My dog stares at the wall (slightly long) UPDATE

[malita]

I’m not sure if this is more Mundane and Pointless, or a cry for help, but here goes. My dog has started staring at the wall. For hours. And hours.

A little background info, you ask? Dog in question is a 3.5 year old German Shorthaired Pointer, with slightly nervous temperment, but overall a good girl. She has recently been through quite a bit of change, with us selling our house with backyard to run around in (4 months ago), moving in with my MIL for three months, riding in the car for 2 days, and living in a tiny little apartment for about a month. We thought she had taken the changes pretty well, until fairly recently when her dark and loony side has emerged.

About a week ago, we noticed that every time that Cortney (the dog) passed a certain picture on the wall, she would stop and look at it, but keep walking. A few days later, she started sitting in front of the picture and staring. It escalated into her crying and trying to climb the wall to get to the picture. We took the picture and hanging hook off the wall, and all seemed to be well. However, over the weekend, she found another spot to stare at. Apparently the light fixture in our bathroom is very, very interesting because if we let her, she will sit in there for hours and stare, sometimes crying, sometimes not. I actually picked her up and put her on the counter for a better look, but that didn’t satisfy her curiosity.
If we kick her out of the bathroom, she seems to just go find another spot to stare at….the sprinker thing over the bed, a random spot on the staircase, a wall in the kitchen. However, her favorite is the bathroom light. After we get home from the park, or a walk she runs over to the bathroom and plops herself down for a good staring session. Even if we make her sit by us in the living room, I can see her eyes flicker to the bathroom door every now and then, as if she can’t help herself.

Our other dog, Lucy, also a German Shorthair is pretty oblivious. She isn’t showing any nervous tendencies, interest in the same spots or anything. Just pretty chill as always.

I’m really not sure what to do at this point. We’ve tried giving Cortney more exercise and time in the park, introducing new toys, putting her in her kennel for a while to chill out (not as punishment), but she is still obsessive about these wall spots. Do you have any recommendations we could try?

We are (hopefully!!) moving in a house w/ backyard in a few weeks, but until then we are desperate for some help. Why is my dog crazy?

Cheers,
malita

[spingears]

@malita

Why is my dog crazy?

Ask a dog psychiatrist?
Maybe make a 2nd appointment?

[malita]

Yeah, I’ll make an appt. with the doggie shrink right after we schedule the Dog Whisperer :rolleyes:

That is why I am asking here…we have been up in New Jersey with the dogs for only a short time, that I don’t have a vet up here yet. I’ve sent an email to the old vet, but no info forthcoming.

Once again, I’m hoping the dopers will save the day!

[Tupug_Anachi]

IANAV but I believe dogs can develop a form of OCD just as humans can. It may be her way of coping with the stress she’s been under. (Either that or you have a serious termite propblem…just kidding) I have a rescue chihuahua who comforts herself by obsessively licking her dog pillow.

What you are experiencing could be something else entirely so you may want to have a vet check her hearing and vision for problems just to be on the safe side.

[tremorviolet]

Find a vet. A lot of times, really odd dog behavior can be a symptom of neurological problems. I can’t even watch “America’s Funniest Pet Videos” after watching it once my aunt, the vet. Many of the odd behaviors she recognized as being indicative of future problems (lots of “I guarantee that dog will be seizing in a year” type comments).

[malita]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. We will definitely be looking for a vet to take Little Miss Looney-Tunes in for a checkup, just to be safe. I’ll let you know if anything pops out from the wall spots and surprises us all.

S

[Absolute]

@malita

I’ll let you know if anything pops out from the wall spots and surprises us all.
S

If she begins doing this while staring at your torso, I would be concerned.

[Lissa]

What does she do if you give her a treat which takes a long time to eat, like a toy stuffed with peanut butter? I’d get her checked out, of course, but maybe she’s just bored. If you keep her busy and distracted, maybe the behavior will stop.

[Sage_Rat]

Maybe your dog…sees dead people…

:eek:

[gabriela]

@Sage Rat

Maybe your dog…sees dead people…

:eek:

NTTAWWT

[Bites_When_Provoked]

@gabriela

NTTAWWT

…wha…?

[UntouchedTakeaway]

@malita

I’m not sure if this is more Mundane and Pointless, or a cry for help, but here goes. My dog has started staring at the wall. For hours. And hours.

A little background info, you ask? Dog in question is a 3.5 year old German Shorthaired Pointer, with slightly nervous temperment, but overall a good girl. She has recently been through quite a bit of change, with us selling our house with backyard to run around in (4 months ago), moving in with my MIL for three months, riding in the car for 2 days, and living in a tiny little apartment for about a month. We thought she had taken the changes pretty well, until fairly recently when her dark and loony side has emerged.

About a week ago, we noticed that every time that Cortney (the dog) passed a certain picture on the wall, she would stop and look at it, but keep walking. A few days later, she started sitting in front of the picture and staring. It escalated into her crying and trying to climb the wall to get to the picture. We took the picture and hanging hook off the wall, and all seemed to be well. However, over the weekend, she found another spot to stare at. Apparently the light fixture in our bathroom is very, very interesting because if we let her, she will sit in there for hours and stare, sometimes crying, sometimes not. I actually picked her up and put her on the counter for a better look, but that didn’t satisfy her curiosity.
If we kick her out of the bathroom, she seems to just go find another spot to stare at….the sprinker thing over the bed, a random spot on the staircase, a wall in the kitchen. However, her favorite is the bathroom light. After we get home from the park, or a walk she runs over to the bathroom and plops herself down for a good staring session. Even if we make her sit by us in the living room, I can see her eyes flicker to the bathroom door every now and then, as if she can’t help herself.

Our other dog, Lucy, also a German Shorthair is pretty oblivious. She isn’t showing any nervous tendencies, interest in the same spots or anything. Just pretty chill as always.

I’m really not sure what to do at this point. We’ve tried giving Cortney more exercise and time in the park, introducing new toys, putting her in her kennel for a while to chill out (not as punishment), but she is still obsessive about these wall spots. Do you have any recommendations we could try?

We are (hopefully!!) moving in a house w/ backyard in a few weeks, but until then we are desperate for some help. Why is my dog crazy?

Cheers,
malita

Is it possible she’s losing her vision? My little terrier, Maggie, is blind, and she often stares at the wall. She’s in perfect health, still very interactive and spunky, but when I see her doing that, it really just makes me sad.

Perhaps a vision check might be a good thing?

VCNJ~

[malita]

@Lissa

What does she do if you give her a treat which takes a long time to eat, like a toy stuffed with peanut butter? I’d get her checked out, of course, but maybe she’s just bored. If you keep her busy and distracted, maybe the behavior will stop.

It depends on what the toy is. If I stuff her favorite bone with peanut butter, she’ll concentrate on that till all the yummy filling is gone, or until her sister steals it from her. She isn’t really paying attention to her other toys that she used to play with, or really wanting to play and wrestle with her sister like she used to to…just staring at the wall.

[malita]

@Veuve_ClicquotNJ

Is it possible she’s losing her vision? My little terrier, Maggie, is blind, and she often stares at the wall. She’s in perfect health, still very interactive and spunky, but when I see her doing that, it really just makes me sad.

Perhaps a vision check might be a good thing?

VCNJ~

Yes, making vet appointment soon, with full vision, hearing, neurological checks. All of this weirdness really makes me sad for Cortney I can’t imagine what it feels like to HAVE to stare at a spot on the wall. Poor girl. Plus, trying to spend more and more time getting exercise with the pups.

Hopefully all will either come to light, or resolve itself soon.

[malita]

@gabriela

NTTAWWT

say again?

[Missy2U]

@gabriela

NTTAWWT

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

[Lissa]

@malita

It depends on what the toy is. If I stuff her favorite bone with peanut butter, she’ll concentrate on that till all the yummy filling is gone, or until her sister steals it from her. She isn’t really paying attention to her other toys that she used to play with, or really wanting to play and wrestle with her sister like she used to to…just staring at the wall.

I’m no vet, but it sounds like depression or a chemical imbalance. Don’t worry-- it’s usually something that can be fixed with the right medications.

My oldest dog has anxiety and mood issues. My vet prescribed several different medications for it, and it took several tries before we found the right one for her, but once we found it, the drug made a world of difference for her.

[malita]

@Lissa

My oldest dog has anxiety and mood issues. My vet prescribed several different medications for it, and it took several tries before we found the right one for her, but once we found it, the drug made a world of difference for her.

Did your dog’s anxiety and mood issues come on suddenly, or did you just realize one day that your dog had been acting strangely for a while? For us, it was like one day Cortney was fine, the next day she was trying to climb the walls. Makes me think it is more of an environmental thing, rather than a chemical imbalance, and I just am out of ideas of what to do to change the environment till we can make a vet appointment.

Of course, this all has to happen 3 weeks before we want to close on the house and are trying NOT to spend much money!!

[gotpasswords]

Is your home near a cemetery? Or even ON a cemetery? Anyone known to have died there?

We used to live in a place where the other side of the back alley was a city cemetery. From time to time, we apparently had a visitor in the kitchen as our dog would stare at a spot in the air and growl. Usually, whatever she was growling at seemed to take offense and she’d RUN out of the kitchen.

Aside from that, there is a possibility that you’ve got mice or rats in the wall. Your dog can smell and/or hear them, but you can’t.

[malita]

@gotpasswords

Is your home near a cemetery? Or even ON a cemetery? Anyone known to have died there?

We used to live in a place where the other side of the back alley was a city cemetery. From time to time, we apparently had a visitor in the kitchen as our dog would stare at a spot in the air and growl. Usually, whatever she was growling at seemed to take offense and she’d RUN out of the kitchen.

Aside from that, there is a possibility that you’ve got mice or rats in the wall. Your dog can smell and/or hear them, but you can’t.

Both of these suggestions make me :eek: ! Now that you’ve reminded me of this, in our old house, both dogs would sometimes stare at a spot above our couch. This was usually right above where I was sitting. They would bark, growl, snap at the air, etc… This only happened when I was there by myself, late at night and the phone was across the room…I think they were trying to play a trick on me

In our current living situation, I haven’t the slightest idea about the cemetery suggestion, but I’m leaning towards no. We live in a temporary housing apartment complex, and they seem to be pretty good about pest control and maintenance. Plus, the other dog isn’t paying any attention to the “wall spots” like you would expect if there was something in the walls. Maybe one dog is crazy, and the other is deaf…sheesh, now I’m really worried!

All in all, I think Cortney is just getting some cabin fever from being inside the apartment all day, when she is used to having a backyard to frolic in. Of course, we’ll get her checked out at the vet to be sure. And, we’ll do a ghost-be-gone ritual at the new house, just in case!