Why is my dog suddenly terrified of being indoors?

Yeah, scratching sounds in the walls – the mice were gnawing through the plasterboard. At our place, you could hear them scurrying along the metal studs that hold the plasterboard up. We also had a really nasty smell every now and then.

As for rats, we've had those in the house too; they chew through fruit, bread, and potatoes. The mess they leave behind is beyond manky. Yuck! We ended up ripping everything out and redoing the lot. Jyrkhos and genesys couldn't care less about the rats.

Worried or excited?

With a Pinscher, shaking doesn't always mean they're scared.

Hi there,

Once you’ve explored every environmental angle (hopefully with success, but if you don't find anything...), do check her sight and hearing, or have the vet take a look.

Her behaviour reminds me of an old Yorkie we used to have; he got used to his blindness and deafness and went back to a pretty much normal life. Your girl isn't that old, though, so unfortunately, you might also have to consider neurological issues 😕

I’m only suggesting all this, of course, if no other likely cause is found.

PS: If you know any birdwatchers or nature observers, they might be able to lend you some sound-amplifying headphones so you can listen out for any noises that might be spooking her 😊

Speaking of rats, I had them a while back and it was actually my dog who alerted me to them.

I was reading in bed one night with my earplugs in, and my dog was lying on the floor next to me.

All of a sudden, he sat bolt upright, staring towards the bedroom door or the ceiling – I wasn't quite sure where. I just figured he’d heard a noise and would settle back down.

But five minutes later, he was still on high alert, ears pricked, not looking particularly scared, just very focused.

I decided to take my earplugs out, and that’s when I heard a sort of scratching, crunching sound.

It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. I thought it might just be a bottle slipping out of an open multipack of water. I went to check, but that wasn't it. In fact, as soon as I stood up, the noise stopped, which made me think it must be something alive, but I didn't want to believe it. No, no, no—not RATS in my house!

I had a proper look around, saw nothing, and went back to bed. Earplugs back in.

Ten minutes later, my dog did the exact same thing. This time I took the earplugs out straight away and heard the noise again.

I tried to get up quietly, but the noise stopped almost immediately. I looked everywhere—nothing.

I was about to head back to bed when I realised I hadn't checked the loo at any point.

I opened the door and saw what looked like white confetti on the floor. I looked up and that’s when I realised they were mostly above some wooden boxing, and that rats or mice were trying to gnaw their way through.

I reckon if you spend a night sleeping downstairs, you'll soon know if you've got rats or mice by the sounds they make.

It would be a good idea to rule that out for a start.

The strange thing is, since the weekend, she’s been having these shaking fits between 7pm and 11pm, and then they just stop...

And if we leave her outside for too long, she tries to escape from the garden.

It’s honestly so weird...

Maybe it's the heat?

How long has this been going on?

Evening,

Mice or other rodents in the walls?