Why Is My Dog Staring at the Wall? Is This Normal?

He’s doing it again. Your dog is sitting in the middle of the hallway, staring right at a blank wall. He’s not barking, not growling, not whimpering. He’s just … looking at the wall. What the heck is going on? Is it a ghost? Why do dogs stare at the wall?

“There are a lot of possible reasons for this, but the most common reason that dogs do this is their hearing has picked up something that we didn’t notice, and they’re trying to place it or track it,” says Jenn Stanley, CPDT-KA CBCC-KA, owner and a certified canine behavior consultant at My Charming Canine based in North Carolina.

Let’s dive into this reason and some other possible reasons why your dog might be staring at the wall or staring off into space.

The most likely explanation is that his canine super-senses are just picking up on something that our duller-by-comparison ears and noses can’t. Here are possible reasons for your dog staring at the wall.

As noted above, this odd behavior could simply be that your dog is hearing something you can’t.

“In general, dogs have significantly better hearing than humans at higher pitches,” Stanley says. “So, it’s very common for dogs to hear road or neighborhood noise and pause to think about what it is and if it warrants a reaction.”

Stanley also suggests that it could be connected to your pet’s hardwired predatory behavior: They may be giving you a heads up that they hear a mouse in the wall, or insects somewhere in the home.

Despite those innocuous possibilities (OK, a hidden mouse condo isn’t exactly innocuous), if you notice it happening more often, or for lengthy periods of time, you might want to get your buddy checked out to see if there’s something else going on.

“Dogs are very skilled at compensating, so sometimes they may have hearing loss in one ear that causes them to have trouble locating and understanding sounds,” Stanley says.

It could be less about what a dog’s ears pick up on and more about what’s making their nose twitch.

“A dog’s sense of smell is also something like 100,000-times better than ours, so they may be smelling something coming from that direction,” explains Katy Nelson, DVM, a Chewy veterinarian.

Dr. Nelson adds that there’s also a possibility that the dog’s reacting to something that they think is in their field of vision. (Not ghosts, but we’ll get to that in a second.)

“Maybe they’ve got a ‘floater’ in their eye and that’s what they’re seeing and reacting to,” she says. “They just interpret that as something that’s actually on the wall.”

If it’s not their heightened senses, could it be a symptom of something serious, like a medical condition? For example, your dog staring at the wall could be a sign of one of the following conditions:

• Brain tumor: A brain tumor could affect a dog’s vision or make them disoriented, causing them to stare at walls.
• Seizure or partial seizure: Dogs with a seizure disorder might stare at walls due to hallucinations or temporary changes in their vision and hearing after a seizure.
• Compulsive behavior: Some of the behaviors associated with compulsive behavior, also known as obsessive compulsive disorder in dogs, are hallucinations and staring.
• Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD): Common symptoms affecting senior dogs with CCD are staring at walls and seeming disoriented or confused.

“[Wall staring] can be one of the things that is on a long list of symptoms that go along with those neurological disorders,” Dr. Nelson says.

So, it’s important to discuss any concerning behaviors with your veterinarian, who can evaluate your dog.

“They can do visual testing and some neurologic testing right there in the office,” Dr. Nelson says, “and if they notice anything that’s wrong, they might recommend a referral to a neurologist, ophthalmologist, or other -ologist that fits whatever [the vet] is seeing.”

There is no scientific evidence to support whether dogs can see ghosts or not.

But according to Suzan Vaughn, an animal communicator and (human) psychic clairvoyant, if you’ve noticed your pet barking at things that aren’t there, playing “as if with another animal,” or just being on high alert all the time, well, that could mean that they’ve become aware of some kind of non-human energy in the room.

“The disembodied entity may come and go, depending on what’s happening in the house,” Vaughn explains. “Some are attracted only when there’s strife, for example. But people who are focused on getting through the physical reality of the day only become aware that something is going on when the dog is staring into the corner of the room.”

Vaughn explains that “animals have a more active and accepted spiritual connection, and a greater awareness of realms parallel to the physical world,” adding that the animals she has “telepathically talked to have seen people who are related to the dwelling, nature spirits, other animals who have passed on, and parallel realities.”

But again, if you notice your dog repeatedly staring at the wall or into the great abyss, contact your veterinarian to rule out any medical conditions.

First things first, if your dog stares at the wall repeatedly, or if the staring is coupled with other changes in your dog’s behavior, talk to your veterinarian.

If it’s an occasional occurrence and you suspect they’re simply picking up on something with their heightened senses, you can:

• Redirect their attention with a dog treat or dog toy or take them on a walk or car ride. “Anything that is fun and positive that can get them away from this behavior is always a good tactic,” Dr. Nelson says.

• Use curtains or privacy film to change the lighting conditions, in case the dog is too interested in shadow patterns or reflections.
• Utilize a dog crate or dog gate to keep your dog in a separate room, especially if your dog is fixated on sounds outside your home.

• Use a white noise machine to prevent the dog from focusing on the distracting sounds.

And if you turn on some artificial ocean waves or summer rain showers, then neither one of you is thinking about weird sounds. Or ghosts.

This content was medically reviewed by Jo Cornett, DVM, Chewy veterinarian.