Panic Attack?

[Diana Erhart]

Charlie is an anxious dog to begin with.  He gets very scared when he hears fireworks, or thunder, or the beeping of the smoke alarm battery.  I expect these things to upset him and he will pant and try to hide beside my bed or try to dig a hole to China between my bed and nightstand, and he will shake uncontrollably when it continues for any length of time.  A thundershirt helps and usually I will just lay beside him on the floor until he can calm down.  But tonight he had this kind of reaction and I cannot figure out what set it off.  Here is the story of his day.  Charlie went to daycare at 8:30 this morning.  He loves his daycare and plays inside and outside and lays in the pool.  He happily went off with the girls this morning.  I had a very busy day so I didn't get to pick up Charlie until 5:00pm.  He seemed very happy (and tired) when I picked him up.  Acted like his normal self.  I brought Charlie home and he took a short nap and had a snack.  He didn't want to go on a walk so we just hung out in the back yard for about 15 minutes.  Then we went back to where his daycare is for a scent detection training class.  He has been in this class before in the upstairs of the daycare.  Today the class was downstairs (where he plays when there and had played there today) with level 1 dogs on one side and Charlie's class (with the same dogs from last class) on the other side.  As soon as the class started, Charlie started with the behaviors I listed above, panting profusely, shaking, etc.  He kept trying to bolt for the door.  I took him out at one point and all he wanted to do was get to the car.  I took him back inside and we just sat along the wall and watched the rest of the hour.  He did not calm down at all.  I cannot figure out why he reacted like this.  Would this behavior be considered a panic attack?  I am going to call the vet in the morning and talk to her about it.  Charlie has had one seizure before but I don't think it was a seizure, but maybe?  I am at a loss for what has triggered this.  Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions you can share.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am so sorry poor Charlie was so frightened by something.

Is it possible that there were fireworks or thunder or some other sound that was too far off in the distance for you to hear, but not for Charlie to hear? 

[Kyoko]

Poor Charlie..... The first thing that came to mind was dogs in level 1 class on the other side of the room. May be there was a dog he does not care for, or a dog he had incident with ( like being growled at, barked at ) during the day on that side and he can smell him/her? Or may be there was something that made him scared during the day and it was in that room? It can be something like a metal can that fell and made a lot of noise during the day and scared him was in that room.

I think change in the room can trigger something letting them know there is something different about today, but for him to be upset, I think it have to be more than just a change of location.

My Charlie is very sensitive to things like that. Anything that is different than usual, she takes very much of causion, and sometimes upsets her. ( Like new garbage cans at the park, neighbor's car having a bike on their bike rack which was never there, etc... )

What did his trainer think of this..? I dont know much about the seizure.... I am so sorry that he is going through the difficulties....

[Diana Erhart]

Karen...we didn't notice any noises and everyone in the room was asked and the weather was good so no thunder. The only thing it may possibly have been was the echoing of voices but that should not have sounded any different from when Charlie is in there playing during daycare.

Kyoko..One of the trainers was with him during daycare yesterday so am sure nothing happened there. It may have been the room but I just can't fathom why since he has been there for daycare and we have done previous training sessions for other classes in that room.

Thanks so much to both of you for offering your support and ideas. I am just at my wits end trying to figure out what the problem was. Thinking back, Charlie has been very "nervous" the past few days maybe even weeks...jumping up from resting like he heard something or overreacting to a noise that usually doesn't bother him. I am waiting to hear back from his vet to see if she has any medical concerns. I did find some anti-anxiety pills I had for him when we moved last year so I have those on "standby" in case he freaks out again for no known reason.

[Kyoko]

Yeah, it is always good to rule out the medical concerns....May be he has super sensitive ears....I just feel so bad for him... :(

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Poor thing.  I hope you and the vet can figure something out. No one, no dog, should have to live in constant fear.  An awful thing to endure. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Dogs hear sounds we don't and I wonder if there was something he heard.  I am so sorry.