strange behavior

Question
We have an older poodle mix female dog we rescued from a county shelter about 6 years ago.  We were told that they thought she was about 2 - 3 years old at the time we got her.  She seemed to attach herself to my wife at the kennel and won't let her out of her sight for more than a few minutes.  We've learned to live with this and attributed this to some sort of trauma in her past.  The problem we started seeing about a week ago is this.  She will be laying down anywhere in our house, either on the floor, in either one of our laps and even on our bed and will stare at the ceiling.  If I look at her eyes, they have the look of mild fear.  We live in a large double wide mobile home and I've checked to ensure nothing is in the overhead space.  She also has been doing some lip licking lately, which I understand to be a sign of stress.  We are at a loss to figure what this behavior is.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You in advance

Robert T.

Answer
This may be a fear response (and you'd be surprised at how small a thing can set off such a response, a thing you would never notice), but it also may be sign of neurological problem: temporal lobe seizure or other developing problem.  Neurology is a specialized field in veterinary medicine; most general veterinarians can't do more than assess the presenting neurological picture (flex limbs, test reflexes, eye tracking, etc.).  Seizure disorders do not have to appear traumatic in order to be present; the dog can't report "hallucinations", flashes of light in the eye (which could also be PRA or other opthalmologic problem), as can humans.  I suggest you start with your veterinarian and ask for opthalmologic exam and fundamental neurological testing.  S/he may not be able to definitively diagnose, but putting the dog on a mild anti-seizure medication for a few weeks can't hurt.  Please report back with results.