Dog yelping

mohenley

HI

I wonder if anyone could help me as to why my dog yelp for no obvious reason. My dog (blind mixed terrier) has now yelped twice since we have had him (year and a half) - once when he was in the kitchen and I went away for 5 minutes and when i came back he just started to yelp. I checked him out incase he had hurt himself but he was fine (got him checked at vets too). The second time was this morning when I put him out of the house before going to work - again he was fine and after petting him he went off on his merry way with no complaints.

He was a stray we took in (could not locate owners) - he is by himself for a good part of the day when we are at work and I am now wondering if it has anything to with this? We are considering getting another dog to keep each other company but need to ensure our work is stable first! I felt terribly guilty leaving him this morning but I have to work!

cocker5

OP...

I would say its seperation anixtey... my cocker used to yelp like crazy when left alone... even when i had to go to the toilet :rolleyes:

you could try a few drops of this::

http://www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com/en-us/us/our-brands/rescue-remedy/using-rescue/why-rescue-pet/

or your local vet will have some also... it helps relax them a little and take the edge off...

dogs love company.. so when we leave them alone usually they are not too keen on the idea...

what toys does he have to keep him occupied?? ie kongs etc?

have you thought of a local dog walker?? would get him out of the house a few hours per week etc...

mohenley

it is strange - only happened twice in year and a half (say both times have happened this year). he knows the routine (altho he probably does not like it) and he is usually wants to go out. I am only thinkning after being with him for 2 days over the weekend he is letting us know he is not happy but the first time it happened was during the weekend when we were around so a little strange.

Dog walker is something we cannot afford. He does get a walk every evening ( 1 hour) and as soon as either myself or my husband are home he is in the house with us until bedtime. I also spend an hour each morning with him.

mohenley

sorry for toys he has tennis balls and rope which he loves. He has other toys for in the house. Toys like kongs he has no interest in!!

**Vai**

Sounds like he got a fright when you walked back into the room the first time or was possibly just calling you. Yelping twice in a year and a half is no big deal OP. Its usually a noise they make when they get frightened or surprised.

Well done for taking him in, it must be tough having a blind dog.

mohenley

he is no bother at all. One of the most friendly well mannered dogs!! We are lucky to have him. I know he spends a lot of time by himself which I am giulty about but when he is with us I spoil him. Maybe he now knows how to pull my strings - after I gave him another few minutes of attention this morning he went off quite happily!!

Anyway I hope we will be able to get another dog to keep him company before the end of the year.

DBB

I'd agree with Vai that two yelps in a year is not anythign to panic about, with the proviso that this time, it's not the start of something, like a pain somewhere.
Can you ask the neighbours if he ever dos this when you're not at home?
Also, he's blind... I sometimes wonder if blind dogs make noises so they can kind of echolocate?! I wonder can he orientate himself better by making this noise, then he can judge by the sounds rebounding where he is and/or is he about to bump into something? Just a thought!
How's his hearing?

mohenley

Neighbours say they only hear him when someone round houses such as postman when he barks etc!! Neighbours have 2 dogs also - they bark more than him.

He was just going out of the house this morning like he does every morning and once out he started to yelp. I checked his paws etc incase something got caught but then nothing. As soon as I patted him he went off quite happily.

His hearing is good and so is his smell - the way he chases after the tennis ball and brings it back to you, you would never know that he could not see!!

DBB

Do you have a step that he has to step off when he's going out?

mohenley

yes we do but he is well used to it unless he jumped down and hurt himself which is possible.

DBB

Ok, I was asking this as I wondered if by any chance this morning he approached the step a different way, or could he have been otherwise in a situation where he might not have been expected to know where the step was in relation to himself?
I've come across blind dogs who yelp when they have to do something which knocks them off-balance or involves the ground surface changing in level or substrate. It's like they kind of panic for a sec, I suppose like we would if someone blindfolded us and made us step off a step we didn't know was there!
There's no doubt though, both deaf and blind dogs do tend to yelp out of the blue like this more than fully-able dogs... unless there's a really obvious answer I guess we can only surmise for now.:o

Mo60

I also have a dog that is blind, who potters about quite happily. He sometimes yelps when he needs reassurance. As soon as I pet him he goes merrily on his way.

He's quite ancient, approx. 16 years, but still manages to find his way about even in the garden. He does not venture very far but still finds his way back into the house.

mohenley

Thanks to all for your advice.

He was fine this morning, noyelping so maybe he it was a case of Monday morning blues!