My parent's dog, a rescue of uncertain origin (found abandoned at less than 1 year old) and a mix of German Shepherd with something smaller (she looks like a miniature Shepherd) always goes through this annual freakout in the spring. She gets really upset, fearful and needy. Her freakout came late this Spring since we had such a cold late spring, but just this week my dad was taking her to the Pits, a very large dog park, not really a park but more hiking trails through forest and scrub, he takes her nearly every day and it's her range, she loves running around etc. This week he was taking her, she was excited, but after getting there, she got upset and ran off, thankfully she was eventually found by someone who caught her running out of the park and called the cell# on her tag. It appears she was trying to get home. The next day he took her and kept her on leash, but she just dragged him back to the car, she didn't want to be there. This stressed out scared behaviour happens every spring and it's not just at the Pits (it just happened to start there this year), she's 5 years old now and it's been every year. I think there must be some smell which comes out in Spring which is imprinted in her mind with something awful that happened during her first year of life. Has anyone experienced something like this? Once she gets over her spring freakout, she is fine and happy until the next year.  |
