This sounds a little like the "Z" issue with the new couch, but this is freaky. Yesterday was a rainy yucky day, perfect for watching mindless TV and working on my quilt. Schatzie was fine all day snoozing in her kennel and around noonish decided to come out to say hello. The house was quiet and we were completely alone. Then, without warning, she leapt up, spun around and went nuts barking at the corner of the room. There was nothing there. Seriously, nothing. I am not in the habit of yelling at her, so I said quietly "Schatzie, that's enough. Be quiet". She stood there with the fur on the back of neck standing up, growling at the corner, then she started backing up. Now, she was freaking me out a little. Her posture was really "threatened" and she was genuinely scared. I reached down and picked her up and gave her a snuggle and she was fine but shaking. However, now, every so often when she walks into that room, she always casts an unwary glance over into that corner and gives a little "ruh".
My house is not haunted. I've been here for many years so I think I would know, but are doxies prone to that weird "cat thing" - you know, seeing things that simply aren't there? I went and investigated the corner. Nothing has changed, no furniture moved, no new items, no new anything. I'm wondering if maybe she wasn't entirely awake and perhaps was half-dreaming? What's up with this dog and how can I demonstrate to her that there's nothing to be afraid of over there? This came on so fast and completely and I can't make heads or tails of it.
My guess is you have mice in the walls and she heard it?
Other than that...I'd get out of there fast and burn the house down! :grin: Yikes!
I don't know where you live, but here in the Philadelphia region we are seeing signs of spring-- I SAW A ROBIN!!! And also, the hoot owls are calling and looking for love. Crows are pairing up and the ewes in the field are visably pregnant now.
Dollars to donuts, a critter is nesting in that wall or the attic above. We have also had starlings nest in our gutters.
or, like Dee Dee sed, ya gotta run and burn the house down. :crazyeyes:
Seriously, you demondstaate everything is okay by ignoring it.
Is there a floor vent in that corner by any chance? A cat or a possum will get under our house at times and try to take up residency. Once Hallie was staring down the vent and I could actually hear gutteral sounds and hissing coming up it from a possum! If that wasn't creepy! Luckily Hallie is not a hunter and just looked at it with slight interest and carried along on her way but she did go over to sniff there several times I'm sure the smells were delicious to her.
Another vote for critters in the wall. When we lived in our condo, Rudy-angel used to dive under pieces of furniture and growl and bark at the wall. It turned out there was rat that was moving around. Interestingly, the rat was spotted in every unit in the building except the ones where the owners had dogs. When it finally came to grief, the offending rat had no tail. We were never able to confirm it, but most of the residents speculated that it was Rudy that got the tail.
Well, I have to say that this site along with my dog acting strangely may have saved my family from a potentially dangerous situation. You're not going to believe this - I read the posts here and thought that I should get on my hands and knees and look around that area to check for mouse activity. Nope, nothing, but I knew she must be reacting to something. Instead, I went outside to the area where Schatzie was barking at. Same old stuff - bulk head, dryer vent, water pipe. I was ready to go back in but thought I should take another look. Then, I heard it. The dryer downstairs was running and something just sounded different, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I walked over to the dryer vent and pulled open the little flaps - the vent was completely clogged with lint and sounded "muffled", different than it usually sounds. I pulled out the lint and there was so much of it! Potentially this could have been a fire hazard and in the winter, we rarely go out there. Without her odd behavior, I would not have investigated and would not know about the build up. Was Schatzie reacting to the "different" sound, it's entirely possible. Yes, doxies are quirky but I'm glad I listened to her "warning" and took the advice from this site. Good job, Wiener Writings. Good girl, Schatzie.
I'm with the others-something in the wall, or under the house. The last house we lived in had a place where a cat could get under the house. There was a tomcat that was determined to get under there and Kendall-angel would go from vent to vent in the house sniffing him out. It would drive us crazy, especially before we figured out what it was. We were finally able to block off the place he was getting in. It could also be that she heard something first, and then picked up on their smell which is what really got her going. Randy said it could always be a snake, but that's because he likes to try to freak people out by making them think there's a snake in their walls! I just ignore him when he does that!
Thanks alot, Randy - I will be awake at 2am trying not to think about a snake in the wall. Yuck! Once I cleaned out the vent, she hasn't bothered to even look at the corner, so I'm not sure what to make of it. Maybe it was a lint snake. sssssssssilly!