Have you ever had your dog start acting strangely and you couldn’t figure out why?  This has happened to me on numerous occasions.  I have read so many articles that I think there are hundreds of reasons why your dog might be acting weird.

I thought about this as I was sitting at my desk earlier and noticed my girl dog, Lola, sitting in the back of the kennel.  This is not of the norm for her as she is always the one jumping up on my leg, so I can hold her as I work.  I called her name and she still didn’t come out.  I figured she might be cold and let it be.  An hour went by and she still hadn’t come out.  I got down on all fours and started talking to her in my “baby’ talk voice.  She looked at me and then put her head back down.  I had to leave and called my boyfriend to let him know that Lola was acting strange.  He of course says, “she probably just misses me.”  I agreed and was happy to hear he was on his way home.

I left and made my way down the street.  Then out of nowhere clouds formed and the sky became very dark.  And boom!  It started pouring down rain.  Then it hit me, Lola is always afraid of rain and storms!  She was able to sense the storm and took shelter in her kennel.  Made total sense.  I should have known that rain was coming because Lola always hides during storms.  She usually gets under the blanket on the bed and will snuggle up close to me.  This time I was not in the bed, so she felt safe in the kennel.

This is one example out of so many that I have experienced with my dogs and them acting strangely.  I remember I was traveling back and forth from Fort Worth to Austin weekly.  I was still living and working in Fort Worth, but my heart was in Austin with Rob (my BF).  My dogs didn’t have a real place to feel at home.  They would act out and potty inside.  Vino would refuse to get out of the car from time to time.  They fell in love with Rob and just needed a place to adjust to.  Rob finally made the decision to have them at his house full time while I went back and forth.  He gave the dogs such a great life and loved them constantly.  This was something I just couldn’t provide fully at that time.  It meant the world to me.  He would send pics of them running around the room playing with their babies, out for walks by the lake and enjoying bits of his dinner.  This made me smile and I felt they were happy, so I was happy.  They just needed a set home to be comfortable in.  I finished my work in Fort Worth soon after and made the move to Austin.

There are the more common things that can cause a dog to act strangely of course.  You must be careful when changing a dog’s food.  This I learned the hard way as well.  I started buying the more expensive dog food and it made Vino so sick.  I took him to the vet and she explained that you must wean them off the old food.  You need to mix a little of their old food in with the new food to help their body adjust slowly.  Duh!!!  The things you realize make total sense once it comes out of a vet’s mouth.

If your dog is acting strangely for more than a couple of days, it is always best to bring them into the vet.  It is not worth taking any chances with our little love fur babies.  Any input that you can share to add to this blog would be great!