Collie wobbles... collie behaviour advice

[Oflaughter]

Hello, I'm looking for help regarding collie behaviour!

If anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it.

So, we have a a rescued Collie X who has been with us a year now. She suffers from nervous aggression and last month had a seizure that the vet believes could be epilepsy. She has a tablet in her breakfast to help protect her nerves if she were to have another. She has always eaten her food straight away and can't wait to get her treat for doing so. But recently she won't touch it, and moves away from us like she's scared or extremely worried. When the food has been out for a while she will go and eat, sometimes when we're not watching or in another room. The attached picture is just as I've put some food out, she doesn't normally sit like that. I'm wondering if maybe she's had a stroke? It's been the past five or six days. What we really can't figure out is her behaviour, she moves slightly away and curls up, looking up like we're going to beat her. We just can't read it, neither of us can think of any reason this has started either.

Ps. She is fine when a walk is mentioned, or someone knocks on the door. Has been spending a lot more time in her bed.

Thanks a lot for any help in advance.

 

[JoanneF]

Sorry I don't have much to offer but I didn't want to read and run. There will be others along with more advice soon. But if she takes treats you could try using her food in that way, giving it by hand. Or would she take it if you scatter it around (if it's not too messy, maybe you don't use kibble ...). I have heard people get results from changing the bowl, if it is too deep she may not have great peripheral vision around it and that can cause anxiety. Or if her dog tag bangs against it and makes a noise, that might be putting her off. Sorry these are just a few thoughts, they may be totally off beam but you could strike lucky on one of them.

 

[Oflaughter]

Thanks Joanne for your reply. We've been using the same bowl since she came home, nothing new at all, which is why it strikes us as so odd. Also, not interested in playing as much when she has always been a really chirpy dog.

Thanks for your time.

 

[dogmatize]

I think that if I were in your situation I would go back to the vet and let them know about the behavioural changes. I would ask the vet to consider whether the fit could be a sign of any specific brain diseases that might need investigating further.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Give your vet a call and see if the drugs could cause this behaviour.

She does look fearful in the photo. Dogs can pick up fears and phobias about familiar things at any time. I would move her feeding station to another part of the house, and use a different bowl, to see if that helps.

You say you have been giving her a treat for eating her food. Does this mean that she was a poor eater and you had to encourage her? She may well have picked up your anxieties over food. My husband managed to teach my dog not to eat her food, in two days, by hovering over her and trying to encourage her to eat it! He kept saying good girl every time she left it!

If this has happened to your dog then you need to put the food down, not making eye contact while you do it, and then busy yourself around the room. Give her ten minutes or so to eat it then, without making eye contact again, pick it up until the next meal time. Stay relaxed and happy at all times around meal times. She may be feeling pressure even if it is understandably worrying when they won't eat.