Quote:
Our 5-YO Irish Setter... exhibit(s) a strange behavior...
We have several large house plants that have dangling leaves/limbs.
He will walk under them, stop, and go into a bit of a daze. His back legs
then start to tremble slightly and his tail curls into a "c" shape --
it does not go between his legs. He will then lift/move his heads to brush
the leaves -- he stands there for a few minutes.
He does this a few times each day. He does not exhibit this behavior
outside -- only with these potted plants! He is a rescue, so we don't know
if there is something in his past that causes this.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Should we be concerned? Thanks!
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short answer?
yes, i would be concerned -
as this behavior is *indicative*, i have read, of a type of focal-seizure
(IF I AM RECALLING THE INFO CORRECTLY - which i may not be, so do not be too persnickety here!
)
this is much-more often seen in pit-types, bullie-breeds, and other dogs with a common bulldog-ancestry - AmBulls, APBTs, Staffies, Brit-Bulldogs, Boxers, and etc.
WARNING -
in pitties, Bulldogs, Boxers, Dogos, etc, This kind of trancing can result in SEVERE attacks if the dog is INTERRUPTED while seeking to trance. it seems that the dogs find this ~ sensation? ~, ~emotion?~, ~strange thrill?~ to be enjoyable, and interrupting the fun has gotten people SEVERELY hurt by dogs who became intensely over-aroused and highly
aggressive, literally in a matter of seconds.
so... i would be Extremely, Extremely careful!! when this dog is trancing, NOT to bother him...
and i would avoid having visitors approach, pass-by, or speak to the dog, ANYtime he trances.
i would not leave anyone who is not an ADULT who lives with this dog, in the same room with him, un-supervised - ever, not for a second - WHERE these potted-plants are.
if this were MY dog, and i had guests, i would have him out of the room if there were more than 1 or 2 quiet adults, if there were ANY children under 10-YO, or if he seemed at all uncertain or worried by any guest.
Setters have a heritable form of epilepsy which cannot be controlled via meds; because of this tendency in Setters specifically, and the similar epileptic low-level TRANCING in pitties, etc, i would want a neuro-exam by a vet who was either a board-certified specialist,
or a vet who is very, very familiar with even mild and unusual forms of epilepsy.
Pitties + bully-breed mixes have been filmed triggering trancing by walking into a closet and sliding along under hanging clothing, and the same violent assaults have occurred when someone reached in for a coat, or to hang-up or put away something, and BRUSHED-Against the dog...
so i would watch for that generalized behavior, and CLOSE the closet-doors
if he has this interest in overhead contact + brushing under things.
it is the first time i have heard of this in any Setter -
Irish, Engl, Gordon, Red-N-White, never heard of it before.
a TEACHING vet-college might love to have the chance to see this dog...
he could have answers that might help the epileptic Irish Setters, who are so heartbreaking, often dead before their 2nd B-Day.
a salivary/cheek-swab for DNA is one non-intrusive means to check for a clue in his genes; this can be done
Now and saved to be studied in future research; consider doing that soon, so they have his DNA on-file before he dies.
nobody lives forever... not even our sweet, dear dogs.
please let us know how he gets on, and what the vet sees,
Rx, and any Dx, if possible. this is a very unusual case, In My Experience -
altho for all i know, there COULD be a breeder somewhere who has a 1 in 4 chance
of throwing a pup like this fella. how can we know? (shrug)
they are not going to brag about it, surely!
best regards,
--- terry
Strange Behavior -- What does it mean?
re Red-Setter enters trance/shakes under close-overhead branches
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders in Dogs
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