CL66
MH
Posts:399
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| 07/27/2010 5:38 AM |
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it's been a running joke amongst my family that our older dog rupert is a little 'simple' for want of a better word. He sometimes acts really weirdly, wanders around aimlessly, stands and stares at nothing in particular for ages and ages, falls asleep standing up, creeps people out etc.
Does anyone else ever think their dog is a little odd like that, and can dogs be autistic or anything.
Not that i'm saying mine is, just interested really  |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
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Posts:2438
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| 07/27/2010 6:05 AM |
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I have no idea if they can be a little off...I supose anything is possible but how to tell what would be hard...I mean physical retardtions you can see and animals have had those...
Mine don't do anything too strange like what you described...mine seem to be with it and acutallly I think very smart compared to other dogs I have had....though everyonce in a while we will talk about their A.D.D. moments....like in the movie UP and one minute the dog is talking about something and then the next he is like squirel! |
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http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2553
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2554 |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:3914
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| 07/27/2010 7:03 AM |
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This is how I look at it -
if a dog doesn't do its business inappropriately,doesn't cause nuisance barking,doesn't knock the kids down,doesn't bite and doesn't annoy me to be walked in the mornings - I'M HAPPY. I can live with any other retardedness that may come along.
I know more 'normal' dogs than people.
Scary - isn't it?
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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Gunnar
MH
Posts:288
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| 07/27/2010 8:28 AM |
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Thank God puppies have ADD and are easily distracted.
Never underestimate your dog, he may be staring at something you can't see or he may be following his nose. I'm convinced dogs see dead people.
The sleeping standing up, hey I doze where ever so who am I to judge  |
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JMSGunner
Bucks County, PA
MH
Posts:756
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| 07/27/2010 8:54 AM |
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Had to laugh... my boyfriend always tells his cousing that he thinks his dog acts and looks a little slow... i think he just has cute lab puppy face
No real insight to your question though other then kinda just sounds like a dog being a dog to me! I have seen the staring at walls or at nothing in particular, but it could be a bug or a weird new shadow or something, too. |
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Jackie & Gunner
Impressive Gewehr von Catskill 4/19/2010
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
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Posts:6748
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| 07/27/2010 1:18 PM |
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I have known of some senior dogs that appeared to be almost senile, meaning they would get confused about where they were going, personality changes, etc. I would even expect that a dog could be retarded, but have no clue how it would manifest itself. That said you have to remember that dogs can hear, smell and in general sense things that we as humans do not, so what appears to us as a dog staring aimlessly in one direction may in fact be a dog that senses the barometric pressure drop long before a storm gets to us. Staring at the wall may in fact be a mouse in the wall or even a bug like a cockroach that they hear or smell, but we don't. As a perfect example last night I was out on the patio and my boy was literally staring/pointing at my bicycle. I couldn't for the longest time figure out what he was doing until I finally found a black colored spider on the handle (also black) of my bike. My boy had discovered crickets a few nights earlier and was on alert for any bug that moved at night.
As for sleeping standing up, I have put mine on a stand/stay or sit/stay and looked over at them and they have their eyes closed. Not really so weird as some people do the same thing.
Tune into the dogs world and you might be surprised to find there is really some point to what your dog is doing. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
     
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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CL66
MH
Posts:399
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| 07/28/2010 1:39 AM |
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haha pixie yeah scary when you know more normal dogs than people!!
I know dogs sense and see things that we don't but this happens 10 plus times a day, and he's not pointing anything with intent, just looking really gormless with droopy eyes. it's really weird. i give him the benefit of the doubt that he's sensing something we've not noticed, but with solid brick walls don't think there are any critters lurking.
We do have odd things happen in our house..tv turns on and off by itself..lights turn on and off by themselves ..toilets flush on their own. Maybe he's totally freaked out!!!!! |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
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Posts:2438
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| 07/28/2010 6:33 AM |
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| I had heard about dogs sensing ghost....booooooo.....and with all that crazy stuff going on maybe he is seeing ghost..... |
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http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2553
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2554 |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
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Posts:6748
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| 07/28/2010 11:31 AM |
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| Heck if all that is happening in your house I might be right there with your dog staring at nothing. Ever thought about moving? That is spooky. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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CL66
MH
Posts:399
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| 07/28/2010 1:30 PM |
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| We have moved tb, and it's now happening in our new house too!! I always wondered if that's why he freaked out at night and sometimes when left alone. I certainly get the heeby jeebies!! |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:3914
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| 07/29/2010 6:49 AM |
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You have traveling ghosts?
EEKKK!
I think you just need a better contractor.
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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Gunnar
MH
Posts:288
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| 07/29/2010 9:42 AM |
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Ghosts have been known to follow people....
( scary music )
OOoooooooooooooooooo
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been far east
MH
Posts:264
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| 07/30/2010 9:32 PM |
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| Do you ever watch that british show on ghosts ? People who stay in those haunted homes over night . NOT FOR ME. My dog blacky years ago had fallen a sleep standing up with his head in a box .Wish i had taken pictures .He didnt want to go to his bed . He was afraid of missing out on something i was doing . He went everywhere with me .Kind of like a child fighting off sleep , so cute. ( been far east) |
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TessaGA
Georgia
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Posts:2378
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| 08/02/2010 8:46 AM |
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How old is Rupert?
I once had an old dog that developed Alzheimers, formerly called simply "senile", at age 13. Physically, she was in great shape, but mentally she was a mess - some of what you describe is typical. She would pace all night and sleep all day. When I gave her a dog bone she took it in her mouth but didn't know what to do with it. She seemed very spacy, out of it. She didn't greet me anymore when I came home - she may not have recognized me.
I also had a dog that we always thought was obviously retarded. She was very, very sweet - actually, one of my favorite dogs ever - but she was not very smart and was totally untrainable even for the most basic things. I have read that one sign of retardation in dogs is that they are extremely affectionate, which she was. So I wondered ... |
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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CL66
MH
Posts:399
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| 08/02/2010 9:57 AM |
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Tessa, Rupert's only 12 months. Our last dog got alzheimers and cushings and it's so sad when they don't really know you and get those glazed eyes isn't it.
Yeah, Rupert's ridiculously affectionate to everyone. And really pathetic and wimpy. But it's the weird staring/spacy thing that is the strangest thing. The other day he came to the back door, one foot was in the house and he stopped, not pointing or anything, just stopped and gazed at my partner. My partner then went in the other room for 10 mins or so and came back and he was still stood there with one foot inside the door. Freak!! |
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