Dog Suddenly Changes Behavior- Anyone have any imput - Page 1

Hello,

My manager's dog has gone from a friendly happy dog, to a very scared and frightened dog.  She says this happened in one day.  The GSD is 8 years old and healthy.  She was playing ball with her outside and the dog suddenly stopped, then started shaking.  She thought she had injured her paws or something else.  She checked the dog all over, and found nothing and no whining from the dog on any body parts that were touched.  The dog now all of a sudden is hiding in the closet and shaking whenever she is around my manager.  My manager takes the dog to "day care" and the center told her the dog was the same as usually yesterday and today, and that she did not shake or hide and seemed perfectly fine. When she went to pick her up yesterday after work, the dog saw her then started to shake and acted like she didnt really want to go with her.  Last night she was not as bad as the night before, she did not hide in the closet but was very unsure and a little shaky.  Same thing this morning, with the shaking and shyness, but once at the "daycare" she was her normal self.

Anyone have any suggestions as to this sudden change in behavior?  My manager states nothing has happened to the dog, and it has had its normal routine.

Should she take the dog to a vet?

I would have the vet check her out.  We had an old Blue Tick Hound that had a stroke, it caused some interesting changes in her personality.

Thanks-   Stroke was my first reaction and guess but I didnt want to say it outl oud, she is very attached to this dog, but now that you have the same reaction I am going to advised she see the vet unless there are any other theories listed here.

Thanks for responding, she didn't know about this site, and I told her I would put out the story and get some responses hopefully.  I have 2 GSD'd but havent had this happend to either one.

I meant to add, good luck to her.  A stroke is not the end by any means, our old Hound lived for a few more years, we just had to do things a bit different.

Based on her age also, have her eye sight checked,

you just never know, if she had a stroke her eye sight 
could have been affected, it sounds like she's having 
episodes of an underlying condition, we as humans
always take it personal, but it probably happens when 
she sees your manager, and her body relaxes and brings
on the episodes.

Hope that doesn't sound like too much BS, but that's 
my impression..................................

I dont think it sounds like BS,,,, sounds like she should take her in, because she is taking this extremely personal. And she was driving me nuts all day today, that is why I posted this to get some feedback.  Very interesting, I didn't think about the site. 

i'm with animules, it sounds like a stroke; vet check is definitely in order . my last cat (lived to be 22) had a series of strokes. i know i didn't recognize the first one or two, but his behavior did change and i finally caught on.

If your manager was playing ball with the dog just prior to this episode, also think about vertebral disc rupture (or partial). Back injuries can cause the dog excruciating pain and resulting behavioral oddities. I would be certain to have her spine examined and, certainly, a vet exam is always in order when an animal's behavior changes so markedly.  Oftentimes an unidentified source of pain is the culprit.

I was thinking that too.  The dog could have injured her back.  Back injuries can cause dog to act really weird. 

Ditto on the back - my adult male import, weeks from his SchH 2 and I were out in back yard playing ball.  He took a quick turn, rolled and seemed OK.  We did a few more tosses and headed in.  Upon entering his kennel he literally screamed - I thought he was having a heart attack.  He has never been the same.  Sits on his tail, has lost movement in it, lost lots of rear end power and demanor just crashed.  He's never been the same dog :(  The demenor is the worst part. 

-Calvin