My Yorkie is Hiding and Acting Strange
If you’re here, it may be because you’ve noticed that your beloved pet is acting way differently than they usually do. You may be wondering, why is my dog acting weird, and how can I fix it. Well, we’re here today to help you identify potential causes of strange pet behavior and what it might mean.
There are many little things you get to understand about your dog’s regular routine and personality over time. After all, a dog is a pet that you have to give extra attention to and see for large portions of each day. So, when they start shaking, hiding from you, barking uncontrollably, or exhibiting other forms of strange behavior, you’ll definitely notice something out of the ordinary.
So, if or when you start to notice a sudden change in dog behavior from your furry friend, you’ll need to figure out the cause as soon as possible.
Let’s get into some of the cases, causes, and solutions.
Why Do Dogs Hide When They Are Sick?
In some cases, owners who notice that their pet is acting weird report that the dog is hiding from them. Something important to know is that if your dog is hiding from you, it could be sick.
It’s common for dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals that they want to hide their weakness from their owners. As tough as that is, you’ll want to look out for a few signs of poor health that could indicate a sickness.
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Why is My Dog Acting Weird?
Symptoms to look out for:
Below is a list of a few symptoms you should watch for if your dog is hiding from you. If you spot one or two, it could be time to call your vet so that they get the care and treatment they need. If you don’t happen to find any of the symptoms, you can either rule out sickness or get them a vet checkup just to be sure.
- Your dog is having trouble breathing
- Frequent coughing fits or sneezing
- Discolored or pale gums
- Dilated pupils and confusion, loss of motor skills
- Strange posture or walking style/gait
- Shows no interest in going outside or socializing with other pets
- Blood in stool or mucus
- Vomiting and/or diarrhea episodes
As you can see, there are plenty of indicators that will tell you if your pet is experiencing an injury or illness that they want to keep hidden from you. While they try to hide, they won’t be able to prevent telling symptoms—so if you see any, call the vet immediately.
My Dog is Acting Strange
Dog acting weird? Suppose you weren’t able to clearly identify any of the symptoms above that could indicate illness. In that case, it’s likely that the hiding, shaking, or other strange behavior is due to something else.
The last thing you want is to still be in the dark about your dog’s weird behavior, as the faster you can identify the cause, the faster your pup will be back to his or her usual self.
To help you get there as fast as possible, we have even more reasons listed below as to what could be causing weird behavior in dogs.
If the cause isn’t a visible illness, here are the most frequent reasons a dog is hiding and acting strangely in general:
Disease – Sometimes, illness isn’t always obvious on the surface. In dogs, the underlying disease can cause strange behavior, but you might not immediately know that it’s there. If you can’t find a concrete reason your pet is acting weird, get them a checkup at the vet to rule out underlying conditions.
Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome – If your pet is suffering from CDS, it could explain strange behavior. If cognition is declining, that can absolutely present as unfamiliar behavior in your pet. While hearing this can be scary, this syndrome is treatable by a vet.
Fear – Fear is one of the top reasons that your pet could be hiding or shaking irregularly. If you suspect that an object or some action in the house is spooking them, remove or mitigate it to the best of your ability.
Remorse – If your pup knows they’ve done something wrong, they can tend to hide from you or act strangely because they feel remorse about it. This will go away with some time.
Disgust – Dogs generally have a high tolerance for disgusting substances, but if they get to that point, they can act strange in response to this feeling.
Discomfort – Last on the list of frequent causes of strange dog behavior is discomfort. This could be because of a minor injury like a splinter, indigestion, or something more serious, in which case you should take them to get medical attention.
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My Dog Goes to Another Room
Another typical strange behavior in dogs is that they start going to different rooms in the house from the ones they usually like to hang out in. For example, if your pet always has loved to spend time with you in the living room, you might be noticing that they don’t sit in there as much.
Or, they’re making a conscious effort to distance themselves by going to the bedroom or another part of the house entirely.
This isn’t exactly the same as hiding behavior, which we’ve discussed a bit above, but it can look similar. In this case, though, your pet is changing a long-held routine seemingly out of the blue or on its own.
This can be distressing to an owner, especially if they are doing everything they can to make their beloved pet more comfortable in their once-favorite areas. So, what could this mean and what can you do?
Potential Causes
Aside from the general causes of illness or cognitive issues, the number-one potential cause is that they are feeling intimidated or fearful of something in the room. Dogs are easily trainable, whether that’s a subconscious or conscious effort. Even if you aren’t trying to change their behavior, a repeated smell, action, or other animal’s presence in a room can start the negative association process.
For example, if your pup is sensitive to sudden movements, it might be intimidated if you move quickly or abruptly. If they don’t do well with other pets and you’ve just brought home a new cat, they might associate fear with the living room and no longer want to hang out there.
On the other hand, this behavior could also just be because the dog is starting to find more comfort on particular objects (your bed might have simply become its new favorite place in the house instead of the couch!).
However, if this has been going on for a long time and you suspect that fear or negative association is the cause, it can be difficult to undo quickly, but it is possible.
Below, we’ll get into a few things you can do as an owner to help your pet become more comfortable in a specific room of the house that they once liked.
What to Do if Your Dog is Avoiding a Certain Room?
The first thing in the process if your dog is inexplicably avoiding a particular room in the house is to remove anything you think may be causing your dog stress. While this may be difficult if the cause is another pet, sometimes the reason will be a smell or an object.
Maybe try removing artificial air fresheners, changing the candle scent, or using a new cleaning product if you suspect that a certain aroma is a culprit. Dogs have an amazing sense of smell, but sometimes that can work against them when they find a scent they dislike.
If you suspect that certain behaviors from you or some household members might be the cause, try to identify what it is and how you can work together to improve it. For example, no running in the living room, gently handling the dog when in the room, and more.
Otherwise, you can try to positively reinforce inside the room by feeding your dog treats or doing things they like in there. There are many ways to go about fixing this issue!
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My Dog Keeps Going Into The Corner of the Room
Since you’re looking for answers to strange dog behavior, you might want to know what it means if you find that your pet is going into corners of rooms more often than usual.
There are many ways that dogs try to tell us if something is wrong or off, and this could well be one of them. After all, they can’t communicate with us directly so they develop certain habits instead in hopes the conditions will improve.
If you find your dog acting weird by huddling itself into a corner of the room, the most likely cause is fear.
When a dog or any animal for that matter is scared, a natural reaction is to shelter itself while also being able to observe as much as possible. If your poor pup is cowering in a corner, or at least going there more often than usual, that might be his or her way of feeling protected in a perceived unsafe situation.
Walls can feel protective and supportive for your pet, so in this case, it’s extremely important to pay attention to things in the room or certain behaviors that might make them feel like they need backup.
Apart from fear, anxiety is one of the most common reasons for this behavior. In this case, take them to the vet and see if there are any treatment options for any shaking or corner attraction.
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What to Do if My Dog is Hiding and Acting Strange
There are a lot of reasons that your dog might be acting strange, and there is no one blanket solution to change or fix the behavior. What you should do going forward will depend on the root cause, and it may take some time to identify what that is.
Once you find the reason, you can get your dog medical attention if needed, start a retraining initiative, or remove negative stimuli from certain spaces. You can do so many good things to help your pet feel at ease, and if they’re acting strange due to emotional stress, it’s your job as a loving owner to help them feel better.
Like with most things, the solutions can take time, so it’s crucial to be patient during healing processes, whether physical or emotional. Your pet needs you, and with the proper identification, care, and love from you, they should be back to normal in no time.
We hope you’re able to find out why your pet is acting strange, and we are confident that you’ll do everything you can to make the situation normal once again.
