Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in dogs

Didn't put this in Staffy Health, as it's a sweeping question for all dog breeds. Does anybody here have a dog with OCD? Dempsey has exhibited the symptoms right from puppyhood, which isn't surprising, as Bullies are prone to it. Just wondered if anybody else has experience of it and, if so, whether it's a triggered OCD (stress-related, for instance).

Dempsey's obsessive behaviours usually take form in actions such as licking the air, tail chasing and grass snatching.

The air licking is his most common one, which he's been doing a lot more recently. Very annoying, but somewhat manageable. We're working on the 'Stop' command for that, but it's a matter of issuing it before he zones out. The only problem with the licking is that, if he swallows too much air, he gets bloated. (Edit: He is right now licking the air! Lovely!)

The tail chasing was a puppyhood/adolescent behaviour. He used to spin madly in circles continuously until somebody physically stopped him - even then, he'd often still attempt to continue. That was dealt with quickly enough. He still spins when he's excited, but it isn't obsessive.

The grass snatching has only ever been serious once, leading to a hasty vet trip and stomach operation. This usually occurs when he feels sick on a walk. He'll literally snatch at any and every piece of grass within reach. On the occasion that it caused a problem, the OCD kicked in right in the middle of the park. By the time he'd gotten home, he'd eaten a lot of grass. It formed a ball in his stomach, leading to a blockage, which was removed surgically, and suffered severe bloat. He recovered very quickly, although he still has a pot belly because of it!

So yeah - anybody else?

Not so much OCD but she does no when I am going out and will make it a problem x

Will try to reply properly later am in the middle of moving house at the moment lol! But yep had a staffy foster with OCD, an ebt at my old kennels with it and currently got a collie in kennels with it! I had OCD as a child from 6 to 17 and had to have 18 months of cognitive behavioural therapy to get my behavioural patterns back to normal, so could somewhat relate to my old foster lol just really hard when you can't communicate verbally!!

janey wrote:Not  so much OCD but she does no when I am going out and will make it a problem x

Aww, bless her!

Rachel33 wrote:Will try to reply properly later am in the middle of moving house at the moment lol! But yep had a staffy foster with OCD, an ebt at my old kennels with it and currently got a collie in kennels with it! I had OCD as a child from 6 to 17 and had to have 18 months of cognitive behavioural therapy to get my behavioural patterns back to normal, so could somewhat relate to my old foster lol just really hard when you can't communicate verbally!!  

I thought you might have encountered it, working in kennels. Dempsey's doesn't cause anxiety, as it's a genetic disorder, rather than stress and anxiety related. I do feel very sorry for dogs who develop it in kennels, though.

I have mild OCD; never been a particular problem, thankfully! I can imagine that it must have been a difficult thing for you to deal with as a child!

Thankfully this isn't something Rocky has suffered with so far

It usually only occurs with dogs undergoing a lot of stress or anxiety. Some breeds can be specifically pinpointed to be predisposed to OCD, but I don't think the staffy is one of them, thankfully.

The ebt was genetic too bless him, only came in for assessment but couldn't take him in as was severely DA also and many health problems, but the others mostly anxiety based although I'm sure the collie's breeding didn't help!

Poor things What sort of obsessive behaviours did they display?

The ebt was fixated on feet and carrier bags, would snap and grab at them and then spin if he couldn't get them, sometimes for 10 mins at a time! Ollie (staff) would spin whenever something was new which was more anxiety and Misty (collie) was a homeless persons dog and overexposed so now uses OCD to calm herself.. Mostly grass eating and spinning

The spinning is the most common one in Bullies, I believe. Dempsey's always doing it, but it was only a problem for a few adolescent months.

Poor things. A lot of anxiety in stress-related OCD sufferers.

No, sorry. But my horse was mad ocd lol

Daisy sometimes goes for her tail but only one circle, I always tel her no to discourage it anyway

The good thing is that it can very often be controlled with training and the right mental stimulation