Shiba Acting Strange

Loni

My shiba, Kiyomi, started acting strange around my mother-in-law yesterday. She's seen her many times in the past and has never done this before.
She keeps staring and whining at her, anytime she moves she starts biting her pants and shoes, if my mother-in-law is standing she'll be jumping up on her trying to nip her hands. The whole time she's whining. If we pull Kiyomi away from her, she'll start screaming/crying.... Any ideas on why she would do this?

JessicaRabbit

Has anything changed about your mother in law? Hair color, gait, weight gain, ? Hilo will bark at even Jason or me if either of us are wearing hoods when we enter the room.

Loni

No, there's nothing different. She doesn't bark, just whines or nips at her, and it's not an aggressive sort of nipping. It's almost like she wants something. But there isn't anything to want. She tried petting her to see if Kiyomi just wanted attention, but she kept doing it. Same with giving her food, playing with her, anything we think the dog might want.

ayk

Change in medication? Health changes?

Loni

Not that I know of. All I can find online is dogs detecting pregnancy, and that's not the case.

ShikokuSpirit

Has your mother-in-law been checked for cancer? Maybe?

Loni

No she hasn't... I think she should get checked but at the same time I don't want to freak her out if Kiyomi is just being weird.

Heidi

It never hurts to go get a checkup. Regardless of why Kiyomi is acting like that it's a good excuse to clear health concerns.

Brego_mellon_nin

I have heard more than a few stories of dogs detecting cancer and also dogs detecting epileptic fits before they happen, so that the person can take precausions.

In all the stories I've read about, the dogs seem to be able to smell the cancer. Maybe that could freak her out? One story that was published recently told of a woman who had a dog, that suddenly started poking its snout into her armpit. She thought the behavior was weird and since it kept appearing she went to the doctor, and she turned out to have early stages of cancer. That dog saved her life.

Loni

I've told her and she's making a doctors appointment as soon as she can. Hopefully it's nothing but as you guys said it's better to be safe.

Brego_mellon_nin

Good, let us know what happens Hope it's nothing.
If she is just missing some vitamins or something it could also make her smelle different, and Kiyomi could be reacting to that.

It's amazing so many things dogs can detect. We humans don't see anything...