Lab Growls and Cowers at Nothing

I have a lab that tends to growl and bark at nothing. He'll stare at a
spot somewhere in the house, growl, bark, and then he'll put his tail
between his legs and come back to me and sit. Then he'll get up, bark
and growl at the same nothing, run to the other side of the couch and
bark and growl while appearing to look at the same (no)thing he was
before. He'll then cower and come back to me again. Do dogs imagine
things and then think it's real?

Amy Dahl...

Has he always done this? Does he act watchdoggy under any
other circumstances? Does he cower or act fearful under other
circumstances? How old is he?

I'm curious about the answers and think that to understand the
behavior, one would have to have a lot of context....but that doesn't
mean I'll be able to answer your questions.

Jerry...

He's been doing it for a couple of months now. He never acts
watchdoggy. He does growl and cower at something outside too but it's
always facing the same direction in the back yard. I think that might
be a weird plant that's growing next to the pond though. He's five
months old.

Amy Dahl...

Without seeing it in context it's impossible to know for sure, but it
sounds like ordinary puppy behavior to me. I remember my first
Lab acting much as you describe when, after his first snow, he
caught sight of one of his toys with snow on it.

If you think he's spooking at the plant, I suggest you walk up to
it in a matter-of-fact way, encouraging him to come along, and
let him see that it's just a plant. If he's actually so afraid you have
to drag him, don't. If there's an object on the pool table that might
be spooking him, I'd pick it up and hold it and say, "see? nothing to
be afraid of," in a nice, confident (not worried-sounding) voice.
If he comes to you, show it to him.

Amy Dahl

Amy Dahl

Jerry...

Thanks for the advice everyone. I did contact the vet and she said it's
normal behavior and that he's probably barking at something that has
changed in the house. Once I got home after posting my question I
realized that I had placed some things on the pool table that my lab
has never seen before so that evening I took them down to the floor and
told him it was ok. He came up to it and touched his nose to it and he
was fine after that.

Thanks again everyone!

It's weird and creepy.

shelly...

It's definitely not what I would consider normal behavior. If it
were me, I'd take him to the vet pronto.

t...

That's really strange. Did you get him as a puppy?

I'd second the vet advice -- floating bodies in the eye or somethign
goofy with vision or a neurological thingee could cause these things I

geoffm...

"There was a rumor about a tumor
Nestled at the base of his brain."

-- Kinky Friedman, "The Ballad Of Charles Whitman"

can imagine.