Staring could be a compulsive behavior, rather like compulsive disorders in people. Other Reasons Why Your Dog Is Staring at the WallĬognitive Dysfunction Syndrome and seizures are the more common medical reasons why dogs stare at walls, but there are some other possibilities. In most cases, these seizures can be managed with medications, and you definitely want to make sure the cause is not something serious, like cancer or poison. Partial seizures can have a variety of causes, from cancer to epilepsy. These seizures are often hard to diagnose, but if you repeatedly catch your dog staring at the wall, contact your veterinarian for an expert opinion. Staring at the wall or staring into space could be a symptom of a type of seizure called a partial seizure or a focal seizure. We typically associate seizures in dogs with dramatic symptoms, such as convulsions and frothing at the mouth, but seizures can also present with less dramatic symptoms like staring at a wall. She can prescribe medications to help your dog sleep through the night and to help manage the dog’s anxiety, and may also recommend strategies for coping with changes in behavior and house soiling. Your veterinarian can also help manage any additional symptoms your dog may have besides staring at the wall. Once diagnosed, your veterinarian may recommend increased mental stimulation for your dog, in the form of play and exercise, in addition to feeding him an antioxidant-rich diet. The first step is taking your dog to the veterinarian to get an accurate diagnosis. There are several things you can do to help a dog with CDS. In other words, if your senior dog is staring at a wall, it is probably not termites or a restless spirit, but rather a byproduct of aging. The first symptom, disorientation, can present itself in a few ways, but the most common are: walking aimlessly, getting stuck in corners, and-you guessed it-staring at walls. However, many dogs only develop one or two of these symptoms, which leads owners to assume the problem is caused by something else and makes diagnoses difficult. These symptoms are categorized by the acronym DISH.Ĭhanges in how your dog interacts with his environment (disorientation), interacts with people (interactions), changes in sleep habits (sleep), and disregard for previously learned house-training rules (house-training) are all symptoms of CDS. Veterinarians first rule out any other possible causes for your dog’s symptoms. This is due, in part, to the fact that diagnosing CDS is tricky and is mostly done by process of elimination. As many as 28 percent of dogs aged 11-to-12 have CDS, and that percentage increases as dogs age. In a nutshell, CDS causes a decline in cognitive function in dogs, and the disease is very common among senior canines. Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS) is similar to Alzheimer’s disease in people and is becoming more common as our dogs live longer than they used to. Cognitive Dysfunction SyndromeĪs dogs age, like humans, they sometimes exhibit symptoms of senility. There are several conditions that are far more likely, and some of them are serious. Unfortunately, infestations and ghosts are not the most common cause of dogs staring at walls. Ghosts are probably not the reason behind your dog’s new habit, so you can take ghost busters off speed dial and give your veterinarian a call instead. Scientifically speaking, however, the answer is “no.” Many people believe that animals are more sensitive to the supernatural, but when it comes to your dog, play it safe. A quick search for why dogs stare at walls reveals a lot of speculation about paranormal activity, which is fueled by plenty of popular horror movies. The Internet is a great place to find fascinating theories that don’t necessarily have any basis in fact. If you suspect there might be something there, call an exterminator. See if your dog tilts her head from time to time, as if she is following a noise, and press your ear against the wall to see if you can hear anything. If your dog is staring at a wall, sit down next to her and listen quietly. Squirrels, termites, bees, and all sorts of other critters tend to move in alongside us, often without our realization, but they can’t sneak past our observant canines. Sometimes, this means that they pick up on things we don’t –- such as infestations. Is There Something in the Wall?ĭogs have significantly better hearing than we do. Let’s take a look at some of the plausible-and implausible-reasons behind this strange behavior. Is there something in the wall? Is there a ghost? Is your dog sick? This particular odd behavior inspires a lot of questions, but the answers might surprise you. Walking into a room to find your dog staring at the wall is a little disconcerting, to say the least.
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