Weird Head Thrashing/Air Biting

A year ago my husband and I adopted a 9 month old Minpin from the local pound. She is a sweet, well-mannered, good natured dog and we love her SO much. In the past couple of months though, she has started a really odd behavior.

She will jump up as if alarmed, and thrash her head around as if trying to look over her shoulder very quickly, and she licks the air and bites the air as if she sees something there that's going to get her. Sometimes she looks directly in front of her as if she sees something, and she licks and bites the air as if she's trying to get it.

We have brought her to the vet, who said her eyes and ears are absolutely fine,and she's a very healthy dog. Poor Daisy is so agitated...we just want to help her stop doing this. It comes and goes. She hadn't done it for a couple of weeks and now she just started again.

If anyone knows the cause of this behavior, please post and let me know. We're at our wits end. Thank you!

Please watch for any other signs of confusion . Has she had any seizures ?

No, she's otherwise very happy and has no other symptoms of anything. It's almost like she has an itch she can't reach or something.. it's just very sporatic and very odd. As I said she won't do it for weeks, then one night she'll do it every once in awhile over the span of a couple of hours, then she doesn't do it again for days.

But when she does it, she is really agitated and can't be distracted or calmed down.

Agree with bubbatd... ask vet to do a blood draw. She should be checked for imbalances, liver shunt, seizures. The licking of the air is often a gag reflex, which is part of the seizure itself. Deffinitely worth furthur examination as she's very young and this could potentially get worse with age. Good luck!

"Complex Partial Seizures (aka Psychomotor or Behavioral) Seizures are associated with bizarre or complex behaviors that are repeated during each seizure. People with complex partial seizures experience distortions of thought, perception, or emotion (usually fear), sometimes with unusual visual, olfactory, auditory, and gustatory sensations. If dogs experience the same things, it may explain the lip-smacking, chewing, fly biting, aggression, vocalization, hysterical running, cowering, or hiding in otherwise normal animals. Vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distress, salivation, blindness, unusual thirst or appetite, and flank biting are other signs. There is an obvious lack of awareness, though usually not a lack of consciousness. Abnormal behaviors may last minutes or hours and can be followed by a generalized seizure. Complex partial seizures are usually associated with secondary epilepsy."

This was found at http://www.bcrescue.org/epilepsy.html

Wow, thanks everyone, scary stuff. I didn't realize seizures could take that form. Why is it we always figure these things out on a weekend? Sigh. I'll make an appointment first thing Monday and watch her closely until then.

I do hope it isn't seizures. Poor Daisy.

She's cute. It does sound neurological, possibly seizures. Blood tests will be able to tell you more.

Many seizures can be readily controlled with medication, so if it does turn out to be those, don't despair!

What a sweetie !!! Keep us posted after vetting !

A friend of mine had a Great Dane that was absolutely terrified of flies. He got to the point where he would barely even go outside because he was convinced that a fly was going to cause him great harm.

While inside the house, if he saw a housefly or even a gnat, he'd absolutely go nuts and thrash around just like you described. Sometimes he'd do it if he thought he saw or heard a fly but there wasn't anything there.

I don't want to say that this is what your dog is doing, but figured I'd mention it since it sounded so familiar.