Yesterday evening I decided to sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous evening. I was sitting by the pool and tossing a ball to the three furkids. All of a sudden Toby seemed to realize that the pool was there. He stuck his nose down by the water and started running in a sort of side-step fashion around the pool with his nose still maybe an inch from the water line. He was REALLY running. I was watching all of this pretty closely as this was one of the first times Toby had been in the pool area. Soon after he came to live with us six months ago he got so sick and by the time he was fully recovered the summer was pretty much over and the water a bit to cold for swimming.
So he starts this odd running thing and continues to do it! He probably sidestepped around the pool at least ten times. I would call him and he would stop for just a second and look at me. Then the nose would go down to the water and he would start it all over again. It is really strange. I suspect that he may see his reflection but if that were the case I wonder why he is running (side-stepping) like that. After this continued a few more times I decided to call him for a treat. He wouldn't even come to me for that! Buelah and Oscy came running....they had been weiner wrestling over a toy and even THAT didn't make him stop the circle around the pool. Finally I picked him up and brought him to sit with me. I was starting to worry that he would get dizzy and fall in head first. I mean, the little guy was MOVING around that pool with his nose down. When I picked him up he was shaking like a leaf! I hadn't realized when he was doing it that he was stressed but clearly he was. We went inside then and I gave him his treat and he calmed down but he didn't want to be away from me at all.
What struck me as odd is that the behavior was almost compulsive I think. Has anyone else experienced anything like this repetitive behavior with there furkids?
I'm not sure what to do with this......
Hey Terri,
I agree that is really strange. Not sure what to tell you about that one. Maybe he thinks it is a really big water bowl and is just really confused. It should be pretty warm this weekend, maybe you should take him for a swim and see how he does. Hopefully someone else has a better answer than me.
Julie
That is strange. Was he seeing the pool cleaner, the drain hole, or lights reflected in the water? I don't know much about pools, being in Alaska and all. ALTHOUGH there is a pool company in Fairbanks, Alaska up north. It does get warm enough for a pool in our area (85 in July) but the season is short. We always just swam in the lakes, and trust me, they are cold!
Another suggestion - maybe he is seeing his reflection and playing with it??
Terri, can you email me at work when you get a chance. We just got new computers and I lost my contact list, so I don't have your work email anymore.
Julie
Maybe he saw his reflection is the water and was trying to run from the "other dog in the water"? But, he kept sidestepping cause he wanted to keep an eye on the "other dog" he saw? I don't really know for sure but that would be my guess. That is pretty strange. Porky sticks his nose into water to judge how deep it is so maybe thats what Toby was doing and he was sidestepping to see if the water was less deep in a different spot maybe?