try to snap them up. She’s our little Venus flytrap.
Lately, though, she seems to be tracking something in the air with her eyes and then snapping at the empty air. As if she’s snapping at invisible flies in the house.
It’s possible that she’s seeing fruitflies or something else small in the air that I can’t, but I have better than 20/20 vision and she can often not spot a piece of food on the floor unless I point it out to her.
So my next hypothesis is that she has floaters in her eyes and is seeing them cross her field of vision and look like flies, which she then snaps at. Do dogs get floaters? Do they get them this young?
(My other hypothesis is that she’s being haunted by the ghosts of all of the flies that she has ever eaten … but that one’s harder to test.)
IAMA veterinary opthamologist, but since I have a nasty case of floaters, I am willing to speculate. Floaters are deposited in the vitreous humor. I believe that all mammalian eyes have aqueous humors, so I’d hazard a guess that yeah, dogs can have floaters. Fortunately they can’t speak, so they don’t whine about them like us humans.
However, the snapping at flies behavior you describe usually has nothing to with the dog’s sight, but is rather a neurologic condition similar to epilepsy.
My old husky used to jump around the back yard with a grin on his face. He had his lips pulled back with his teeth out as far as possible as he jumped in the air snapping. I watched carefully and saw he was trying to pick bees out of the air. He got stung on the lip a week earlier and apparently did not like it. he got a lot of revenge.
Yeah, this is her usual M.O.—wasps, houseflies, moths… Except this recent behavior is occurring inside the house, with no apparent insect activity nearby.
Here it is discussed in a lay audience Q and A web site: Here
This Page has a discussion as well. Relevant portion is:
Seizures
Seizures may originate in the brain itself or may be associated with diseases elsewhere in the body, such as the heart, kidneys and liver. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), as seen in diabetes, can lead to seizures. Seizures may be very subtle, almost imperceptible, such as an eye twitch or a leg jerk, and may go unnoticed. Seizure activity can also result in unusual behavior. For example, a pet may suddenly begin “shadow chasing” and “fly catching.” Jaw snapping, tongue rolling or a simple momentary blank stare may indicate minor seizures. Not every episode of unexplained or bizarre behavior is provoked by seizures. Physical examination and a complete behavioral history are necessary for your veterinarian to make an accurate diagnosis. Behavioral (or physical) abnormalities related to seizures may respond to medical treatment.
The medical articles about this are rather old so I can’t link a peer-reviewed paper. I’m sure a small animal veterinarian would be able to fill you in.
Well, I don’t snap at my floaters, but I have been known to swat at 'em. I recommend having medical problems ruled out, but maybe it is just floaters…here’s hoping. (Jasmine loves to snap at flies, but there are always flies there to snap at.)
OK, there’s nothing in those links to support your statement that this behavior “usually” indicates a seizure condition. It would be more accurate to say that it can be caused by a wide range of issues, of which the most serious are neurological.
I recommend having medical problems ruled out, but maybe it is just floaters…here’s hoping. (Jasmine loves to snap at flies, but there are always flies there to snap at.)