Registered: Aug 2006
Location: Northern California
Posts: 800

I have a dog who, has always been top of the line. I mean the once and a lifetime kind of dog. She has caught hundreds of bear and coon alone and with company in her lifetime. She's not real old at 8.5 years, and has always been well taken care of. She's had 4 litters and produced some nice dogs, and I even have grand and greatgrand pups. Outstanding dogs as well...

That said I noticed later last year, around her 8th birthday, she started acting a bit different. I'd call it jealous. Not honoring another dog when it would strike (as if it was running trash) I noticed her starting and running track backwards a few times, and then I walked to a couple empty trees, something I have NEVER EVER done with her. I seen her drop out of a few races, and end up doing much of nothing. Also seen her strike (off the rig) trash, overrun a track badly and blow up a race, as if it were a competition to outdo the other dogs. She's slowed some, but was always a super fast dog, so she was still usually front of the pack, but not out leading the race like she has her whole life.

I have a few pretty flashy young stars, and chalked it up to her just hating being outdone.

I wanted a last litter off her. So I bred her. The pups are 9 weeks. I've just recently got her dried up and back in shape enough to start hunting. I've taken her about 5 times. Every track she starts she run backwards or overruns the track, then quits and drops out and acts like nothing happened. I correct her and make her go the right way, and she'll "tag along" for 5-10 minutes until she starts falling behind and again quit and act like nothing is going on, like she can't even hear the dogs catching game in front of her. I also seen her attempt to sit down and tree on nothing because she was getting left. That is unacceptable. She also ran a coyote pretty good the other day by herself, the best I seen her act.

I don't know if this is age related and being senile and out of shape, or being jealous of going from lead dog for 7 years to being "mid pack" I do know I cannot trust to hunt her with the younger dogs anymore. I am having her spayed and getting a full workup on her to make sure it's not medical. She has blown her coat badly recently and it isn't growing back in, and she does seem slower than she was this fall, and a little fatter than normal. So maybe low thyroid, but I can't see it making her behave this way.

This is a very tough thing to go through. Thinking of all the flat out amazing things this dog has done. Cold trail old tracks for half days and tree the bear, stay treed all day and night, be the last one bayed with half her stomach ripped open. Rig, start, and catch 5 bears in one day. Tree 21 coon in a night.... She has a spot here for the rest of her life, but I can't imagine never seeing her at another tree.

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Cassandra Davis
UKC Bench Show Judge & Master of Hounds

REDWOOD'S TREEING WALKER COONHOUNDS
& LOUISIANA CATAHOULA LEOPARD DOGS
http://www.RedwoodCoonhounds.net/

NITECH CGRCH FCH GRCH 'PR' Redwood's All Night Aspen
(2014 #1 UKC Top Ten All-Breed Conformation Treeing Walker)
NITECH CCH GRFCH GRWCH GRCH 'PR' Redwood's Wild Gamble

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Registered: Aug 2013
Location: Seneca, Mo
Posts: 5927

Heck she is 8 1/2 yrs old , she is not going to be as fast as she was in her prime . Also , alot of females act crazy when coming in heat , going out of heat and after weaning pups until their hormones get back into balance that could be all it is . Many lose hair on their sides or it will get thin looking while nursing pups . Buy some coconut oil to rub on her bare spots it will look like a solid scoop it out with your fingers and when you rub it it turns to oil . A spoon of it on her food a day is also good for her coat and skin . A good dog multi-vitamin won't hurt her either . Hope vet check goes well and you can still get some nights of hunting out of her , if not it sounds like she gave you many nights of happy hunting and she earned her spot by the fire .

Jen

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Registered: Jul 2003
Location: East central Illinois.
Posts: 1701

I'm thinking something is wrong with her health, probably Thyroid or something else.
Hope you get it figured out. I use to have a dog with Thyroid problems. At 6 years old he seemed like a 13 year old dog. It took a few months of being on Thyroid medication before he was back to normal. Then he was on medication for 6 more years (rest of his life). I'm very glad I spent the money on the medication and gave him that pill every day. He was a good coondog.

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Registered: Oct 2014
Location: East Texas
Posts: 442

About 4 months ago my 8 and half year old male started doing real weird stuff like you're talking about and he had always been top notch dog...took him to the vet and his thyroid was low and had tick fever...couple months on meds and he's pretty close to back to his normal self...good luck

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Registered: Aug 2011
Location: Emporia, Kansas
Posts: 382

I would surely get her to a vet and have the thyroid checked.
several years back my Frosty had a thyroid condition.. coat got thin and scaly-- then she started doing stupid things like you describe. got her on thyroxin.. back to normal in about 3 weeks. after about a year her levels dropped again and it was back to looking crummy and acting stupid.. another trip to the vet upped the meds.. back to normal-- I let a young fellow have her- and he done real good for about another year.. then she slid again...that time they doubled the dosage.
I would think at 8.5 years she would not keep sliding like Frosty did.

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Registered: Aug 2004
Location: Chattanooga, Tn
Posts: 22586

While at the Vet have her checked for Erlichia/Lymes Desease. Sounds to me just like the symptoms.

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Registered: Aug 2006
Location: Northern California
Posts: 800

I'm having a Senior Screen w/UA and T4, plus an add on 4DX. That said I keep her on preventative for ticks, she is Lymes vaccinated yearly, and I had a 4DX done yearly on her. I think it *could* possibly be a thyroid issue making her look so poorly, but I just don't see how it could make her this sort of crazy in the woods. I've worked as a Tech/Receptionist for an animal hospital for 9 years, never seen a dog go senile like this.

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Cassandra Davis
UKC Bench Show Judge & Master of Hounds

REDWOOD'S TREEING WALKER COONHOUNDS
& LOUISIANA CATAHOULA LEOPARD DOGS
http://www.RedwoodCoonhounds.net/

NITECH CGRCH FCH GRCH 'PR' Redwood's All Night Aspen
(2014 #1 UKC Top Ten All-Breed Conformation Treeing Walker)
NITECH CCH GRFCH GRWCH GRCH 'PR' Redwood's Wild Gamble

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Registered: May 2004
Location: Sullivan IL.
Posts: 3060

I had a young dog ( 4) start doing the same thing a little while later she came down bad sick and I had to put her down. I think she was feeling so bad that she was looking for any reason to stop running. Hope this is not your case. The good ones grow old way to quick.

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Registered: Aug 2011
Location: Emporia, Kansas
Posts: 382

quote:

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Originally posted by Redwood Hounds
I'm having a Senior Screen w/UA and T4, plus an add on 4DX. That said I keep her on preventative for ticks, she is Lymes vaccinated yearly, and I had a 4DX done yearly on her. I think it *could* possibly be a thyroid issue making her look so poorly, but I just don't see how it could make her this sort of crazy in the woods. I've worked as a Tech/Receptionist for an animal hospital for 9 years, never seen a dog go senile like this.

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Registered: May 2006
Location: Pamplin Va.
Posts: 454

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard Lambert
While at the Vet have her checked for Erlichia/Lymes Desease. Sounds to me just like the symptoms.

---

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Dean Jamerson

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Registered: Jan 2011
Location: Rockmart, Ga.
Posts: 2652

The best dog I ever owned was in her prime from 7 to 9 years old. She also became more independent later in life.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: North GA
Posts: 14395

Running more and looking like a complete idiot is thyroid they say. My old female fell apart at about 11. Never did say much on the ground and was always a one bark tree dog. Then she went to blueticking all the time and locating on every tree in the woods. Happened in just a couple months time. So I couldn't stand to see her do that. So I just didnt hunt her anymore. By 13 had to put her down.

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Michael Ghorley

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Registered: Oct 2014
Location: East Texas
Posts: 442

My wife ask me what I was reading so I let her read these post then she looked at me and said well now we knw your thyroid is jacked up....lol

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