My brother Mason is seeing things? Hearing things?

[Sage]

Sage has a 6 month old brother, Mason. Mason is a Hanging Tree/Lab mix and has been suddenly acting very frightened to the point of not wanting to go outside (two dog doors available to 3 fenced acres 24/7). But I have noticed, when he is sitting right in front of me he will look up, moving his eyes more than his head, and then appear to follow something left to right, right to left for a second or two and then he will quickly move to another location (in the room or house) doing so low to the floor and with his tail between his legs...obviously scared. When he does finally settle into a spot, and closes his eyes to try and nap, I notice his ears on full alert, laid back but open and very active. When he is up his ears do the same, like something is constantly affecting them.

This all started, all of a sudden. But there is a twist, I put all the dogs away indoors, closed all the dog doors, and spent an hour or two spraying Round-Up along the fence lines, around the oaks and other trees, the pasture boarder, and down on the lower 2 acres (where the dogs can't go). The yard is off limits to them, as always, until the following day. Mason saw me pass by one of the sliders and barked at me like I was a stranger and all we could figure was that it was the back-pack sprayer I had on freaked him out. I finished, cleaned up, put everything away, clothes to the machine and me to the shower.

When I got out I went to take the dogs out to the front (where no spraying took place) and noticed Mason was on edge, and then wouldn't dare set one paw out that front door. He was looking toward the backyard and smells hard at the air and then would go into a small panic of sorts. Refused to leave the house, barked as if he was seeing a deer or even something more threatening, and there was nothing there.
I figured any minute he would stop this odd behavior but it continued. And it continued through the night and even through today. It was late last night that I noticed this thing with his eyes, looking up, follow something, and then move away from that spot quickly as if to get away from what he was "seeing." And I have yet to see his ears lay down yet.
I went through the house unplugging every appliance, adapter, printer, phone, lamp, you name it. If it had electricity involved it was disconnected. Nothing changed. By this late afternoon Mason did find the fortitude to brave heading out back but only with the other dog and only tentatively and quick to retreat back indoors. I leashed him up and walked him out to the middle of the pasture and spent a 1/2 hr comforting him because he was in that constant state of alert. I let him loose out there and headed back to the house. When we got to the border of the pasture, which I had sprayed the day before Mason came to a complete stop 5 feet from it and did not want to cross this boarder. He crept up to it leading with his nose and ready to pull back like a mongoose. I was almost to the back door and he decided to jump the boarder and then sprint straight through the door dog.

Has anyone had a similar experience?
Has anyone discovered anything in their home that was bothering their dog's hearing but couldn't hear the frequency themselves?
I know Mason had zero direct contact with the Round-Up but has anyone seen their dog react to Round-Up this way?
Is it possible it just triggers a fight/flight in some dogs?
I hope tomorrow he wakes up with this little misadventure behind him.
Mason has no other symptoms of toxicity whatsoever.

[mytil]

That does sound strange, but there are many things dogs see and smell we do not. It could be the definite smell of the round-up.

Where did you get Mason? could have had a bad experience with this before or something similar in smell. Did Mason have a spat with one of the others?

I can only guess here from some similar experiences I have had. Two of mine are afraid of flies and bees (one is allergic to bees). Two come running back in if one flies around them as last year we had a yellow jacket nest in the ground near the edge of the yard and all were stung last year. Another time there was a small animal dead in the yard (neighbor cat killed a bird) - they took one smell outside the door and would not go out (smelled death).

Let us know how things go today.
Terry

PS - do you have any snakes? I just thought of this - last year we had several garter snakes in the ground. It took me forever to see this, but the dogs did and would not go within 10 feet of the area. It could be the roundup disturbed something in the ground.

[frijole]

I bought one of those pest control plug in things years ago - to scare away mice and critters. My dog Haley acted strange like you mentioned. As soon as I unplugged it she was normal again. Do you think one of your neighbors might have one plugged in? Just a thought. Kim

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Sage,

Roundup is a marvelously effective product and it does it's job with wild abandon. It's job is to kill plants. But every time my brother has used it, I find dead animals throughout the next month - rabbits and squirrels mostly. You can google Roundup and learn all about the extensive testing they have done that prove it is not harmful to anything that isn't plant - my eyes tell me a different story.

My niece has a Pug who has had some behavior issues similar to what you describe in Mason except hers is more exaggerated - she runs off for weeks at a time and acts absolutely terrified of everything. I hadn't made any connection between her behavior and the times Roundup has been used but I will pay closer attention next time.

I am one who thinks all these poisons we humans use to control Mother Nature are killing all of us, including Her. ;) I will spend months trying to find an alternative. There isn't always one available that works as well or as quickly but there is usually something less toxic. I live in the country and as such we have mice. I have finally convinced my brother that rat poisons are dangerous for the other lives around here so we started using the glue traps. I can't use them either because the little things suffer. But, my grandson has a Beagle puppy now who has proven to be a great mouser! :)

Again, in googling I ran across several sites where folks believe Roundup was responsible for the death of their cats or dogs as well as tales of complications believed to result from exposure...including behavior changes. One thing we have to recognize - regardless of all the science and testing, there is no way to prove a chemical is safe for all life that is exposed because each biological system is unique and as a result will not react the same across the board.

That's all of my "sermon" for today. Just be extra cautious and observant of Mason's behavior when around chemicals. It may be that he is one who is super sensitive to such things. ;)

Hugs,
Leslie

[Sage]

Mytil:
I got Mason at 8 weeks old in Idaho from a rancher. Mason is now 6 months old. None of this behavior had been displayed until just the other day. While he is venturing outside now there is still something that it bothering him. He still looks up, always up, appears to follow something with his eyes, and then moves away from that area. Even in the middle of the pasture he will do this so it’s not a sudden fear of what is above him in a single location.
Because of his ears being on such full alert I can’t be sure if it is just a sound that is drawing his eyes up or if there is a visual stimulus. We are out in the country and do have bats that are quit active this time of year which can produce some very high frequency sounds but it just does not add up with how often Mason behaves this way.
We do have snakes, but there is no particular area of the yard he is overly concerned with and just prior to a few days ago he would be more likely (unfortunately) to bark at and circle the darn thing. Mason wasn’t afraid of much, a few days ago.

Frijole:
I called all the neighbors to ask them just that, but nobody has any such high frequency device to repel rodents. That was one of the first things I guessed, that something new, that humans can’t hear, has just been activated. I asked how their dogs were behaving and no other dog around us seems to be pre-occupied like Mason.

Leslie:
This is Mason’s first Spring, I’m sure the air is filled with brand new smells and pollen. I really don’t look at this as his response to Round-Up as a chemical herbicide but that the residual smell represents an instinctive response from him. The internet is full of extreme groups that allow their passion for an issue to replace hard cold evidence. And in doing so they just muddy the waters so the truth stays obscured. Politics aside, I won’t use Round-Up next year because my dog Mason freaks out from the smell. He was acting like a 100 male mountain lions all marked his yard at once while he was in the house for an hour.
Today he is going back out in the yard on his own so the only remaining item in all this is the mild hallucination (visual?, auditory?) that has him confused. Every other aspect of his behavior is normal 6 month old pup stuff and there is not a single physical symptom of toxicity in any form. He eats a bunch of things out in the yard, I think by now he has tried everything at least once. I had a Retriever who ate a walnut husk (she was 8 at the time) that had a naturally occurring toxin which landed her in the hospital for 6 days and nights. The vets all thought if she does make it, she would most likely have suffered permanent physical a mental damage. She did make it and lucky for us never developed any side effects from the trauma. She lived to 14. Perhaps Mason nibbled on just the wrong thing at the wrong time….?
If only our dogs could talk....

Thanks for the replies.

[Sage]

Here is an interesting link to a paper on hypothyroidism by Aronson & Dodds that does mention auditory hallucination as one of many behavioral symptoms:
http://www.dogs4dogs.com/JR_Articles/dog-thyroid-and-behavior.htm
“Superstitious behaviors - watching the ceiling or wall for no apparent reason, refusing to walk on particular surfaces - may appear.”
Also,
“Visual and auditory hallucinations can be mistaken for schizophrenia or psychosis. Fear - ranging from mild anxiety to frank paranoia; mood swings; and aggression have also been reported in hypothyroid patients (human) (Denicoff et al 1990).”

Interesting read.
Naturally, I am hoping Mason’s sudden pre-occupation with the ceiling and the sky will abate soon. Did the odor of Round-Up set this episode in motion?
Based on the timeline, I don’t see how that can be ruled out as the number one variable.
I just posted this in hopes that someone has experienced this…
Any owners of hypothyroid dogs out there who have seen firsthand these auditory symptoms in the onset?

[Sage]

Just an update…
A full 10 days have passed since Mason was at the peak of his mild hallucination venture. It slowly occurred less and less and now he is behaving normally. There was one added variable to the mix of possibilities, however. I found a half-eaten Sharpie Permanent Marker in a fold of his dog bed back on the 26’th of April. Although all the online information seemed to confirm that these pens are “non-toxic” (with normal use), they do contain industrial solvents and the chemical literature was vague and ambiguous. The only article I found that applied to Mason had this in it:
“The effect of marker inhalation is much the same as drinking too much alcohol. For a moment, the person feels uninhibited and happy. However, in higher doses, inhaling the fumes can cause vivid hallucinations. The short-term side effects of inhalation include nausea, memory loss and vision disturbances.”
But Mason did not have a “short term” side effect for it lasted days, 4 to 5, I’d say, so the Sharpie might be off the hook.

So there still is a mystery in all of it…the scent Round-Up? The Sharpie? Or whatever else a 6 month old pup can ingest in a three acre rural yard that would cause him to “trip” for several days. So Mason is ok, and now that we know he is capable of reaching well up onto desks and other surfaces we have gone over our entire property gathering any and all things that even have a remote chance of being toxic, despite their “non-toxic” claims. This included about three pounds of puppy toys (gifts) made in China……

[mytil]

I am glad Mason is better - but what a weird mystery. It could have been the sharpie, and like you said it could have been anything. What did your vet say about this.

Glad things are back to normal. :)
Terry

[Sage]

I called my vet during the peak of this behavior because I naturally figured he would have to have heard of this before. The receptionists returned to the phone and said, "He thinks your dog got spooked by a mountain lion."
My fault for not insisting to talk with the Vet himself because I'm sure my detailed description of Mason's behavior was reduced to "he says his dog is affraid to go outside." If there was one physical symptom of toxicity (vomitting, drooling, lethargy...) I would have taken Mason in with no delay, of course.
So Mason is fine, appears no worse for wear, and I have become more aware of all the dangerous substances in our homes and even the ones being offered to us at the "Pet Store" due to my research of canine hallucination.

[Harley PoMMom]

Just throwing this out there...but I wonder if Mason got into some wild mushrooms. Psilocybin mushrooms can cause hallucinations.

Glad to hear Mason is feeling better.

[Sage]

Very possible considering we have had a wet spring here in the Sierra foothills. If so, I hope Mason was able to correlate his nibbling with the discomfort he displayed and crossed any further experimentation off his list!
Got to keep an eye on those youngsters...