DaKota's Strange Behavior Last Night?

[Glitzie]

This has never happened before. First off, She has been having eye issues almost all summer. She turned 8 years old on November, 1. She had the itchies for a while. It seems to be calming down a bit. I keep a close eye on my pets for fleas & ticks. all was good & I did not use a preventitive
last moth & ended up find 3 or 4 on her. She limped abit for about 1 week. There was pain, even if no one was around. Last night I gave her her usual frozen bone. I try to give my dogs at least one a week. Last night was really wierd. I had to encourage her to chew it. That is not at all like her. Another thing was when she stopped eating it?
She started to lick & chomp at the floor. Not only in my room, all over the house. Is this normal behavior for a GSD to do?
She seems to be aging pretty fast to me. I am comparing her to my BF's GSD/X who is 15 years old & still acts goofy.
I also noticed she has black warts coming out on her back toes. Is this licking & chomping normal?

[Swiftwind]

I would suggest taking her to the vet to check what's up with her. I guess that's the only way you will really know what is going on. It could be that her sight is really failing her right now, she could possibly be blind in both eyes. My (nearly 11 year old) dog Harley has been acting strange lately too, but we know it's his sight because he has cateracts (I would never be able to tell, but my step dad used to be an optometrist and he diagnosed Harley). Harley has been very reluctant to walk up any steps. He'll stand infront of them barking until someone helps him up. Othertimes he'll go up them with no trouble. Also, in the last few months sometimes he won't go through his dog door to come inside, and just stands there barking and barking until we open the door for him (he won't come in even if we open the flap for him).

Has Dakota stopped eating all together or has he just stopped eating his bones? The warts on the bottom of his pads probably make his paws sore when he holds the bone, and is probably the cause of his limping.

Good luck with working out what's wrong.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Your best bet is to get her to the vet and have her checked. Any sign from my dogs thats completely out of the ordinary (ex: not getting excited about "cookies!") it's a trip to the vet. That's how I came to find out Sarge was really sick. I came home from school and he didn't get up to greet me, and he refused cheese, which was his favorite.

Make an appointment with your vet and explain what's going on. I'd have some blood work done, just in case.

[Glitzie]

I did check her sight during this period, by Faking a throw of a toy.
She seen it. I also put my hand over her. She watched it. She has slowed down on her eating just a bit. I figured she didn't like the food. She does tend to be picky at times. She usually gets excited
about her bone. Not last night. Her warts are on top of her back toes. almost on the knuckle part. Not on the bottom of her foot.
I was told she might have a touch of Pannus? I know this is common in GSDs. But I thought is was heriditray? If you were to look at her eyes, they are kind of droppy like a content or sleepy Springer Spaniel. They are also red like pink eye. If you look closely at my avatar? You almost can see the white part of the lower part of her eyes.

[Glitzie]

See near the corner of her eye? It is usually really red & gooey.


again, the corner of her eye. It is white now, but will turn red with yellowish/green goo.

[Glitzie]

But why would she be frantically lick & chomp at the floor?

[Shadowkins]

Your vet is the best way to go,jmo.A change in their normal behavior is usually a sign that things are not well. I'm just wondering is maybe DaKota having teeth problems ? In any case, your vet can give her a good look over ...I do hope it is nothing serious. Please keep us posted.

[KennelMom]

How are her teeth? She may need a dental or have one removed.

We have a greyhound with Pannus and it's pretty easy to diagnose once you know what it looks like....a whitish film covering the eye, irritated eyes. Easy to control with drops, but it is best to have your vet take a look. If they are not familiar with pannus, they may refer you to an eye specialist for the diagnosis.

Itchiness....could be food allergy or reaction to flea bites. Do you have her on joint supplements? We don't usually supplement our greyhounds until they turn 10, but 8 is considered senior for a GSD and if she's showing signs of arthritis I'd probably start her on it. Is the limping worse in the morning and get better as the day goes on, or does it get worse as the day goes on?

Honestly, it sounds like she may have a couple things going on. If you haven't had her in for a senior workup (thorough physical and complete blood panel) I would probably do that ASAP. As they enter their senior years I like to have a good baseline of their health against which to compare changes.

[Jamila]

I say get that baby to the vet as soon as you can. That's what I would do. Odd behavior is sometimes a sign that something is wrong. If you go let us know whats going on...good luck.

[mrsgrubby]

I was thinking teeth too. If she has slowed on her eating and not excited about the bone I would have her teeth checked. But also have your vet look at her for allergies. My GSD really developed allergies late in life and required eye drops each day, and would like the floor when he itched. So the last few years he was on prescription eye drops and benedryl per the vet.