My Great Dane, Faith, has been acting strange. She has taken over my daughter's rubber ducky. She takes this duck everywhere. She has decided to live in a closet in the basement, where she has a collection of things that she dragged and placed. She is not eating, except for wet food-but I do not give her wet food often. She is also whinning constantly. What is going on--it is scarring me? Shoud I taker her to the vet? Or is she going through a midlife crisis-she will be 3 in August:confused:

A good vet check explaining the problem is a good place to start with almost all behavior changes. You can't train a physical problem away. It could be as she approaches maturity, her maternal instincts are coming out. This is more likely if she isn't spayed. She is staying in her den with her puppies.

The problem might be reduced if she sees you as top dog. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete (http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/) For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm)

Is it possible that Faith believes that she is pregnant? :D Sure sounds like a pseudo-pregnancy to me! If she in unspayed and was in heat recently (about 60 or so days ago) this could be the problem. If it is a false pregnancy, it should end in about 3 weeks. If it's a real problem, the vet can give her a shot to help. If she isn't spayed and she is a family pet, then you should have her spayed. Unspayed dogs can continue to go through false pregnancies, usually with greater intensity as they get older, and are prone to health difficulties as they get older.

However, if she is already spayed, that is not the problem. Then you should definitely take her to the vet for an evaluation.

Hope this helps!

Didi