Can dogs develop psychosis?

MadMan118 · #1 07-15-2010, 09:32 PM

Recently my dog who is about to turn 9, has started acting really strange. Mostly barking at nothing( and I mean nothing, like walls and stuff), when most of his life he's been a quiet dog. And now he's going off like totally berserk every 10 mins. Another thing is he's developed a tendency stop mid stride and just stare at things for several minutes. I'm going to take him to the vet next week I was just wondering what you guys think.

blendermassacre · #2 07-15-2010, 09:36 PM

what kind of dog?

emor · #3 07-15-2010, 09:44 PM

Google sundowning or sundown syndrome.

Brief overview:
http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6633430_s...toms-dogs.html

Relic · #4 07-15-2010, 09:48 PM

Your house is haunted and he's barking at spectors (not the basses either)

On a serious note - take him to the vet and get his eyes and hearing checked. Sometimes early cataracts for instance can really mess with a dog's perception.

Simo98 · #5 07-15-2010, 09:50 PM

As far as I know, yes they can, but other things can also cause similar problems (like Relic Mentioned).

On a side note, I had a friend who's pet rabbit developed some psychological disorder where it though it was a dog, including eating meat and barking at intruders.

MadMan118 · #6 07-15-2010, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blendermassacre

what kind of dog?

Some sort of border collie mix.

bongomania · #7 07-15-2010, 10:53 PM

Yes dogs can go nuts, but it's also that case that "crazy" behaviors can be symptoms of something physiological. Allergic reaction to chemicals or fumes, a really bad UTI, a hidden injury, etc. can all have seemingly unrelated or "nonsense" symptoms.

blendermassacre · #8 07-15-2010, 11:08 PM

9 isn't really that old for a border collie. I would say, like bongo, that there are probably underlying problems causing the weird behavior. Also, could have a sight problem.

MadMan118 · #9 07-15-2010, 11:16 PM

Yeah i would think it's sight problems, but I dunno he can still recognise people from distances and can track moving objects better than I can(then again I'm slower than the average human).

jp58 · #10 07-15-2010, 11:19 PM

Maybe its losing its eyesight. My grandpa's dog is going blind and will bark at us or some random object even if we've (it) has been in the room for a half hour.

i_got_a_mohawk · #11 07-16-2010, 07:31 AM

It could be eye sight.

Tho, it does sound similar to what happened with one of our dogs a few years before he passed.

He'd also get really confused and become aggressive (it was like he suddenly didn't know where he was or who was around him).

It turned out to be a form of canine epilepsy which, thankfully, was treatable.

Relic · #12 07-16-2010, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMan118

Yeah i would think it's sight problems, but I dunno he can still recognise people from distances and can track moving objects better than I can(then again I'm slower than the average human).

A dog's sense of sight is almost like a secondary sense in comparison to smell and hearing so it's not unusual at all that he could still recognize folks from a distance - and given that he actually can, I dont think he's going nuts. If he started acting like you were a total stranger then I'd be more worried!
My opinion for what it's worth is that he's not blind or anything, just maybe early onset cataracts or something of the sort where his vision is getting a little cloudy, maybe a little distorted..? Yeah get him checked out.

Petebass · #13 07-19-2010, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMan118

Some sort of border collie mix.

My wife and I joke that our Border Collie is a psycho dog, especially when there's a fetch toy handy, even more so if someone is willing to throw it ..... and throw it.... and throw it some more........ and still be throwing it 3 hours later

They are however very smart dogs, too smart sometimes, and therefore very sure of themselves. So if he sees something in the corner of his eye, he'll be certain it's something worth barking at, but it could indeed be a blur caused by a cataract.

I'd say get a vet involved.

rr5025 · #14 07-19-2010, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simo98

On a side note, I had a friend who's pet rabbit developed some psychological disorder where it though it was a dog, including eating meat and barking at intruders.

Why has nobody commented on this craziness?!?!?

**embellisher** · #15 07-19-2010, 09:36 PM

I had a border collie who went psycho.

I loved Prince, he was my bud. Had him for about 5 years, then he developed a 'nervous tic'.

After that, slowly, his personality began to change, until he started snapping at us. My Dad had him put down because he was afraid that he would bite me or my sister.

That's the only pet I never cried over, even though he was my favorite dog, because he literally was not himself the last few months he was alive.

At the last, I was afraid to feed and water him, afraid I would get bit.

MadMan118 · #16 07-19-2010, 10:04 PM

So I was surprised to see this pop back up again, but as an update I did take the dog to the vet. she says that his vision is not exactly what it used to be, which seems to make sense. There's not much to be done at this point but to keep the condition monitored.

vene-nemesis · #17 07-20-2010, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simo98

As far as I know, yes they can, but other things can also cause similar problems (like Relic Mentioned).

On a side note, I had a friend who's pet rabbit developed some psychological disorder where it though it was a dog, including eating meat and barking at intruders.

How the f*** does a rabbit bark?????