My dog is doing strange behaviour

[ann231]

I have been gone all day at work and he was left longer than normal alone. He has had this happen before and in the morning he will be normal again but he jumps from the bed to a chair to the floor to the bed. He is moving from place to place constantly. Going in circles trying to get comfortable. Scratching the bed. He cant get comfortable. He jumps up as if stung by a bee. Licking his lips over and over. Shivering and doing downward dog position and up dog position....  stretching his stomach.. I think. Some of the time he is nodding his head up and down over and over. Everyone and then I hear his stomach gurgle and squeak. Any suggestions as to what this could be?
Thanks Ann

[tonyb286]

You are very welcome. Hope things improve. Let us know how you get on. Tony

[ann231]

Hi Tony
Thank you SO MUCH for your response. I will take everything in to consideration. It really makes sense. I can lessen my time away too.
Many Thanks
Ann

[tonyb286]

Hello Ann. First, I think the cause is the longer time alone, which has caused him to become stressed and nervous - and then over-excited at seeing you return home. Dogs behave entirely from pack intuition. So, his job is to protect you - but when you go out, he can't protect you, so he gets nervous and afraid. When you don't return when expected, he gets more nervous and more afraid. In his head he's thinking ... what's happened, where is she, is she still ok, will she come back, who will bring me food, how can I get out, how can I go find her.

Imagine this intense build-up of nervous energy and anxiety as it grows during the time you are away, then suddenly you come home - and his burst of excitement actually adds to the stress on his digestive system, which is already in knots. The likelihood is that you then feed him, which adds even more stress to his digestive system, because it isn't relaxed enough to do its job.

So ... he gets acid reflux and indigestion. The stretching is the typical symptom of a dog with indigestion as it tries to ease the discomfort.

There are of course several remedies to this depending on your circumstances. First, can you prevent the length of time you are away becoming more than usual? Second, if not, can you get someone to call on him half way through the period, just to let him out and give him some fresh water and food? Third, don't feed him as soon as you get in, leave it at least an hour, so he calms down enough to be able to digestive it properly. Finally, if you are out of the house for more than 4 hours at a time, you need to start teaching him how to deal with it - look up Separation Anxiety on the net and follow the tough behavioral program guides. One thing about dealing with sep anxiety in dogs ... it's success depends entirely on how consistent you can manage the program.

Good luck.

Tony