Clumsy Dog

[648117]

Has anyone elses dog become really clumsy and does silly things without thinking when they are around a year old? is this just a transition phase into adulthood?

I'll explain:
Holly is now 11 months old and over the last few weeks she has been a bit clumsy and not thinking before she acts. She keeps mis-judging things when she jumps so she half lands on stuff and then falls off, or when she is playing chase with the cat she will crash into stuff when turning.
Or sometimes she's just sitting on the arm/back of the chair and falls off.
On walks she sometimes jumps off banks without looking first, nothing bad has come of it yet but I nearly had to catch her once as she hurtled towards me from on top of a bank that was level with my head, but then she curved away from the edge at the last second.
Then on wednesday she was playing with a large dog and its owner threw a ball and the dog ran straight into Holly. Holly screamed more than I've ever herd her scream and wouldn't put her paw on the ground, I thought it was broken so I carried her home and by then she was fine and running around again.
Then today we were at a different park that has a stream running through it and she fell down a bank into the water because she lost her footing (there was also another dog blocking her a little) and she couldn't get back up the bank so I had to call her over to a lower part. She scared me so much, I was imagining her hitting her head on the way down and drowning etc until I could see her again. When we got back to the top she nearly did the exact same thing again.


So is she just not thinking or what? has anyone else experienced a dog somewhat losing their brain when they are around this age and doing really dumb things?

 

[Amateur]

Sounds like she is having balance problems ... do you think a trip to the vet is in order ?
How is her eating, regular behaviour etc.

 

[MaryK]

I agree, either balance or maybe eye sight problems? Again agree, I think a trip to the vet may be in order. At least it would put your mind at rest that there's nothing wrong with Holly. A few too many 'near misses' can well understand you're concerned she will really hurt herself.

 

[MaryK]

Just did a google and this is from a good site (just copy/paste because there are a whole heap of dis-orders listed.)

Clumsy Or Disoriented Behavior

This could mean a neurological disorder, liver disease, problems with sight, or even an ear infection. Other causes may be ingesting poisonous plants, or hazardous chemicals (like antifreeze at this time of year).

In all cases, if you observe anything that is out-of-the-ordinary, of concern, or unusual with your pet, call your veterinarian right away. Do not wait a few days to see if things get better (note that many people wait till it's too late before acting)! Remember, the best chance your pet has for recovery is early diagnosis.

Do NOT want to alarm you but felt it serious enough to 'google' and found this report.

I doubt it's anti-freeze or chemicals they are deadly big time.

 

[jackienmutts]

I agree, I think I'd err on the side of safety and schedule a vet check. When I first started to read it, I thought oh yeah, sounds like teenage 'clumsies' (having large dogs, long legs, and it seems they go thru periods like teenage boys where their legs go one way and their bodies go another) - but reading on, with her falling off the back of the couch, screaming in fright when hit by the dog, losing her footing, etc - it sounds like something may be 'off'. Good idea to sched a check and find out its nothing, rather than to wait and see what happens, but I tend to worry about stuff like that. Please keep us posted!!!!

 

[Adrianna & Calvin]

I agree with some other posters, this is not normal. I'd have her at the vet, and make sure s/he does a thorough orthopedic exam (if she has bad knees, hips, or elbows, this is often the time that problems show up). You can also discuss the possibility of an inner ear infection. Dogs can have clean-looking ears and still have an inner ear infection, which can cause bad headaches for the dog (well, we assume this because of symptoms they have and what humans experience) and balance problems. Also do bloodwork to be thorough. Does she seem to be more affected after she eats, or is she duller after eating or anything?

 

[southerngirl]

I sounds like she may be having trouble seeing or balance. I would take her to the vet for a check up.

 

[648117]

It's the weekend now, so I'll have to wait till monday to call the vet.

She screamed because the other dog crashed into her (she wasn't frightened), she was playing chase with the other dog when it suddenly turned to chase the ball and crashed into her (the dog would have been at least five times her size). It must have hurt because she screamed and tried to walk over to me without putting that leg down, so I ran over and picked her up and felt her arm and she didn't scream again so I carried her home (tried putting her down on the way but she didn't want to walk), when we got home I gave her arms a good feel and nothing was broken so I put her down and she ran around like normal and chased the cat and jumped off stuff like normal, she didn't limp at all (I didn't want her jumping and I told everyone to be careful with her but Holly didn't care ) .
Not much frightens her, she doesn't seem to form negative associations with stuff very easily, she's a bit of a daredevel most of the time. When we went to the same park the next day she played with two labs so she must not have been worried about the park or big dogs (it was supposed to be a gentle walk but Holly wouldn't let that happen ).

I don't think it's her eye sight because she's fine at agility (she's actually excellent and last week it seemed to be 'compliment Holly week' because everyone seemed to feel the need to tell me how well she is doing and how well we work together ) and a lot of her tricks only have a hand signal because I've been a bit lazy about giving them a verbal cue. If it were her eye sight wouldn't she be more cautious and careful about where she was going and what she was about to run into?

Most of the time when she has her mishaps she seems to be running too fast because she isn't thinking or jumping onto the furniture too fast when playing chase with the cat so she falls off. The times when she's been just sitting there she is usually sitting right on the edge to begin with. To me it seems like she has stopped thinking and is doing stuff and running so fast that she does stuff without checking that it's safe.


I just remembered that the other day my mum was asking me if Holly has grown taller, she thinks Holly looks like her legs have gotten a bit longer. I don't know if they have and I thought she would be too old to still be growing (since she is a small dog), but maybe I'm wrong and she has and it's affected her balance. Hopefully that's all it is.

But I think I might take her to the vet to make sure she is alright, I don't like her doing this stuff where she could get hurt.

 

[Dogster]

I agree with the others. Maybe it is the incident at the dog park that caused this??? She is a small, fragile dog, so even if she's not limping (dogs don't show pain sometimes) that might be why she's wobbling around sometimes. I hope she's okay. Keep us posted!!!

 

[SD&B]

The "better safe than sorry" seems to apply here, so a trip to the vet is in order. I'm hoping it's just a case of the clumsies and it very well could be. Sundog is a daredevil and has almost given me about a thousand heart attacks. But the vet will be able to give you more clarification on that. Let us know.