Wonder if a canine fear reaction might be triggered by the smell of a predator.
I stopped into a pet store today and saw a tank containing several guinea pigs, located next to another tank containing a ball python. They couldn’t see each other, but the guinea pigs seemed really jumpy. Maybe the snake’s scent was a warning…:eek:
Did you introduce any new scents or fragrances into your house recently? Any new chemicals? Sometimes dogs can have toxic reactions to things which don’t bother us.
I can’t think of anything new. The first episode was when she came tearing through the doggie door, leapt onto the couch, staring out the door and window, shaking all over. Same thing the second time. Everyone seems to agree that it’s built-in to have a fear reaction to just the scent of a cougar. I am leaning towards the idea that she had more of a close encounter, enough to have wrenched her back in flight. Perhaps the cat was just on the other side of the perimeter fence. Or it’s possible she just somehow hurt herself and thought something must have done it to her. I saw that happen a couple of times in hard play with Gus, my much larger Anatolian. She body blocked him hard, which hurt her hip. She blamed him and full-bore attacked, to his bewilderment. I had to stop rough play after that.
Wow, sounds bad. How long have her hips been bad? I know that for my MIL, hip dysplasia cause a completely different personality to surface in her dog, one that acted just like your dog, only a falling leave could seemingly trigger the fear response. That was a Lab though, which are sometimes known to have issues. How steady are Pyrenees and Anatolia shepherds generally? Could a mix like that have some hidden issues that wouldn’t normally surface?
Any post that contains the word ‘perimeter’ is going to be interesting. Hope doggie gets better. Let us know if it was The Bleaken.
I hope you can locate the source of the issue. Unfortunately, I can’t be much help. For a list of things my 65lb boxer is scared of, see The Dictionary of Nouns and Sounds, Unabridged.
I had a 45 lb. lab terrier mix that was absolutely fearless when it came to humans or dogs of any size approaching her turf. Ferocious. When I turned on my digital camera it would make a tiny beep that would reduce her to a quivering puddle of jello. Even worse if the smoke detector beeped. She was never concerned with thunder until one day it terrified her. Every time for the rest of her life.
Do keep her in at night, please. Just in case.
I’m not sure if the Anatolian/Pyr mix is thought to be less steady than the pure breds. Both my dogs are rescues, however, with very serious issues. I have made this a sanctuary for a couple of animals who probably wouldn’t be alive anywhere else. I was able to provide this haven because I understood LGDs and was set up to accommodate them, having had them when I actually had livestock. They are very different from our usual pets, in that they are very independent minded and not very human oriented. Gus, for example, is not what I would call a domesticated animal. Og knows what his early life was like. He had no training, not even in doggie behavior. His distrust of humans is so great that he runs if I say come. At the same time, I know he would lay down his life for me. He waits for me at the farm gate through rain, sleet and snow when I go away. He is by nature a gentleman. I know Gemma’s story. She was badly traumatised at only eight weeks old and it has left her unpredictable, liable to fear bite. I have given up trying to work through this. I simply allow no one through my gate unless I have a chance to prepare. They even read my electric meters remotely.
Then I think you know the rule about posting dog pix. 
I would but I don’t know how. I’ll go search the how-to FAQs. Also how to ask a mod to fix my header. Autocorrect didn’t like LGD. It went for the Devine.