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Before you go jumping the gun, check your walls and ceiling for critters like raccoons and rats and what not that he might be hearing or smelling and alerting to. He isnt resource guarding from what youre describing. It is at different areas at different times, something is setting him off.
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    • I have never seen this type of behavior in my dog before and i do not know what to think of it. Bernie was laying next to my wife and the baby facing the door and then he started growling towards the door kind of like staring at a spot on the ceiling. I did not think anything of it since he does growl at night when he hears noise outside and the day before it was 4th of july and the fireworks set him off. Anyhow, last night he was laying on the couch next to me and started staring towards the TV and started growling again. This time I corrected him and sent him to this bed. A few minutes after laying on his bed he started the same growl again, this growl is not directed at anyone, he is just laying there growling so I put him to sleep for the night. I woke up this morning and thought to my self if he does this again I am going to be very stern and correct him immediately in a more dominant way. So he did it once this morning and i raised my voice and he stopped. after a while he was fine and then he was just laying on his bed and started growling again, my wife said he was looking down at the floor growling. I am very concerned about this behavior, he has never resource guarded, nor shown any kind of growling or barking at any of us. Has anyone experience anything like this before? I am really clueless and I have no idea what to do. I can't put my wife or my baby's life in danger if there is something wrong with Bernie.
      • Before you go jumping the gun, check your walls and ceiling for critters like raccoons and rats and what not that he might be hearing or smelling and alerting to. He isnt resource guarding from what youre describing. It is at different areas at different times, something is setting him off.
        • The growling is at the door Just straight at the ceiling. Nothing or anyone is in his path he is not making eye contact at all. I am having him see the vet on Saturday but this is really concerning me.
          • He could be having vision issues.. and it is worth a trip to the vet. That is indeed strange behavior. Ghosts? :) or creepy crawlies..
            • I have had dogs do that. Some say "ghosts" but I feel it is something different. dogs can smell termites, hear worms, bats and ants. You might have a critter... I have also seen dogs react to shadows moving or light reflections.
              • He's got good senses. =O)
                • ever watch The Haunted on Animal Planet? ;)
                  • Guys I really hope that is it, I'm freaking my self out it could epilepsy or something wrong with his brain :( I'm gonna hopefully do some bloodwork on Saturday to check organ function and see If the vet can spot anything.
                    • If my dogs were growling at "something" i wouldn't really worry about it, they hear and smell things so much better than we can, we wouldn't have a clue. If they directed their growl at me, or someone they know, yes, they would be in the vet until something can be found. There's so many things that can cause aggression out of the blue, even something like Lyme disease. Epilepsy too, but pretty sure there's nothing that can test for that.
                      • I was reading on onset aggression but it relates to dogs going into rage mode during their sleep, almost like an epileptic attack iniciates during their sleep. The growl duration is 1-2 seconds a deep growl and he stops it on its own. So far this morning he has growled twice, once when my wife was doing dishes with her back towards him he was drinking water, he proceed a growl and walked out the kitchen slowlyy wife said she couldnt see where he was focusing it to but once she saw him he looked at her walked slowly without any concerning body language. She was in the living room she told me he was laying down on the floor facing an opposite wall and growled again and stopped. This is really puzzling me, could it be jealousy of the newborn?
                        • At this point we are trying to rule out a back injury, the vet was putting pressure on his spine to see if there was any area that would cause pain. She said that he growled when she put pressure on a certain part of his spine, however, I did not hear it and she could not get him to react again. She told me to give him buffered aspirin for the next two days to see if he has that episode again. She thinks that it might be epilepsy but wants to try out the aspirin issue first to see if it happens while he Is on it. He tested negative for limes disease or heart worm, I have attached an image of the blood screens that were ordered for him. We want to rule out injury first by utilizing the pain medicine and the bloodscreen to make she that his organs and blood count is normal. If this doesn't find the issue , I will have to look. Into a MRI :( I will take an injured back or weak back but I pray my boy doesn't have epilepsy. I guess I am a bad owner because a MRI is going to cost a ton, I will do it regardless but I can finance it or something. At the end of the day my dog health is my priority, I just hope whatever we find is not ruinning his quality of life. Bernie had a quick growl episode very shortly before my wife took this picture, his body language and positioning was exactly the same as to when he growled. So far today he has only done it twice.
                          • This is the look he does, there is nothing there. This time he did not growl but this is one of the ways he looks up the ceiling when he has growled. Can seizures start like this ? [youtube]y5Gov3yaxw8[/youtube] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Gov3yaxw8]YouTube - ‪Is my dog seeing ghosts ?‬‏[/url]
                            • Not gonna get on the ghost thing, but My buddy had a rottie, Baron, who would growl and charge at the wall and then slowly look it up and down as if watching something flee. He never had seizures or any neurological issues that I know of
                              • I WILL go the ghost route....having lived on a ranch once years ago that had very documentable (is that even a word?) paranormal activity witnessed by five of us there...made me a believer in 'the unseen.....'. I would rather it be spooks than epilepsy for your baby. Sure hope he comes out of it okay. You checked wall for mice, yes?
                                • I am a city guy so forgive my ignorance but how would I check the wall for mice ?? My other animals do not react they just lay there he is the only one tracking or staring at the wall or ceiling. I think I might give the landlord a call to get an exterminator out there so see if that could be the reason.
                                  • First you may have a whole in the roof you may have mold and dogs can sense smells and will alert you to hazardous smells. There can also be rats, mice or animals that have gotten access through the roof and gained access inside the walls. If that is the case don't leave food lying around the house and go up in the attic and put mouse traps up there. You will also be able to visually inspect up there by just popping the hatch and peaking in with a flashlight to see if there are any nests. This may solve your problem. If not, this is another option to rule out. First of all exterminators can't do much. They do a visual inspection of the corners of the house to see if there is feces from termites then they have an idea if there are termites in the walls. The only way to know for sure is to remove a small piece of the sheetrock where bernie is looking up at. Then you will know if there are termites. It's a simple and inexpensive process and the workers at Lowes or Home Depot will be happy to explain to you. Make sure you get the landlords approval first. I don't think the landlord will be too thrilled but if there are termites he's going to want to get them out asap because the job will cost him much more in the future if he delays.
                                    • The only thing I'd add to ABBB's post, is there are exterminator's who use Beagle's to sniff out what cant be seen like termites and ants and shit like that... try and find one of those guys
                                      • Dogs are good home inspectors :) I had a small leak in my roof once, dripped down past my coat closet and into the basement. The dogs were paying a lot of attention to the area, that's the only reason i knew there was a leak. i set a bucket, would have been a lot more water in my basement if weren't for them.
                                        • [quote1315300170=davidfitness83] I have never seen this type of behavior in my dog before and i do not know what to think of it. Bernie was laying next to my wife and the baby facing the door and then he started growling towards the door kind of like staring at a spot on the ceiling. I did not think anything of it since he does growl at night when he hears noise outside and the day before it was 4th of july and the fireworks set him off. Anyhow, last night he was laying on the couch next to me and started staring towards the TV and started growling again. This time I corrected him and sent him to this bed. A few minutes after laying on his bed he started the same growl again, this growl is not directed at anyone, he is just laying there growling so I put him to sleep for the night. I woke up this morning and thought to my self if he does this again I am going to be very stern and correct him immediately in a more dominant way. So he did it once this morning and i raised my voice and he stopped. after a while he was fine and then he was just laying on his bed and started growling again, my wife said he was looking down at the floor growling. I am very concerned about this behavior, he has never resource guarded, nor shown any kind of growling or barking at any of us. Has anyone experience anything like this before? I am really clueless and I have no idea what to do. I can't put my wife or my baby's life in danger if there is something wrong with Bernie. [/quote1315300170] Hi, First of all its aggression it not directed agianst the family so I believe there is nonting ot worry about. Second dogs senses are sharper than ours, sometimes to "catch" things and situations just mysterious for us way. Personally if not encourgage my dog to growl more, I would never at least punish or stop the dog, I would just lay back with a warm "secure" feeling in my hart. Regards
                                          • its fine i wouldn't be overly worried my boy does it when hes in bed and its only up stairs this low growl and sometimes a random bark as he looks fixed at my wall as if somethings there.... iv come to grips that its probably ghost but they dont scare me and my wife so we let him growl on.... i encourage growling and barking at things hes not comfortable with it puts my mind at ease that if somethings really does happen he'l bark and i can grab the 12 gauge :)
                                            • I just wanted to update everyone and let you know that the growling has completely stopped. I have no idea why he did it, I never discovered it. Thank God it was not seizures or anything like the vet said. I know if it was to be seizures the episodes will come back sometime but I am hoping it was something outside that was bothering him.
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