spooked collie bitch

Question
I have a 7 yr old collie bitch in good health.
Lately when walking in our local park she's started acting weird.
Its as if she suddenly sensed something stalking her. She gets low to the ground starts looking around her & even tries to jump up on my lap. She will then dissapear into long grass or shrub/trees whatever is near & hides. I've had to go lookng for her several times to find her curled up on the ground... no amount of coaxing will get her to come out. She's normally a very well behaved dog but during thiese spells she ignores anyone.
Any ideas.?

Answer
Lets try this.  Make sure the Collie is on lead when you go. As soon as you sense a change in her emotion, stop and look around foir a trigger, image, sound, whatever. Also try another location to see if its strictly the part you are using vs an open area. If its just the one park, then make sure she is on lead. When she suddenly changes, get her attenmtion, reassure her everything is OK, play with a toy or a small treat when she acts normal again.  Just reward the normal behavior and interrupt the abnormal with some immediate action, even just doing an about turn heeling may be eno0ugh to clear her mind of the trigger. If you can detect the trigger source then you can deal with that specifically.

Regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind kennels LLC