Are OCD behaviors really bad for your dog or should you chalk it up to genetics?
“It depends”… This is probably the most important quote I was ever taught in dog training. No two situations are exactly the same, so “it depends”. Do you have an extremely anxious dog that licks their legs, or spins in circles? OR do you have a Border Collie, Australian Shepherd or Malinois that is genetically built to work all day long?
From a behavior perspective, obsessive compulsive behaviors are frowned upon.
From a breeder’s perspective, it can be a part of the genetic package.
The main thing to look for when you notice light, shadow, or tail chasing and other compulsive behaviors is this… Are they hurting themselves? Can they eventually shut off? Are they working themselves into an unhealthy state of mind or a medical mess?
My general rule is to watch all the behaviors that go along with the compulsive ones. I like to see if something triggered the behaviors. Did someone just show up, so they started chasing their tail out of excitement? Did they go outside first thing in the morning and see a bug that got them chasing shadows? I also like to watch and make sure they can shut down the compulsive behavior on their own. These would be examples of behaviors I see everyday at my house with my high drive dogs.
So what about the compulsive behaviors that start because of triggers like being left alone, or that can cause your dog to overheat itself? The general rule for all behavioral compulsive behaviors is to interrupt and get them on to something else. This can be difficult to do, especially if you have a senior dog who is doing things when you are not home. In this type of scenario you want to make sure the dog has had an APPROPRIATE amount of exercise. Not too little and not too much! Too much can cause some dogs to have trouble winding down. Then, you need to decode the behavior. Let’s take licking for example. Appropriate exercise, which may just need to be mental exercise if it is a senior dog with mobility issues. JOIN MY SENIOR DOG GROUP
Now we have determined if the dog has had appropriate exercise, for the licking behavior, so let’s look at what we could do to tap into that behavior. Licking is obviously soothing them in some way, so how about frozen toys or KONG spray, Xylitol free peanut butter, yogurt, pumpkin, or other healthy stuffed toys! For chasing, could you use a flirt pole or fetch with a rubber toy that jumps in all directions. Tap into that behavior and find a constructive way for them to feed that desire!
Bobo, in the attached picture, likes to dig in his bed. I remedy that with exercise and things to chew on that allow him to use his front feet. Oliver, my blue pit, chases bugs and lights so I take long hikes with him to take the edge off. Diamond likes to trot, allllll day long, so we work on herding the chickens and pacing with and around me and the four wheeler. Be inventive!
