OCD article

This is an article from the Whole Dog Journal from 2008 on OCD.

Help for OCD Dogs
Why you should (and how you can) cure your dog's obsessive-compulsive disorder.
You’ve probably heard about people who wash their hands repeatedly until the skin wears off, who pull out their hair until they’re bald, or return home, time after time after time, to make sure the stove is turned off. These are obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs).
Sad to say, OCD behaviors aren’t confined to humans; dogs get them, too. Oh, you won’t see your dog worrying about whether the stove was left on, nor will you catch him washing his paws repeatedly in the sink. Dogs have a whole set of potential OCDs all their own, specific to canine behavior. Canine OCDs are just as capable of destroying a dog’s ability to function as human OCDs are capable of affecting human lives.

German Shepherd Dogs are prone to a number of OCD behaviors, including tailchasing, licking themselves until sores develop, and fly-snapping. This dog is so distracted by an imaginary fly that he stops playing with a real toy!
What is OCD?
MedicineNet.com says this about OCDs:
“OCD is a psychiatric disorder characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions, such as cleaning, checking, counting, or hoarding. One of the anxiety disorders, OCD is a potentially disabling condition that can persist throughout a person’s life. The individual who suffers from OCD becomes trapped in a pattern of repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are senseless and distressing but extremely difficult to overcome. OCD occurs in a spectrum from mild to severe, but if severe and left untreated, can destroy a person’s capacity to function at work, at school, or even in the home.”
The last thing you want is for your dog to develop an OCD. The more you know about them, the better armed you are to prevent OCDs, and the better able to recognize and take action sooner rather than later - a critically important element of a successful behavior modification program for OCDs.

The same GSD sometimes displays a bit of a “drinking problem.” He gets so preoccupied with snapping and pawing at his water, that he fails to drink! Then, still thirsty, he’ll whine for more water.
An “obsessive” debate
There is some disagreement among animal behavior professionals about applying the term “obsessive” to canine behavior. The “anti-s” declare that the term “obsessive” refers to the dog’s thoughts, and because we can never really know what a dog is thinking, it’s therefore inappropriate to use the term in reference to dog behavior; we should simply call it “Canine Compulsive Disorder.” The word “compulsive” refers to the dog’s actions, which we can clearly see, so it’s okay to use that term in relation to dogs.
Those who favor using the term “obsessive” argue that we know a dog’s brain is similar in many ways to a human’s, albeit with a smaller cortex, and the observed compulsive behavior patterns are so similar to human OCDs that it only makes sense to call it obsessive, even with regard to dogs. A growing number of behavior professionals share this opinion - as do I - and so “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” is becoming an increasingly used term in dog behavior work.
Noted veterinary behaviorist Dr. Karen Overall suggests that as much as two to three percent of our canine population may be afflicted with OCD. She also identifies it as one of the most difficult canine behavioral disorders to successfully treat, and emphasizes that genetic, environmental, and neurochemical/neurophysiological elements all come into play.

Certain breeds have a clear genetic propensity for specific OCDs. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are prone to fly-snapping, and shadow-and light-chasing; Doberman Pinschers tend to flank-sucking and self-mutilation from licking; a high percentage of Golden and Labrador Retrievers seem to suffer from pica (eating inappropriate objects); and several of the herding breeds are likely to demonstrate OCD spinning and tail-chasing behaviors (see “OCDs and Breed Predispositions,” next page). It’s a good idea to research your own breed thoroughly, so you can be especially watchful for telltale signs of any that may plague your breed.
In addition to the genetic component of OCD behavior, environment plays a significant role. OCDs most often emerge in young dogs, between 6 to 12 months, in dogs who have a genetic predisposition to the behavior, when subjected to environmental stressors that trigger the onset of the behavior. Dogs who may be genetically prone to a behavior may dodge the OCD bullet if they avoid being significantly stressed during this period. Or maybe not.

Early signs
The early sign of any OCD is the occasional performance of a behavior out of context. It’s normal for a dog to chase a real fly; it’s not normal for him to start snapping at things in the air that you can’t see. Because well-practiced OCDs are heartbreakingly difficult to modify, it’s critically important to identify and modify OCD behavior in its early stages.
I’ve had two different clients who had dogs with fly-snapping behavior. One was a Bernese Mountain Dog, the other a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Both are on the list of breeds at high risk for this behavior. The Berner’s owners, already Peaceable Paws clients, identified the behavior at its onset and we immediately took appropriate steps to modify the behavior. Leo eventually stopped snapping at imaginary flies. The Cav’s owners also identified the behavior at onset and contacted the breeder, who told them, “Oh, some Cavs just do that. His sire and several of his littermates do it, too.”
By the time Widget reached the age of 18 months and his owners sought professional behavior assistance, the condition was severe. When I visited their home I found a dog in misery, unable to be in a lighted room for any length of time without becoming extremely anxious, eventually snapping nonstop at his invisible tormentors. He could escape his mental torture only by running into the darkened dining room and hiding in his crate. This poor dog required extensive treatment with psychotropic drugs as well as a behavior modification program to bring the debilitating behavior under control.

Our own Cardigan Corgi, Lucy, exhibited tail-chasing behavior in the shelter before we adopted her, both in her kennel and during the assessment process. Note that tail-chasing and spinning are seen disproportionately in the herding breeds. Fortunately for us and for her, Lucy was young when we adopted her (six months). Simply removing her from the stressful shelter environment and providing her with large daily doses of physical exercise resolved her behavior.
Ben, a four-month-old Golden Retriever client in Monterey, was also treated successfully, simply by having his owners remove all reinforcement (getting up and leaving the room) the instant the pup started to chase his tail. His spinning behavior ceased within a month. A Standard Poodle client I worked with in Santa Cruz was not so fortunate. At age three, Giselle’s spinning behavior was well-established; her owners couldn’t even walk her on leash because of her nonstop spinning anytime she was in the least bit stimulated. Like the Cavalier, she required extensive pharmaceutical intervention.

The following are the most common OCD behaviors seen in dogs:
• Lick granuloma: Also known as Acral Lick Dermatitis or ALD, this disorder presents as repetitive licking of the front or hind legs, ultimately causing a bare spot, then an open sore, sometimes causing systemic infection. In extreme cases, a limb may need to be amputated.
• Light-chasing (includes shadow-chasing): Likely related to predatory behavior, light-chasing is characterized by staring, biting at, chasing, or barking at lights and shadows. This behavior is sometimes triggered by an owner playing with the dog with flashlights or laser lights.
• Tail-chasing/spinning: Also perhaps a displaced predatory behavior, tail-chasing often starts as an apparently innocuous, “cute” behavior that is reinforced by owner attention. Only when it attains obsessive proportions do many owners realize the harm in reinforcing this behavior.
• Flank-sucking: A self-explanatory term, flank-sucking behavior is likely a displaced nursing behavior. Similarly, some dogs may suck on blankets or soft toys - behaviors that can be equally obsessive, but are less self-destructive.
• Fly-snapping: No, this one doesn’t refer to dogs who chase real flies - that’s a normal behavior; the OCD version of fly-snapping involves snapping at imaginary flies. Dogs who exhibit this behavior may appear anxious, apparently unable to escape their imaginary tormentors.
While some fly-snapping may be seizure-related, a significant percentage of sufferers don’t demonstrate behaviors typical of seizure activity, and those episodes are characterized as true OCD behaviors.
• Pica: While many dogs are happy to eat objects that humans consider inappropriate, dogs with pica do so obsessively. Pica induces some dogs to obsessively eat and swallow small objects such as stones, acorns, and twigs, while others ingest large amounts of paper, leather, or other substances. Pica can cause life-threatening bowel obstruction.
It’s important to note that dogs who are prone to one obsessive compulsive behavior can easily adopt another. I firmly prohibited my husband from playing with Lucy with a laser light, or water from the hose, knowing full well she’d delight in these activities. We didn’t need light-chasing on top of tail-chasing! Ben, the tail-chasing Golden pup, had a more serious OCD problem: he was obsessive about eating pebbles, small sticks, and acorns. At the tender age of four months he had already undergone one emergency surgery for intestinal blockage, and had to wear a muzzle when he was outside, on leash or off, to prevent a recurrence.
For this reason, simply suppressing the behavior through punishment is a dangerously inappropriate approach. Not only does the punishment add stress to a behavior already triggered and exacerbated by stress, it heightens the risk of having the dog transfer to a new OCD. Far better to approach an OCD modification program more scientifically.
Modifying OCD behavior
There are five key components to most successful OCD modification programs:
• Increase exercise. A useful part of almost any behavior modification program, exercise relieves stress and tires your dog so he has less energy to practice his OCD behavior. While physical exercise is hugely important, don’t overlook the value of mental exercise for relieving stress and tiring a dog mentally. (See “A Puzzling Activity,” June 2008, and “Mind Games,” October 2004, for more information on how to keep dogs busy.)
• Reduce stress. This is an important and obvious step, given that OCDs are triggered and exacerbated by stress. You will need to identify as many stressors as possible in your dog’s life. Have the whole family participate in making a list of all the things you can identify that cause stress for your dog - not just the one(s) that appear to trigger the obsessive behavior.

Many of us have “fetchaholics” – dogs who seem “obsessed” with fetching and develop a variety of demand-behaviors designed to get people to play fetch with them. This behavior is different from a true OCD behavior. First, because it’s in context (in the case, the presence of the ball). Also, it can be turned off, even if it’s difficult to do so. The behavior really is under the dog’s control.
Then go down the list identifying any you can simply eliminate (i.e., shock collar for that evil underground shock fence) and commit to removing those from his environment. Next, mark those that might be appropriate for counter-conditioning - changing his opinion of them from “Ooh, scary/stressful!” to “Yay! Good thing!” (See “Fear Itself,” April 2007).
Finally, try to manage his environment to at least reduce his exposure to those that can’t be eliminated or modified.
• Remove reinforcement. All too often, owners mistakenly think obsessive behaviors are cute or funny. They reinforce the behavior with laughter and attention, and may even trigger the behavior deliberately, unaware of the harm they’re doing. When the behavior becomes so persistent that it’s annoying, the dog may be reinforced with “negative attention” when the owner yells at him to stop doing it.
As in the case of Ben, the Golden pup, removing reinforcement by having all humans leave the room can work well to help extinguish an OCD in its early stages.
• Reinforce an incompatible behavior. This was also an effective part of Ben’s modification program. When the puppy wasn’t chasing his tail, his owners used a high rate of reinforcement for calm behavior, especially for lying quietly on his bed. Also, look for other calm behaviors to reinforce during otherwise potentially stimulating moments, such as sitting quietly at the door for his leash rather than leaping about in excitement over the pending walk. (See “Uncommonly Calm,” April 2008.)
• Explore behavior modification drugs if/when appropriate. With persistent and well-practiced OCDs, referral to a qualified veterinary behaviorist for consideration of pharmaceutical intervention is nearly always imperative. The selection, prescription, and monitoring of the strong, potentially harmful psychotropic drugs used for modification of difficult behaviors requires the education and skill of a licensed veterinary professional.
You can find veterinary behavior professionals at avsabonline.org or veterinarybehaviorists.org.
If some of this information has alarmed you - good! Obsessive-compulsive disorders are alarming.
If your dog, or a friend’s, is showing early signs of OCD behavior, we want you to take it seriously, and intervene immediately, in order to prevent the behavior from developing into a debilitating disorder. Dogs like Lucy, Ben, and Leo can lead full and happy lives because steps were taken early to prevent their behaviors from becoming extreme.
If your dog already has a severe obsessive compulsive behavior, do something about it now. Dogs like Widget can lead quality lives because their owners care enough to find solutions for difficult behaviors. Make the commitment to find the help you need so you and your dog can have a full and happy life together.
Pat Miller, CPDT, is Whole Dog Journal’s Training Editor. Miller lives in Hagerstown, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center. Pat is also author of The Power of Positive Dog Training; Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog; Positive Perspectives II: Know Your Dog, Train Your Dog, and the brand-new Play with Your Dog. See “Resources,” page 24, for more information.

More recent article from 2010 from WDJ:

By Pat Miller, CPDT-KA, CDBC
Obsessive Compulsive Behavior in Dogs
True obsessive compulsive behavior disorders in canine are anything but cute.
Owners of herding and sporting breeds – Border Collies, Aussies, Kelpies, Labradors, Goldens, and others – often cheerfully talk about their dogs’ “obsession” with tennis balls. What they really mean is that their dogs are very reinforced by the opportunity to chase a ball.

Blanket-sucking and repetitive licking are common OCD behaviors in dogs.
That kind of intense interest in a ball or toy can be useful for training and management purposes, and it’s definitely not what we’re talking about when we use the term “obsessive compulsive disorder” or OCD. An OCD can be a difficult and debilitating behavior for you and your dog to live with; it’s not a cause for cheerful discussion.
What’s OCD?
Also called canine compulsive disorder (CCD) and compulsive behavior disorder (CBD), OCDs have been defined by behavior researchers Drs. Andrew Luescher and Caroline Hewson as, “Behaviors that are usually brought on by conflict, but that are subsequently shown outside of the original context . . . Compulsive behaviors seem abnormal because they are displayed out of context and are often repetitive, exaggerated, or sustained.” Dr. Luescher, a veterinary behaviorist and director of Purdue University’s Animal Behavior Clinic, estimates that about 1 dog out of 50 suffers from canine compulsive disorder. Luescher and Hewson suggest that examples of environmental stressors that can trigger compulsive behaviors include:
• Physical restraints such as close confinement and chaining.
• Social conflicts that arise from competition for status, changes in social group, or separation.
• An unpredictable or uncontrollable environment.
• A lack of target object for normal behavior. For example, a dog kept isolated has no normal outlet for its instinct to interact within a group, whether animal or human.
Common OCDs include behaviors such as spinning, tail chasing, fly snapping, shadow chasing, air licking, flank sucking, pica, persistent barking, and “hallucinating.” Despite the intriguing names for these behaviors, they are not fun for a dog or for his humans. In fact, they can make life pretty miserable, and are evidence that the dog is living in an environment that is stressful for him.
Much of the underpinnings of OCDs are still a mystery to the veterinary medical and behavior world. There is evidence that suggests while they are all neurologically based, they are not all caused by the same physiological phenomenon; there may be several different classes of OCDs. Results of studies suggest that locomotive disorders such as spinning, and oral disorders such as licking, are controlled by different parts of the brain. Still, all of the different classes appear to be related to conflict resulting from stress or arousal, and all seem to respond to similar treatment.
According to Steve Lindsay in his Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Volume Three: Procedures and Protocols, “Dogs most prone to develop compulsive behavior problems are frequently high-strung and impulsive . . . Highly motivated and high-strung dogs who are intolerant of conflict and frustration seem to be particularly at risk for developing compulsive habits.” It would stand to reason that dog breeds whose propensity for intense motivation has been enhanced by selective breeding – such as the herding and sporting breeds – would be more prone to compulsive behaviors.
Indeed, there is a genetic component to the propensity to develop OCDs, and certain breeds do have a predisposition for certain compulsive behaviors. It has been suggested that seizure activity may play a role in triggering canine compulsive behaviors, but there is no scientific evidence to support that theory, and most behaviorists agree the primary culprit is stress. Dr. Andrew Luescher was quoted in a January 7, 2010, ScienceDaily article saying, “You could probably make every dog have compulsive disorder if you provide enough threats or conflict.”
What to do
As with any undesirable behavior, you’re better off not letting an OCD become established in the first place. Whether you have a breed that is prone to OCD or not, you can dodge the bullet by keeping your dog in a well-structured environment with a regular routine, and avoiding introducing obvious stressors such as yelling at, hitting, or alpha-rolling your dog. If, despite your best efforts you do see the glimmerings of OCD behavior, you’ll have greatest success in extinguishing it if you address it immediately rather than waiting until it’s full-blown.
Your attention can reinforce an OCD behavior. Tail-chasing is often perceived as cute by owners who laugh and praise the dog and encourage the behavior. OCD tail-chasing is not cute. Fortunately, it can sometimes be extinguished in early stages by removing all attention.
I had clients whose four-month-old Golden Retriever pup had OCD pica and had already had one emergency surgery to remove pebbles and acorns from his stomach. When Corky showed interest in chasing his tail, I counseled his owners to immediately leave the room as soon as he started the behavior. (Dogs with one OCD often easily adopt another.) Within a few weeks the tail-chasing had stopped.
There are a number of things you can do to reduce general stress levels for your dog. Prophylactic stress reduction can prevent OCD, and reducing the dog’s stress in the early stages may extinguish it. But reducing the dog’s stress (as part of a complete behavior modification program) can reduce even well-established OCD behaviors. Stress-reducing tactics include:
• Explore, rule out, or treat medical conditions that might contribute to stress, including thyroid. (See “Help for Dogs With Hypothyroidsim,” June 2005.)
• Increase exercise on a consistent schedule. This is an important one. Not only does exercise use up energy that might otherwise feed OCD behaviors, but aerobic exercise promotes endorphin release, which has a calming effect.
• Train your dog. Training helps your dog understand what’s expected of him, and what you are communicating to him. His world makes more sense, so it’s less stressful to him. If your dog is trained and responds to your requests for behavior, it’s less stressful for you as well, and you’re less likely to be tempted to punish him, which is, in turn, less stressful for him.
• Use plug-in, spray, and collar-infused Dog Appeasing Pheromones (DAP/Comfort Zone). DAP is a synthetic substance that mimics the pheromones emitted by a mother dog when she’s nursing her pups. It has a calming effect on a significant number of adult dogs.
• Play “Through a Dog’s Ear.” These bio-acoustically engineered CDs feature soothing classical music, and have been clinically demonstrated to reduce canine heart rates. (They calm people, too!)
• Make sure your dog is on a high-quality (or at least good-quality) diet.
• Utilize products such as Doggles (canine sunglasses) to reduce visual stress (doggles.com or 530-344-1645), the Thundershirt (thundershirt.com or 866-892-2078) and the Anxiety Wrap (anxietywrap.com or 877-652-1266) to reduce environmental stress.
• Apply calming massage or T-Touch, in conjunction with aromatherapy. If your dog associates calming touch with the scent of lavender, that scent can be used at other times to help evoke calmness.
The stress connection
With any stress-induced behaviors, including OCDs, your first assignment is to identify and reduce as many of your dog’s stressors as possible. Of primary importance is identification and removal, if possible, or at least management, of the proximate cause of the dog’s stress or conflict.

When flies or other flying insects are around, it’s almost impossible to get this German Shepherd’s attention. But even when no insects are present, he can get distracted by and obsessed with chasing imaginary dust motes.
Following that, you want to address all stressors, not just the one(s) that seem to trigger the OCD behavior. Most households can identify a list of 10 to 20 stressors for their dogs. A short list might look like this:
1. Being crated
2. Small children
3. People and/or dogs walking past the front windows
4. Nail trimming
5. Riding in the car
6. Threats to his resources
7. Thunder
8. Prong collar
9. Verbal and/or physical punishment
10. Owner stress
Decide which of the following strategies you can effectively apply to each stressor on the list to reduce its effect on your dog’s overall stress level:
A. Use counter-conditioning to change the dog’s opinion of (that is, his association with) the stressor.
B. Teach the dog a new, incompatible behavior using operant conditioning.
C. Manage the dog’s environment to reduce his exposure to the stressor.
D. Get rid of the stressor.
E. Live with it.
You could get rid of crating stress simply by not crating the dog anymore. Or you could change his opinion by giving him a new, positive association with the crate. You could use counter-conditioning to help him like children, or, if there aren’t children in the home, you could simply manage them as a stressor by removing him when children are around. You can manage your dog’s arousal at passers-by simply by blocking his access to the window, and you can also counter-condition his response so he no longer becomes aroused. You could also teach him a new behavior, so that someone walking by the window is his cue to go lie down on his rug in the kitchen.
Stressors 4 through 7 are also good candidates for counter-conditioning. You could manage thunder stress with the use of anti-anxiety medication and a Thundershirt.
Stressors 8 and 9 fall into the “get rid of it” group. Stop using a collar that causes pain and stop doing bad things to your dog and his stress is guaranteed to decrease. By themselves those two stressors could be the proximate cause for a compulsive disorder.
Stressor 10 is a “live with it.” Just be aware that when you are stressed (any stress; it doesn’t have to be dog-related) that you add to your dog’s stress load, and it is likely that you will trigger one of your dog’s OCD incidents.
The perfect time for a veterinary behaviorist
Of course, removing stressors alone is not likely to “fix” most well-established OCDs. Chances are quite high that all the above steps to reduce stress and promote calm won’t be enough to extinguish your dog’s OCD behavior.
You can try removing reinforcement for the behavior, and you can try positively reinforcing an alternative behavior that’s incompatible with the OCD (sit, instead of spin, for example). However, it’s well-accepted in the behavior field that a serious compulsive behavior almost always requires intervention with behavior modification drugs.
For this, you need a veterinary behaviorist, or at least your own veterinarian needs to work in close consultation with a veterinary behaviorist. The use of psychotropic drugs is complex and requires a thorough education in the field – it’s not acceptable for a veterinarian to reach for the first behavior drug that the last pharmaceutical company salesman talked him into buying.
Also, I cannot stress strongly enough the critical importance of working with a board-certified veterinary behaviorist when it comes to selecting, administering, and monitoring the use of drugs for your dog’s compulsive disorder. Virtually every veterinary behaviorist will do free phone consultations with other veterinarians, so there’s no excuse not to. There are fewer than 50 of them in the United States, and you can find them here: dacvb.org/about-us/diplomates/diplomate-directory.

Bonnie licks the other dogs incessently.
How common is this?
So what are the chances, really, that you’ll need all this information about OCDs? I think Dr. Luescher’s estimate of 2 percent of the canine population might be quite conservative. In our pack of five dogs, only Dubhy, the Scottie, shows a total lack of OCD tendencies. That’s a whopping 80 percent in our household!
• Bonnie, our Scorgidoodle, likes to lick others incessantly. Exercise goes a long way toward minimizing her annoying licking behavior, as does reinforcing an incompatible behavior. (Here, Bonnie, chew on this orange. She loves oranges.)
• Scooter the Pomeranian will lick objects, especially blankets or sheets. This behavior has decreased significantly since we adopted him over a year ago. A lot of his stress, I’m sure, had to do with all the upheaval and uncertainty in his tiny world. (He was left to fend for himself on the streets, then spent weeks in a noisy shelter. And even though he has a nice home with us, it’s been stressful for him to have to adapt to living with four dogs who are two to four times his size!)
• Lucy, the Cardigan Corgi, will engage in spinning if she doesn’t get enough exercise. She spun during her shelter assessment after being confined to the shelter kennel for several days, and started spinning here on two separate occasions when she was on “restricted activity” for medical reasons. Usually, normal farm activity and occasional hikes are enough to keep the spinning demon at bay.
• Missy, the Aussie, licks her feet and does air and nose licks. Her stress is probably a combination of multiple rehomings prior to coming to live with us, status conflicts with Lucy, and separation distress; we’re still working on those.
Please note: Our dogs all came to us from the shelter with these behaviors, so I’m not taking credit – or blame – for their compulsive behaviors!
Pat Miller, CPDT-KA, CDBC, is WDJ’s Training Editor. Miller lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center. Pat is also author of several books on positive training, including her latest: Do Over Dogs: Give Your Dog a Second Chance for a First Class Life. See page 24 for more information.