Please Help Very worried Psychotic Episodes (Updated vet)

I am hoping someone will have a clue as to what is going on with Maya and Sadie. This started yesterday after dark. Maya had 2 psychotic episodes. She was fine and then all of a sudden she just went nuts. She was yelping and barking and running aroun with her tail between her legs. She was scared you could tell. We finally got a hold of her and once we calmed her down she was still shaking. This happened once again about an hour later. Then the same episode happened with Maya and then Sadie started with the same thing. Although this time both dogs climbed and jumped over the baby gate that was blocking the upstairs and ran upstairs. They came back down on their own and we got Sadie into her kennel and she was trying to tear up her blanket. Maya was on the floor and I was with her trying to calm her down. Throughout this whole episode they were barking/yelping and they lost control of their bowels and bladder.

The same thing happened again tonight with both dogs and this time it lasted longer and they both ran upstairs (again over the baby gate) and Sadie was clawing at my bedroom window and finally ended up in the shower where she cowered in the corner. Maya was in the bedroom and my BF had her on the ground stroking her and trying to calm her down. Again they were yelping/barking and lost control of bladder and bowels. Their tails were between their legs the whole time.

Leila has not done this but has been in the same vicinity as Maya and Sadie when these episodes started. So we don't think it's something outside only dogs can hear cause Leila would be doing it too (most likely). I called the emergency vet and they had no clue what it is but they don't think it's life threatening. they also don't think it has to do with Leila not being spay.

Maya has done this 6 times now since yesterday at 5:40pm. I have no clue what is going on and I am hoping someone here might be able to help.

No diet changes except for addition of a daily vitamen Pet tabs plus from Virbac.

[mtd885]

Fire ants in the house? Any insect bites on them? Any exposed electrical cords? Worms in the stool?

No Fire ants, no electrical cords, and no insect bites. I forgot to add once they were calmed down I rubbed and felt them all over. No lumps, bumps, or yelping when I rubbed them down.

[DebBrown]

Well, Heather, this is the weirdest thing yet! Obviously, they were frightened to the extreme. It's especially odd that it could happen to both of them at the same time. Even if there were some type of high pitched sound, I doubt if it would be so terrifying - maybe annoying but not like this.

I have absolutely no idea but I sure hope you get it figured out.

Deb

[sarahann]

Any earth quakes or thunderstorms in the area? Changes in your house layout or chemicals around?

What are the ages of the dogs? Are Sadie and Maya more bonded than Leila? I'm just wondering if Sadie is following Maya's lead. Totally random thought but that could explain why the second time Sadie picked up the behavior.

I saw an episode of the dog whisperer where a dog was terrified of the sound of an air compressor in the garage. The dog reacted in the same way that you described above. He would freak out and run around the house and usually end up in a bathtub. Maybe someone in the neighborhood is making a noise that you don't even notice. Once you figure out what it is it sounds like you will have to do some major counter-conditioning.

Sorry for all your trouble... I hope you figure it out!

Sarah

[Linn]

Wow, this sounds really scary! And how odd!

Last month, I took Davy with me to cheer for the Baltimore Marathon, and something similar happened to him (minus losing control of his bladder / bowels). For no apparent reason, he started turning in quick circles, yelping, and acting really skittish with his tail tucked between his legs. At first I thought he had gotten stung or something, and I walked him away to calm him down. After it happened a few times though, I realized that he was terrified of the balloons that someone cheering nearby was waving.

Now this may be a stretch and I doubt that you have balloons floating around in your house, but is there any new piece of furniture or something new on the walls that might be scaring the dogs? Even something outside that might be casting a funny shadow at night? Or maybe something on tv?

It sounds like it's definitely related to the dark / night time, and maybe Sadie is picking up on Maya's fear since she didn't seem bothered the first time. Keep us posted...

[blueteal]

Even shadows on a wall can scare them so maybe that is what is happening at night.
Have you changed furniture around so that something is now visible that never was before?

[gene]

I had A friend with an Irish setter that reacted that way to a bug zapper. We didn't hear anything from it, but Rusty did....he lost bladder control and suqeezed through jalacey windows! Hope you figure it out.....

Thanks all. Nothing has changed in the house at all. In fact after this happened a couple times last night we closed the blinds (which we never do) in case it was something from outside. And Sadie started one of the episodes last night so she isn't following Maya's lead.

[MaxandMe]

Heather.....i really do hope you are able to solve this or it goes away?

i too am clueless...has it been windy outside lately? as they may hear something you can
dog's hearing is much more acute about 8 times that of ours.

I do wonder if closing the blinds.it's something new/different.
seriously, Max not to long ago started barking at a few planted pots i moved outside.
these doodles have blueprints of where everything is kept and take notice of every little thing.

if we move anything inside or outside the house, Max and peanut do take notice each reacting differently.

[Lucky Me]

Sometimes animals do pickup on things coming up or things in Nature.... when I had my avairy, I walked into the room to find the floor covered in feathers. The whole room had gone bizzerk. The next evening we had a fair sized earthquake.
Didn't NC just have a tornado or something?

[anny51]

I can't think of anything other than what's already been suggested, but I really hope you solve it soon...so sorry for the worry you're going thro and for your 2 lovely dogs. Will keep thinking....

Ann

[MySweetDoodle]

Wow, that is really bizarre! I am so sorry that your dogs are going through this. What a nightmare for you and for them.

I have a couple of thoughts: Since it is happening to two, unrelated dogs, that pretty much eliminates any physical cause with the dogs themselves. What are the chances that both dogs would get sick or injured at the same time and have the same behavioral reactions?

So, maybe it is something that is happening in your house. Since it just happens at night, maybe look at things that only occur at night – such as, does your furnace only kick on at night? If so, maybe there is something malfunctioning in the furnace (sending out unusual noises or even an unusual smell). How about your TV – is it only on at night? Could something be wrong with the TV – again, some unusual noise or smell being emited when it is on? Are there any other things that you only use at night? The stove? Computer? Video game? The list is endless, but what I would be looking for is #1 - anything that ONLY happens at night (around the time that the “episodes” start) and #2 – anything *unusual* or *different* about those things that only happen at night. Sometimes there can be a malfunction in something and we don’t even know about it until the final *breakdown* but dogs ears and noses are so much more sensitive than ours and that could allow them to sense things that are *different* way before we even have a hint of a problem.

As for why Leila isn’t reacting to any of this? It’s anyone’s guess – perhaps because of her *past*, she is used to *anything* (so to speak) and therefore not reactive to *change*.

I don’t know if any of this *theory* will even pan out? But it’s where I would be looking, especially since there don’t seem to be any obvious *triggers* (that you are aware of anyway).

Hopefully, you will be able to figure this out soon. And if there is anything *unusual* (or malfunctioning) going on in your house, this all may be a "blessing in disguise" in that it will alert you to a possible hazard.

Fingers crossed for a quick answer. I can only imagine how stressful this is for you and for your sweet dogs.

[SadieFern]

Heather, that stinks! You must be so worried. I hope you can find out whatever is scaring them so much and get them desensatized to it. You'll have to become a detective! I think it could be bad weather related or furnace related like others have said.
I hope it goes away quickly for your sake!

[lmtoth2]

Wow Heather - I hope you find an answer soon. There has to be something that is totally scaring them for something like this to happen all of a sudden. Could there be some sort of wild animal loose in the neighborhood?

I think you said you work at home - maybe today (in the daylight) take them outside on a leash and walk all around the yard to see where they are afraid?