Oh my gosh - I just found this on the internet - I think that's what happened. He had a panic attack, i remember now my boyfriend saying he was shaking AND he was panting. I had forgotten the panting part. So maybe he heard a noise that none of us heard and my other dog heard and wasn't even affected by?
Panic attack in dogs comes on suddenly and can be triggered by loud noises such as thunder, fireworks or gun shots. The fight or flight instinct kicks in big-time, but since they can't fight something they can't see, some dogs will usually try to run away from the noise. For dogs who are fenced in or contained within a house, there is nowhere for them to go. So they turn all of that "flight" energy into outward destructive behavior or they internalize it, causing severe shaking, whining, panting, and raised heart rate.
It is not really understood why some dogs suffer from these panic attacks and others don't. One dog in a household may sleep through a violent thunderstorm, while another dog goes absolutely berserk and seems to be totally inconsolable. |