OT/MISC My dogs are acting very oddly.

[Rucus Sunday]

Just don't forget that people are prone to report only unusual behavior. There are probably a hell of a lot more people whose animals aren't acting strange.

I would think that if animals were any kind of reliable earthquake predictor, we'd have earthquake prediction labs with a couple hundred animals with behavior under constant analysis. I'm actually kind of surprised I've never heard of anyone trying that.

Agreed. Too many variables to be reliable. Still, I've heard too much anecdotal info to dismiss it altogether. Several years ago, just after the Nisqually quake here in W. Washington, a caller to a local news talk radio show recounted that 1 day prior to the quake he was on a stroll in the woods near his home in Olympia and saw 3 or 4 (can't remember exact number) deer near the trail acting very strange, like in a state of confusion. I remember him saying he'd never seen deer when on that trail before. One deer walked across the path about 10 feet in front of him like he wasn't even there and just kept walking off into the woods. Never forgot hearing that call. There were several other callers who reported similar very strange animal behavior in the days before the quake.

 

[ofuzzy1]

Not to scare the bleep out of you folks but I've been watching the usgs.gov site for a while and here's a couple saves.

the world images don't have the date #2 is from feb

I will post some more shots if folks are interested.

 

[Double_A]

Just don't forget that people are prone to report only unusual behavior. There are probably a hell of a lot more people whose animals aren't acting strange.

I would think that if animals were any kind of reliable earthquake predictor, we'd have earthquake prediction labs with a couple hundred animals with behavior under constant analysis. I'm actually kind of surprised I've never heard of anyone trying that.

So am I considering hundreds of anecdotal reports for a very long time. Is there any money in it? There is a part of the answer. At what point would set a threshold for consideration? Would 10% of pets be alarming? 20% or 5%. A 50% increase and what/how would you establish as odd? There are several people who have tracked lost animal reports and posted results. But I haven't heard of anyone doing this for several years now. Let's say it's not a single indicator, lets say it's a multiplicity of factors, change in animal behaviors AND five or more days of rain exceeding a rate of 10mm/hr for 5 or more hours (Seepage into fault) plus a change in electrical conductivity of rock in excess of 15%. None of these alone might be reliable but in total might indicate a high assurance of Quake?

Often people was a simple yes/no when they can't get that and can it to make money they lose interest.

Who knows, but it has merit and bares watching.

 

[vessie]

You know, I noticed too at the time my British Shorthairs were going 'Ape-Poo' (especially Bee Bee), my pink hairless monkey (DH) was acting very hyper and talking not stop *sigh* at the same periods my cats were showing these behaviors. Too much coffee? I dunno, I do make authentic "Indian Coffee" just like on the rez.

But today I had to drive down the mountain into North Bend, Wa. and I noticed something that I rarely see and the last time I did, we had a quake but anyway, it was this. I'm driving past the theatre and I see mice running across the road. I don't know if this means much but Bank of America is the side of the road they were hauling ass from.

Maybe they were closing out all of their little accounts.

Strange to see mice running around out in the open in broad daylight. V

 

[Flippper]

Yeah Fuz, I'd be interested in seeing you post more of those maps. Alaskan peninsula looks like a pincushion.

I can't remember ever seeing more than one mouse outside running about at any time, day or night, they're usually wary of predators like hawks and cats.

Is anyone getting the heebie jeebies or intuition on anything? Only thing I am noticing is it's extremely difficult for me to relax, I can't seem to do it and I've not been all worked up about Japan like a lot of folks. Could just be stress, but it wouldn't hurt to be more alert to how we're feeling and see if it amounts to anything if there's a rip snorter (ear tones/tinnitis is low thyroid, at least for me, so I discount that, I've been getting them all day).

 

[Garryowen]

Today was testing day for our therapy dog class. We all did more poorly than we wanted or expected. My dog refused to get into the car. He hasn't acted that way in months. He broke on a simple stay command, and that is rare for him. He freaked out when the elevator door opened, after riding it three times previously with no problems. He started drooling on the drive to the meeting, another rarity.

His behavior was bizarre, and I can't see any discernable cause. We all felt that something wasn't gelling as it ought. Earth movement? Who knows? The day was cloudy around here, so I don't blame the sun.

 

[tanstaafl]

I thought this sounded like good advice when the SciFi Channel used it in an advertising campaign:

Sci-Fi Survival Tip #61 - If every animal runs in the same direction, follow them.

 

[teefleur]

Re: Cats...

Denfoot said, "Well by normal, I mean that the little one picks on the big one until the big one gets pissed off. Then they chase each other around the house for awhile, then plop down for naps."

That's normally the way it is at my house, but for the last 2 days, my big Bengal girl has been "on me" everywhere I go, even to the point of sleeping against my back at night. She is very... "aloof" all the time, the little cat is still a kid and clueless, but something has remarkably changed in the older Bengal cat.

I find myself on edge quite a bit, attributable to the news. Hmmmm...

 

[dissimulo]

Sci-Fi Survival Tip #61 - If every animal runs in the same direction, follow them.

Unless they're lemmings.

 

[Loon]

I'm a believer now.

Before I even knew there was an earthquake in Japan I was awakened by my little bichon,Joey. He was shaking and panting and trying to hide behind my head. He's never ever acted like that. I thought maybe he needed to go outside so I got up with him but he just stood there and didn't do anything so I let him back in. He buried himself under a pillow in his little bed and just shook. By now I'm wide awake so I turn on CNN and find out there is breaking news of the earthquake in Japan. I wondered at the time if that is what Joey was reacting to. He was fine the next day and has been fine ever since. His mother, Juliet, never reacted to anything.............just slept through it all. Perhaps some animals are more sensitive to these things than other animals are.

 

[ainitfunny]

Well, now I'm starting to get nervous. I have been feeling almost imperceptible tremors for a week. My "quake alert" goes from constant whining to raging ringing periodically.) I turned DOWN the sensitivity to shut it up, but it started doing the same thing again anyway after a couple hours. From time to time I actually feel seasick. I had my FIRST IN LIFE bout of "ringing ears last Saturday.
NOW I HAVE HAD THREE small, but big enough to be listed on the EQ map earthquakes VERY VERY near me(within 3 miles) in the last 36 hours. We almost never get a cluster here like that. Occasional ISOLATED, single, small quakes(every 6weeks or so)=normal, cluster of three=highly unusual(I have NEVER seen it before and I have been watching 10 years) The TREMOR map for Washington state shows TREMORS ALONG THE SEATTLE AND TACOMA FAULTS (Seattle is much worse, almost NO breaks between the tremor dots along the fault) They NEVER considered BOTH faults letting go....could the unforseen happen? They always talk about a big quake on one fault OR the other.

Mag Date Time Depth Location
1.5 2011/03/18 22:58:16 47.285N 122.688W 27.0 5 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Artondale, WA
1.4 2011/03/18 19:23:47 47.296N 122.671W 29.2 3 km ( 2 mi) W of Artondale, WA
2.9 2011/03/17 21:34:50 47.288N 122.691W 31.9 5 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Artondale, WA

I am tempted to do some precautionary "damage control" BEFORE I GO TO BED...
(Lay big screen down, lock cabinets, tape some other stuff in place, insert shelving front stops in pantry, and anything else that might help)

 

[optimistic pessimist]

I felt all 3 quakes where I am...definitely things are moving. Scary thought if both the Tacoma and Seattle faults went....that would be Puget Sound tsunami material right there. Birds outside have been funny all week....yesterday was the first day I actually heard some somewhat normal spring songs...but they are not singing all spring stuff. Before our previous 6.8 mag, I noticed that morning the birds were LOUD, but their songs were different...a bit more like pre-snow storm songs mixed with something else. They know. Early last week they were too quiet for this time of year.

 

[Running Dog]

A week or so before the japan quake allot people were complaining about really bad Tunis and or head aches, so I can now understand how a dog or cat and be affected.

This afternoon, my ear starting ringing. It has now been 3 hours. Annoying.

 

[joyfulheart]

Not sure where to put this so I'm adding it to this one.

Im in a suburb of Dallas, tx

Lastnight and today animals acting VERY strange. Looked onto my subdivision website, and notice that 10 dogs, just in my little area all are reported as missing. That's HIGHLY unusual. Never in 11 years have I seen that many. Others missing that I see on lamp posts and talking to neighbors that havent had time to put it on the web yet (or they dont use computers)...

My own dg wont let me go to the garage or bathroom without going nuts. I go out front, she is trying to go with me. I sit ont he couch, she sit and stares at me.

No bad weather going on that would explain anything.

 

[Cascadians]

2 kittens, 1 Newf, all clingy today, really clingy, unusual.

 

[Dennis Olson]

EQ coming. Maybe big, maybe small. But the dogs can sense it.

 

[Jonas Parker]

Tessie's doing her usual "couch potato" imitation - no "damyankees" in sight or smell range.

 

[Giblin]

The birds and wild life are acting up in CT. So much so that male friends even noticed.

 

[WildDaisy]

The birds and wild life are acting up in CT. So much so that male friends even noticed.

You noticed that too today? I'm in Southwestern CT and the swallows are going nuts...and we're not in farm country here. Inner city.

Odd that they are about swooping all over the sky. At least 30 of them just in front of my building at work making loops and dances in the sky. I'm on the 5th floor of an office building and can just look out and watch them for a long distance all over the place in swarms.

It is misting here today and foggy, so wondering if the bugs are out or something and they are all giddy about it?

 

[gawarriorqueen]

Here in south Ga the squirrels have been agitated lately ... all running around gathering up stuff. Are they hoarding for bad weather? EQ? Hard to tell. Dogs have been pretty much normal.