All behaviors have their reasons and must be given the corresponding importance. In this article on our site we are going to talk about the causes that can explain why a dog does not stop walking around the house.
A clinical sign as nonspecific as walking around the house can be a symptom of several diseases. The range of diseases is wide, from neurological diseases to behavioral diseases, and establishing the primary cause is complex. As we will read below, there are also causes external to our dog that cause this behavior. Keep reading and discover with us what could be happening.
How do I know if my dog is sick?
If our dog walks around the house one day in a timely manner, the first thing we should check is that there is no object, sound or situation that does not belong to his usual routine. By this we mean that routine is very important in our pets, having a fixed time to go for a walk or a specific place where their feeder is located is a sign of comfort and well-being. You must check that:
- There are no loud noises both inside and outside the house (construction, rockets, sirens).
- Your physiological needs are covered (water, food, you have gone out to urinate and defecate, sufficient daily exercise, etc).
- he Finds himself looking for a place to sleep (before going to bed they usually do it, following his instincts)
- He presents a pattern of vomiting and/or diarrhea and becomes nervous.
- Stress due to change of address.
- Stress due to hormonal situation: if our dog is not sterilized and dogs in heat live near our house, it is normal for him to be nervous and not stop walking around the house.
- New people or animals at home.
If any of these causes was causing our dog to spin around, it is ruled out that he has a disease. On the contrary, if we cannot find the apparent reason for this behavior, we should go to the vet. Thus, we see that one of the main reasons why a dog can be nervous, be strange and walk around the house is stress. This state can occur for different reasons, among which are the fact of adding a new member to the family, a change of address or something as simple as moving your bed. It is important to confirm or rule out that what you are suffering from is stress, since if so, it should be treated and if not, you should continue looking for the cause.
For more information, don't miss this article: "10 signs of stress in dogs".
My dog won't stop running around the house: causes
If stress is ruled out and a possible illness is suspected, the veterinarian will investigate the medical causes that may make our dog not stop running around the house. These causes can be the following:
Pain
It may be due to an acute trauma or a chronic and degenerative disease such as osteoarthritis. In these cases, in addition, our dog hides, does not want to jump or play and complains when touched.
Full Anal Sacs
Full anal sacs causes pain and discomfort and can even lead to a perianal fistula. They must be emptied by our veterinarian and if they have a fistula, cures must be performed and treatment administered orally.
In these cases, in addition to observing that the dog walks around the house, it is common to see that drags its anus in an attempt to relieve symptoms.
Cognitive dysfunction syndrome or senile dementia in older dogs
In addition to circling around the house, our dog will present other symptoms such as sleep disturbances (he does not rest well, nocturnal vocalizations, etc.), changes in learned behaviors such as not defecating at home, not breaking things, disobeying, mistrusting other animals and people, etc.
This syndrome is diagnosed excluding other systemic pathologies that can appear in senile dogs and is comparable to Alzheimer's in humans. It is a degenerative process with no cure, but there is symptomatic treatment that greatly improves quality of life. Its early diagnosis and treatment is of vital importance to slow its progress.
The treatment of cognitive dysfunction syndrome in dogs is based on psychopharmaceuticals, behavior modification by trainers and nutritional support.
Neurological problems
Some neurological problems can cause symptoms like this. Among them, the vestibular syndrome stands out (the dog spins in circles and the head is lopsided since there is a problem in the vestibular system, which is responsible for balance), infectious diseases (eg canine distemper), liver diseases, etc., which alter the behavior and cause a circling or a strange attitude on the part of the dog.
Congenital diseases
Congenital malformations such as hydrocephalus in dogs can cause nervous symptoms in which the dog does not stop running around the house.
Behavior problems
Stereotypies, anxiety, etc., are considered behavioral problems that can produce this type of reaction. A stereotypy is a repeated and ritualized behavior or movement that does not lead to any purpose. However, both stereotypy and anxiety are problems that should be treated by a specialist because they always have an underlying cause.
What should I do if my dog won't stop running around the house?
As we have indicated previously, we must check that our dog has all its physiological needs covered to rule out that this is the cause of the problem. If this is the case and it continues to go around, we should go to our vet to look for the cause that is causing this reaction. As we have seen, some of the reasons are treatable and can be cured, while others require lifelong treatment to relieve symptoms. In any case, the dog needs veterinary attention.
