Help!! What's wrong with my dog?

loislane

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#1
I am at my wits end and thought I would ask for your opinion. Sorry so long.

My dog is a boxer mix who is almost 2 yrs old. He is a wonderful dog that we are crazy over. He's an inside dog who has the best dispostion and behavior, except for the last week or so. Since Friday evening he has been acting like a different dog. It's almost like someone came in and took my Rocky and left another dog in his place. We have a great schedule. Both of us work during the day, but I work close enough that I come home to take him out for about 30-40 min. He's then alone at home for 3 1/2 hrs. more. We spend the rest of the evening playing with him. Since Friday night, all he has done has been to pace all over the house like he's looking for something and crying. He whines and cries and keeps ringing the bell to go outside. Once out, he will just walk all over the place sniffing or smelling the air. What's wrong with him? This is our first time having a dog so we don't have a lot of experience.

Like I said we have had a great schedule so far. By 10 pm he is usually half asleep on the floor. I take him out 1 more time, then he almost knocks us over to get to the bed. Every so often he will wake up in the middle of the night to go out, but it's usually if he had to eat later than usual. Last night was completly different. I took him out at 10, then we came in to go to bed. He would not lay down. He spent the whole night coming into our room, pacing all over the floor, going back to the living room and ringing the bell. I took him out twice, but he only peed a small amount. This went on all night. I finally got up and spent the rest of the night on the couch. He would lay down beside me on the floor or in his chair for about 30 minutes and then start all over again with pacing and crying. I feel so tired this morning. I feel like my husband thinks it's my fault. He says that Rocky has me trained, but this is so unlike him. Do you have any ideas? I would really appreciate it. Again, sorry so long.
 

Barb04

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#2
Do you know if he's peeing enough. Maybe he has an infection if he's not. I'd watch and see if he pees enough whenever you let him out.

My other thought is that maybe there's a female in heat in your area.

Also, try copying and pasting this question in the Health Section for more attention.
 

loislane

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#3
Thanks, I just reposted it.

He seems to be peeing enough. My husband leaves the house first in the morning. This morning after he left, I took Rocky out for a little longer. He went around and peed/marked 10 different times, so I know he got it all out. I wondered about an infection, but I wasn't sure. When I brought him back in this morning, he started all over again whinning and crying to go back out.
 

avenlee

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#4
I'm with Barb here. Is he neutered? 2 yrs is when they (female or male) really hit their maturity age. In my experiences anyway. Harmones are racing ... Another question I'd like to ask is has there been any kind of changes in your house? Even a different piece of furniture? Also, have you had stormy weather lately?
 

loislane

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#5
Remember I'm really new at this, so excuse the stupid questions. Would NOT be neutered cause a dog to act this way, especially if there was a female in heat close by (I don't know if there is one, but there are a lot of dogs running loose around us) No changes in the house. My husband went deer hunting this weekend (was gone Fri and Sat night) but this has happened other times with no problems. Now that my husband is back, he is still acting this same way. Thanks for the replies.
 

wildwings811

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#6
I would say that if your dog is not neutered than there is more than likely a female in heat in your area your dog is 2 years old and now hitting the sexual maturity age where he wants to find a mate and knows when a female is in heat
 

panzer426

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#7
I'd bet its a female in heat as well. dogs have incredible sense of smell so she could be maybe a mile or more away and get him excited. or she could be one of the loose dogs and maybe she comes past your property now and then. he sounds excited about the possibility of meeting a pretty girl. keep a very close eye on him, I would even go so far as to suggest that he not be allowed outside without a leash on for a while. male dogs have been known to go to extraordinary lengths to reach a female in heat. they have eaten through house walls, jumped 8 foot fences, dug out, chewed through fences, jumped through windows, and a lot more.
 

loislane

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#8
We never take him outside without a leash. I have noticed that he keeps going to particular spots in the yard and sniffing and licking them. I have been thinking this was the problem.

Questions: Is he too old to have neutered?
Would having him neutered cause him to stop crying to go outside?

Thanks so much for the responses. I would have had him neutered at an early age, but like many my husband kept saying there was no need since he stays in the house and is kept on a leash outside. I have been reading a lot on here about possible health problems is not neutered and now this. I'm pretty certain we will be calling the vet.
 

Gempress

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#9
I agree with everyone else, I bet there's a female in heat around. Neutering eliminates a lot of health problems, and makes life so much easier. And it's never too late to neuter a dog. If your husband's a little anxious, just reassure him. Dogs aren't like humans: they don't miss their "accessories", and don't even know they're gone. ;)
 

wildwings811

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#11
Now that you have mentioned that he keeps goint out to the same spots and licking the ground it is almost a gaurantee that there is a female in heat in the immediate area

It is not to late to get your dog neutered
 

panzer426

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#12
yeah, going to the same spots to lick, sniff and mark there HAS to be a female in heat living nearby and coming through your yard.
hes not too old to neuter. he may not stop marking (lifting his leg etc) but he will stop getting so excited about spots where a girl in heat has peed.
I'm a guy so I understand your husbands feelings. but dogs dont make long temr relationships with females, they only breed when a female is in heat, and no they dont miss them (their accessories as it was said). the things he thinks he would hate about having it done to himself is not at all how the dog will feel. aside from some itching and discomfort for a few days the dog wont even know what happened.
 

RoxyBoxer

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#13
Roxy has done this a couple times and we figured out she was constipated from giving her Mcdonalds earlier that day...just a few chicken nuggets..come on dont judge me youve all sneaked your dog food ;) Another is when we turn the heaters up she will whine near it and walk back and forth in the kitchen till we turn it down or tell her its okay.Dogs are strange sometimes my friends german shepard mix would whine and cry for about an hour before a storm then hide for the rest of it. Ive never had a male dog so im not sure how they act but I agree that if hes going to the same spot there must be something there.
 
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#14
King only acts this way when there is a dog in heat around here, but Molly acts like this when there's a skunk in the area. My last dog used to whine terribly every time a skunk was within a block or so..for a while it seemed like every night...
 

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