1 year old Jack Russell suddenly cowering and hiding

Hi everyone,

I am new to this so please bare with me. I have a one yr old Jack Russell who is normally lively, fun loving, v. energetic, and independent. However, all this changed overnight.

She now follows me everywhere, even to the bathroom. She alternates between needing to be as close to me as possible, even sleeping on my head (not the nicest experience) Or cowering under the bed, which takes ages to coax her out. She wakes up cowering and barking like mad. She almost hyperventilated last night. Nothing has changed inside the flat but it's like she doesn't want to be there. She keeps leading me to the front door or hides on my balcony so she's not actually inside. She is fine when out on walks but as soon as she gets back again it starts all over again. It is so out of character that I am really worried. She was spayed a few months ago but there were no complications. She's eating normally but is going at her chews like mad. It's normally a sign of anxiety in her but I can't work out why. As I said there have been no changes to her routine, the flat or food. She normally plays non-stop all day but will only do it for a short while before she freaks out and climbs on my lap again.


A few months after I got her I became seriously and I know she picks up on it. She will come and curl up on the part of me that hurts and just lay quietly on days when I am really suffering. The thing is I have been much better for a few months than previous. Surely if it were related to this it would've happened sooner. I am not the person who takes her out on walks but a good friend does who is just as worried as I am. He says that she's lively as ever when out and about.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We are together almost 24 hours a day so I know every little quirk she has and we have developed a way of communicating. She is normally able to show me what's bothering her but can't or won't this time.

Please help

Perhaps there is something in your place that is bothering her or has her worried? Have you had the place checked for possible gas leaks? Or maybe there is some sort of sound she is hearing that you cant hear that is antagonizing her? Usually when my dogs would get really anxious like they, they were trying to warn us about something. I've heard of dogs warning their owners about the onset of bad weather, but it sounds like this has been happening for a longer period of time so that may not be it.

Thank you for your reply. There is no gas in the apartment building but I had a similar thought about sounds. I checked with the other neighbours to see if their dogs were ok and they seem to be fine. I know one of the neighbours has used an anti-barking collar in the past and it has driven her crazy but, this is more scared than anything else. For the past two nights she hasn't woken up barking at the wall so that's a start. Other than that I can't really think of anything that has changed, even slightly, that I am aware of inside the building. I have been having some major health issues recently and I know it really upsets her when I am having a bad day. I wonder if its related to her behaviour at all.

She'll be playing normally and then like a switch has flicked she'll start cowering, barking and, sometimes hyperventilating. She'll hide under the bed or tries to get as close to me as possible, even to the point sitting on my head. She sometimes positions herself directly in front of me as if trying to protect me from something I can't see.

I just wish I knew what was happening as its really upsetting seeing her so distressed.

This is going to seem extremely silly to most,if not all of the members here probably, and if so I am sorry. I suggest you have your home investigated for a haunting. I know that sounds silly, but animals have a sixth sense and are very sensitive to spirits. Please don't think I'm silly. I'm just trying to help you. I'm sorry your dog is having this happening.

Before this I think I would've been in the thinking it's silly category. Now however I'm not so sure. She's seeing/hearing something that I can't. In fact as I'm typing this she is growling at the wall and running back to stand in front of me and back to the wall again. I wondered if I had mice in the walls and thats why she appears to be barking at nothing but can find no evidence.

I don't even know where to begin with looking into the haunting side of it. I've lived here for 9 years and never noticed anything untoward. Can it suddenly happen?

Thank you for your post and its not silly, so please don't think that. You cared enough to read my message and post a reply. I would never dismiss something just because others thought it was unusual. Thank you again.

(09-10-2013 10:23 PM)Bumbleski Wrote:  Before this I think I would've been in the thinking it's silly category. Now however I'm not so sure. She's seeing/hearing something that I can't. In fact as I'm typing this she is growling at the wall and running back to stand in front of me and back to the wall again. I wondered if I had mice in the walls and thats why she appears to be barking at nothing but can find no evidence.

I don't even know where to begin with looking into the haunting side of it. I've lived here for 9 years and never noticed anything untoward. Can it suddenly happen?

Thank you for your post and its not silly, so please don't think that. You cared enough to read my message and post a reply. I would never dismiss something just because others thought it was unusual. Thank you again.

I understand and I know a lot of people will think that it is silly but I firmly believe animals do have a sense that we do not when it comes to the spirit world. I believe that it can suddenly happen. I do not know why but perhaps someone close to you has passed recently and they are visiting or something? That is just a thought. Either that or maybe a neighbor has passed and is visiting?

There are so many reasons unknown that could be causing this. We had a dog in our old house who would stare down our hallway and growl and bark but we never got it investigated as we did not stay in that house long. Not because of the suspected spirits but just because we found a nicer home to live in.

To find someone who would be willing to investigate your home, you could always search google for your area and paranormal investigators. For example if you lived in Miami you could search "Miami Paranormal Investigators" or even "Miami area Paranormal Investigators". I am sure there would be someone willing to come do an investigation.

It would be worth checking in to just to give you some better understanding of what is going on. It may not even be paranormal but you could at least have that ruled out if it is not. Thank you for not thinking I'm completely loony for suggesting this. I was actually hesitant to reply because I really didn't want to seem silly. I am just trying to help and I hope you will update us if there are any findings. Best of luck to you and your doggie!

It could just be that she has been doing it for so long that she does not know how to do anything else but that. One way you can get her out of that funk is maybe to be a bit more peppy and energetic so maybe she will see that that is not how she has to be.