Strange incidents with Shipoo puppy

13 years ago

One day I was home with the puppies when one, then both started screaming, yelping, it was like they were being attacked. It scared me and I yelled and ran out to see what was wrong. They both went under the sofa and I had to pick up the end and turn it over to get near them. They continued to yelp for probably a minute or so but it tapered down to less frantic and less loud yelps. I picked them both up and put them on the bed so I could get a good look at both of them because I was sure they were really hurt. I'd never heard a reaction like that from a puppy/dog before. It was like full-blown panic. I can normally keep my cool and react in a calm, assertive way but it startled me and my heart was racing and I was shaking a bit. I don't know what started it because I was in the den and they were in the hall but I could find nothing wrong with the puppies.

Then yesterday or the day before I was sitting in the living room with my mom and both puppies were on the floor playing quietly and Punkin (our male Shipoo) started yelping in the same way and Peanut then joined in. But since I was there and had experienced it before I was calm and assured my mom to be calm so the yelping quickly died down. I think I escalated the first episode which is why it took longer to calm them down.

Another time this week my dad was outside on the side lawn playing with the puppies when a neighbourhood dog 2-3 houses down started to bark and Punkin started that same frantic type of yelping/barking. I think my dad laughed at him and so it didn't escalate either but it went a bit longer since the other dog was still barking.

Does anyone have any experience or know of what might be the cause of this behaviour? Honestly I started wondering if it was a chemical imbalance in the brain since I know for sure that one event had no real trigger and I strongly feel the first didn't have a trigger like the dog barking one did. Punkin does display behaviour I'm associating with anxiety. While he does bark/whine to get his own way, he whines and gets anxious over other things. Like if he's lying on the sofa with my mom and she gets up to go into the kitchen he'll start whining almost immediately, even if I'm there. She can't go to the bathroom quick in the middle of the night because he'll start whining. He will whine if you get up and move around the room, even if you don't leave and he can still see you. I'd expect a puppy to look in the direction you went and wait a minute before whining a bit but he starts up right away and its intense, not soft. He won't sleep on the bed in the den, just 4 feet away from me with nothing between it and my desk, he whines to go down then sleeps around my feet/desk. It just seems he's insecure or needs to be near people. Dogs are social animals and want to be with their pack but usually with another puppy I would think this would be alleviated a bit, even if for a short while.

We are seeing the vet this week for his next set of shots so I'm going to ask her but I'd feel more sure about what to ask if I had a bit of an idea of what this behaviour is or might be or maybe its nothing.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

murraysmom Zone 6a OH
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Since you are not seeing any reason for the whining/screaming, maybe they are doing it to get your attention and it is working. I have a puppy too and at first she sometimes starts hollering, but I ignore her (knowing that she is safe) and she stops after a short time. If you come to them when they do that, they will continue to do it. They need to learn that it is ok to be by themselves too. I know it's difficult because you don't like them to be unhappy, but it is a lesson they need to learn. I would still ask the vet about it when you see her.
sweetchastity
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You might be right, they might be doing it for attention but the first time I was in the den and they were in the hall just outside (we have a small hall). The second time it was in the living room right in front of my mom and I and the third was outside where dad lies down and plays with them so these panic-type incidents don't happen when they are separated from us. Plus all they have to do is look at my mom and she gives them attention (I'm a little better, lol). I'm firmer when it comes to training them to learn its ok for them to be alone. I got Peanut crate trained and I'm working on Punkin and when he's whining behind the baby gate I tell mom that its ok, this will pass and he has to learn he can't always be in the middle of what we are doing... unless he can grab a butter knife and start popping up staples.
Related Discussions
The Revenge of the Deer
Q
Comments (6)
Scott, We have too many houses too close together to allow deer hunting by rifle. None of us on our end of the road (6 houses on plots of land ranging from 5 acres to 200 acres) allow hunting with guns on our land because there's so many cows, horses, dogs, cats and children within close proximity. Our neighbor to the west allows bowhunting on his place. And, we still have idiots spotlighting and shooting from the road, which is illegal of course. One year a bullet came whistling by my head and missed me by only a couple of inches, and I was about 600' back from the road. We never found out who fired that shot. We all enjoy watching the deer. You know that I feed them, as do most of the neighbors. One of our newest neighbors has set up a deer feeder to attract deer so they can take photos and videos of the deer. The aggressive deer that was dancing and prancing in the road probably was returning from visiting that feeder. I always encounter a few aggressive bucks each year, but they tend to stand on the edge of the woods and snort and stamp their feet. This one just really shocked me with the "dancing and prancing" as it ran right down the middle of the roadway. Last night, as I was closing up the guinea coop, a buck stood on the edge of the woods and pawed the ground impatiently, waiting for me to go inside so he could come gobble up any henscratch the guineas and chickens missed yesterday. My sister told me earlier this week that her boyfriend isn't having much luck at his new deer lease in south Texas this year. I told her that if he'd come up here and sit on the patio for a couple of hours around twilight, he could get a couple of deer in no time. Really, though, I hate the thought of anyone shooting 'our' deer. They were here first. Dawn
...See More
Our Story Using TV Shows....The Entire Story Line
Q
Comments (2)
Thanks for all your hard work Karen! Can't wait to read it in its entirety. Jodi-
...See More
Craigslist-Bad and Good
Q
Comments (22)
I just read what dd50 said. " I always put in my email if you don't show at the time stated it goes to the next person." I am doing a lot of Freecycling these days. Sometimes the person is a no-show. I just had one this week. I wrote to ask her if she's still coming. Now I have to wait for a reply, and hope that I don't give up on her, offer it to the next person, then hope she doesn't write back saying she wants to come after all. I think that stating the conditions up front like that is going to save me a lot of trouble. After all, I'm giving them something for free. The least they could do is show up when they say they will. I think xminion's advice is also good. I have been reluctant to give out my phone number, thinking the anonymity of e-mail is safer, but maybe it's better to talk in person. Once a person talks to you on the phone, they are more likely to carry out their promised actions. You have a more personal connection to each other than you would with e-mail. What I don't like about dealing with the general public via e-mail is that sometimes a person thinks the anonymity makes it OK to be rude. I have had a few of those, and that always creeps me out. What I love about giving stuff away is that I don't have to pay money to throw it in the dump, and this other person can put it to good use!
...See More
Marilyn_C re:strange raccoon behavior?
Q
Comments (19)
Could have been hand raised. Lots of raccoons that are hand raised don't make it in the wild. For one thing, they are usually released where there are already plenty of raccoons living, and they are chased away. No place for them to go, and always on the run. Some people start to raise a baby raccoon and find out how much trouble it is, or it bites them, and they take it out in the woods and let it go. They think because it is a wild animal, it will do okay, but they don't. It is like dumping out a puppy. They have no idea where to go or where to find food. Some rehabbers will release them where they can leave food out for them....that's called a "soft release". They need that while they try to make an adjustment. Raccoons stay with their siblings or sometimes close to their mothers for the first year of their life, so it is always best that they be released with another one that they have a bond with. I have a short tailed raccoon here too. I call him "Puff". I have been trying to get a picture of him, but can't tell him from the others unless he has his backside turned to me. All I know about him is that he is a member of the "gang" that arrive every evening about 6 and commandeers the cat food bowls...before moving on to the other food that I leave out for them. There was also a big armadillo here that was missing part of his tail, but I haven't seen him for quite awhile. One of the armadillos that I raised last year is still here every night tho. I don't know if it is Henry or Edsel, but it's one of them. He is working on re-landscaping my yard. I finally got the soil improved here by adding lots of mulch, and it is full of earthworms. It was rock hard clay when I started. It seems to be to his liking. I raised him on nightcrawlers that I had to buy by the dozen.
...See More
annzgw
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I find it difficult to believe a puppy in another room has the intelligence to start yelping because it has decided it wants your attention. I'd be more inclined to think it's physical pain from playing with the other puppy, or it could even be that he has oversensitive hearing.

Check out the link below and look for more info on the web........

Here is a link that might be useful: noise
Meghane
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Could be something serious like a portsystemic shunt, which causes weird behavior especially after eating. Can progress into seizures.

Or they may just be dogs. Sometimes one of mine will spontaneously start howling and the others will join in, then the bird screams (unless he started it) and pretty soon I have 3 huskies howling, 1 rottie barking, 1 pomeranian yapping and a screaming amazon parrot (sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas of course).

I've definitely heard some non-injured ShiPoos scream for no reason. Usually right *before* I give them their shots.

Definitely get them checked out. Hope they are just being silly pups!
sweetchastity
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you guys! I will definitely ask the vet about it!
coconut_nj
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Since you said it happened outside with your father when another dog barked I'm wondering if they are hearing that or another dog barking. I had one dog who didn't bark often, but when she'd hear the dog a few houses down bark she would bark. We couldn't hear it inside at all but with a dogs super hearing she could. I'd go outside and be able to hear it a few houses away, and I'm talking a small country town where a few houses away is four acres or so and she could hear it inside our very old thick walled house. Something to consider.
sweetchastity
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for the suggestion Coconut-nj. Our vet wasn't worried and we have enrolled in puppy classes so I think she can confirm if he is nervous, anxious or fearful.

Strange incidents with Shipoo puppy

Comments (7)

murraysmom Zone 6a OH

sweetchastity
Original Author

Related Discussions

annzgw

Meghane

sweetchastity
Original Author

coconut_nj

sweetchastity
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Strange incidents with Shipoo puppy

Comments (7)

murraysmom Zone 6a OH

sweetchastityOriginal Author

Related Discussions

annzgw

Meghane

sweetchastityOriginal Author

coconut_nj

sweetchastityOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

sweetchastity
Original Author

sweetchastity
Original Author

sweetchastity
Original Author