Canine behavior is an intricate thing. It is imperative as a canine guardian that you get to know your individual puppy or dog. Each dog is different so how your dog responds to a stimulus will be different compared to how my dog responds.
This past weekend my husband and I took Elsa out for a good hard run. When we got back she was exhibiting some strange behaviors. What can sometimes be a normal occasional leg kicking thing became strange when it was happening over and over. Elsa was donkey kicking her left back leg and chewing at her foot. She was kicking her foot drastically as if something was stuck on it. Several times I went over her foot; feeling between her toes, her ankle and around each nail bed. I could find nothing. Something was definitely bothering her.
My husband and I sat watching her; trying to figure out what was going on. Could it be a bee sting I wondered? I ran and got a Benedryl just in case. If it wasn’t a bee sting, the meds would just make her sleepy and I wasn’t taking any chances. Looking closely into her eyes it did look like her pupils were dilated a bit. Watching is so important when you are trying to figure out a change in behavior. I was witness to her anaphylactic response to a bee sting years ago and didn’t want to see it again.
I got a wet cloth and prepared to clean her foot. It was bothering her so I was very careful. I gently held her foot and dabbed the cloth on the bottom of it. Her response to this was a huge and high donkey kick which landed just above my eye. It happened so fast and landed hard. She stood there watching me. I hadn’t anticipated a kick in the eye. I went back to watching.
We changed our plans for the day; she was not being left alone until I saw that she was going to be okay. So off we went to the car wash, storage unit and then home for a nap as her benedryl kicked in. After waking from her nap she was a new woman, she was fine. I don’t know if she indeed got a bee sting, perhaps twisted a toe or what but she is now fine.
A change in behavior is always worth noting. Dogs don’t just change for nothing. Of course there can be changes that happen over time but when it is sudden it is important. There could have been many different things that caused her to be making sudden and drastic donkey kicking motions. The important thing is that she’s fine now. Super happy and her normal self. I’m super happy too.