Can dogs hallucinate?

[Maisie]

My dog is behaving really strangely. Its like she is seeing things that aren''t there. She looks around as if she is panicking and is really jumpy. This has been happening for a few days. She is eating normally.

Has anyone come across this before?

 

[lulu]

I''ve heard old wives'' tales about dogs seeing ghosts, but it sounds like there may be a medical problem. If it continues I''d take her to the vet. You don''t have a ghost, do you?

 

[Arkteia]

I assume dogs can experience exactly the same perceptual disturbances as humans. After all, we know that dogs and cats can get depressed - there is liquid Prozac for animals.

 

[elrohwen]

How old is she? Dogs can get dementia as they age which causes confusion and not knowing where they are. One of my childhood dogs had this and it''s somewhat treatable with drugs.

I doubt it''s hallucinations - those are rare enough in people and I''m not sure animals can visualize things in their head the same way we can (if that makes sense).

It''s also possible that she has some other injury or illness that is making her jumpy. Has anything else changed in her surroundings? One of my rabbits gets very jumpy for a few days when too many things in her life change. She generally settles down after a week.

 

[loverocks]

Hi Maisie,
I am normally a lurker but am compelled to write because my dog suffers from canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome. It is very similar to Alzheimer’s in humans and sometime occurs in dogs as they age. It is a diagnosis by exclusion, so your vet will eliminate the possibility that there are other medical conditions which may be effecting your pup. We did a few vet visits and blood/urine/fecal sample analysis to rule out underlying conditions for our dog. Then he was placed on 5.0 mg daily of anipryl daily (generic is also available). It took a few weeks and we started to see improvements. Like you, this started with our dog acting out of character. First he would do the blank stare, get startled, then at night he started pacing and getting stuck in odd places. Other than these cognitive types of symptoms, he was otherwise healthy and eating normally, and was active. We didn''t feel right about his behavior though, and that is what started us on this path. Our vet said that typically he sees pet owners wait a long time to bring in the dog, usually when they start having incontinence. But, if treated early, the medication has shown to slow progression, so hopefully we never get to that point. I know each person has their own views on the pros/cons of medication for themselves and their pets, and in this instance I found it helpful that there was a good deal of information available to help our decision (including reading through the clinical research). I am sorry to hear out your dog, I truly hope nothing is wrong and it would pass. I just wanted to offer you my personal story in case it is helpful to you.
best of luck to you and your pup. hope she feels better soon.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Maise,

I was just reading about foods that you cannot give to cats and dogs.. I know chocolate is bad and onions are bad. In fact this article said that one of them(I don''t remember which) could cause hallucinations. Since you have a young child, perhaps they shared a choclate bar or something. Some food reactions are very bad.

I am just learning about cats myself. I hope your dog is ok.

Thanks,

Annette

 

[Maisie]

Thank you everyone for your comments. Blossom is 6. She is a labrador, not sure how old they live. Could something like doggy alzheimers affect a dog her age? It does seem that she is confused. I have bought some new things for the front room. In fact I had to move the TV stand out of there because she wouldn''t go anywhere near it. I just thought it was her being silly but since then she seems to be suspicious of everything. I really hope its something as simple as her getting freaked out by the new stuff. I would hate for her to have an illness, although I wouldn''t hesitate to give her medication if she was sick.

 

[Lynn B]

OHMYWORD, I have never heard of anything like this. I''m mostly a cat person, although I LOVE dogs, just don''t have as much experience with them.

Unfortunately, I have no advice or input, just wanted to say I hope things get figured out, Maisie, and please keep us posted.

 

[loverocks]

Maisie, I believe your dog is around middle aged if she is 6 yrs. Another thought - perhaps you can check on possible eye/ear problems. This was something that we had checked when first investigating my dog''s issue. I guess it makes sense when you think about it; if a dog is having trouble with seeing/haring it can be disorienting and may cause them to startle easily as they may not see/hear you coming properly. Just a thought....

 

[dragonfly411]

Maisie - I posted in the mental illness thread. I once found a doberman and hew as clinically declared mentally retarded. He would chase things around the yard...around his food dish he used at my house... in the air. He was friendly, but noticeably not right. You might have her checked?

 

[lilyfoot]

Maisie, I am sorry to hear that your dog isn''t acting like herself. Although 6 years old sounds young to us as humans, dogs and cats are actually considered "senior" at age 7. This could be something related to her age, as other posters have stated, or it may have to do with all of the changes going on in your house.

Perhaps her vision is going?

 

[Maisie]

I didn''t realise she was classed as middle aged. Bless her!

I just went to give her some ham and she tilted her head to look at me, like she had to look out of the other eye to see me.. if that makes sense. I think its time for a visit to the vet.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/3/2010 8:52:58 PM
Author: Maisie
I didn''t realise she was classed as middle aged. Bless her!


I just went to give her some ham and she tilted her head to look at me, like she had to look out of the other eye to see me.. if that makes sense. I think its time for a visit to the vet.

I think that''s the best thing to do, Maisie. Hopefully the vet will know what''s wrong. Please keep us posted.

Hugs to you and sweet Blossom!
Lynn

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 6/3/2010 8:52:58 PM
Author: Maisie
I didn''t realise she was classed as middle aged. Bless her!

I just went to give her some ham and she tilted her head to look at me, like she had to look out of the other eye to see me.. if that makes sense. I think its time for a visit to the vet.

It sounds like her vision is going, at least in one eye. Considering there are a lot more serious things that could be wrong, I hope this is it!

This is obviously not the same situation, but our Shih Tzu starts acting funny/jumpy when his hair grows out and blocks his vision.

 

[dragonfly411]

Perhaps she is developing something similar to Moon Blindness in horses. They get to where they can really only see shadows.