What happened to my dog? Weird behaviour

[ItsSoStimulatingBeingYourHat]

This morning crossing the road on our walk, my dog suddenly turned and just stood still in the middle of the road.
I got her over to the other side, and she just looked kind of ‘not there’ and wouldn’t move.

Decided to take her home and had to cross back over, and she did it again but this time I had to physically push her off the (thankfully quiet) road.

She’s been asleep since we got in. Not unusual though.

She has an appointment tomorrow for a claw clip at the vet so I’ll mention it then, but wondered if anyway else had ever seen this in their dog?

She’s 10 (ish)

If it's anything lie my DDog, who regularly tries to sit down and refuse to move, it will be plain old-fashioned stubbornness

Maybe she just really isn’t didn’t want to go further? A dog I used to have would often decide he was going no further, and would only walk back towards home.

If it was the same spot she could probably smell something she perceived as a threat.

Just keep an eye on her, if it's something medical like a stroke etc she may be unwell/not herself today.
Could just be a smell or something too of course ... I have to drag DDog across the floor sometimes if she's caught a whiff of the cats being fed!

Ah thank you for the reassuring replies.
Hopefully just being a bit stubborn.

We had only just got to the top of our road- wish she’d have let me know before that she didn’t want a walk, could have had a lie in 😬

Sorry cross posted, Custard.
I kind of was worried about stroke or seizure.
She’s quite sleepy so I’m not sure if she is just feeling tired today.

She’s not had anything to eat or drink yet either.

Dogs aren’t being stubborn, they are most likely experiencing an emotion we need to understand, or are in pain or discomfort. Get a pain check at the vets.

Dogs aren't stubborn - that's us anthropomorphising them because it's often easier to say "He's being stubborn" than it is to find the reason behind the behaviour. Most reluctant behaviour can be explained by the following:

Fear - maybe something has happened to them at that point on a walk before, and they're scared of it happening again. Maybe they can smell or sense something you can't, and it's upsetting them.

Pain - maybe they dislike the surface you're walking on, or their harness/collar is hurting them, or they've injured themselves in that area before and they're worried about doing it again. Maybe they're feeling unwell or tired and are just wanting to go home instead.

Lack of motivation - some breeds need motivating differently to others. Maybe they don't like the weather, maybe they know if they turn right (instead of left) they'll end up at the park, or at the pond, or somewhere they know they'll see their friends, or where they'll be able to go off-lead etc. Similarly, some dogs "refuse" to go back to the car after walks (or refuse to have their leads put back on) as they're having so much fun and being home is nowhere near as interesting.

Lack of understanding - this doesn't really apply in your scenario, but it's common for dogs not to respond to commands simply because they don't understand what's being asked of them - maybe your commands are muddled or unclear, or they can't hear you because of the weather, or the reward you're offering isn't enticing enough.

In your scenario I would be wondering if your dog was feeling unwell, especially as you say she's very sleepy and hasn't eaten or drank anything today. I would keep a close eye on her and call the vets in the morning if she doesn't improve - if she doesn't drink by this evening I would be tempted to call sooner tbh.

Hopefully it's nothing and she's just tired or feeling under the weather, but definitely not something to dismiss as stubborn, especially when combined with the lethargy :)

Thank you.
She’s just had something to eat and drink, but walked pretty slowly to get there.
I’ll ask for a check up while she’s at the vets tomorrow.

My dogs litter mate has been diagnosed with paroxysmal dyskinesia which I’m fairly certain my dog has too. She’s had a couple of jerky episodes but also some like you described where she just stopped what she was doing and went glazy eyed and vacant. She is always very sleepy after. Maybe worth looking into

Definitely check at the vets. It sounds very much like it could be a
petit mal seizure

They hear noises we don't hear mine does this

could it be a mini stroke? The sleepiness after as well. My mums dog had this, lots of calm reassurance and keeping the lights bright after in the house.

My instinct was lights dark but apparently bright light helps the brain or something?

As a new type of behaviour, it does sound possible it’s a seizure or mild stroke, or potentially pain-related medical issue and definitely needs a prompt vet check. It’s great that you’re going to vet tomorrow. You might want to ring up first thing and explain that you need a longer consult now, as a claw clip could be booked in as a shorter time slot with the vet or with a nurse at some practices. If it happens again before tomorrow or you’re worried for any other reason, then I’m sure the vet doing emergency cover would be able to help even if it is to just reassure you on the phone that it can wait till tomorrow.

The sleepiness makes me think that it could be an absence seizure. Not an immediate emergency but definitely something to keep an eye on.

I would make a note of the day/time/location and any symptoms - the vet is unlikely to do much after one incident, but if it happens again and you have detailed notes of when and where, it will make diagnosis etc. a lot easier.

Hmm, the canine first aid course I’ve been on definitely said lights off, although I guess advice may have changed over the years

OP, I would consider phoning the out of hours vet and checking if your dog should be seen immediately in their opinion, especially as she has been sleepy/different to normal since the episode.

Sounds like a seizure to me. My neighbour's dog did this when I was looking after it in an emergency. When I told her later, it turned out she already knew he had them (but hadn't told me). He was a bit confused afterwards and then fell deeply asleep for a short while. Human seizures are also often followed by drowsiness.

That would indicate a seizure of some sort to me, the unresponsiveness and then sleeping after. But I'm not a vet, I would monitor and raise tomorrow at the claw clip.

Thank you for the replies. I’m a massive worrier so were very appreciated.

She’s been to the vets, and I spoke to them about it.
She seems well in herself today, and she’s walked normally so they’ve said to keep a watch on her and if it happens again, or if she has any accidents in her bed to go back in for a blood test.

May I add "wanting to do something else" to this list? Not likely in the OP's scenario, but mine regularly gets to a point on our walk where one direction goes home, and the other to the field where we often play ball. He regularly stops if I try and go home as he wants to play. The look on his face is priceless. I has taken a full five minutes before he gives up sometimes. Then again, I'm my own worst enemy as sometime I give in and we go and play a bit more ball. It has to be equitable I suppose.