OCD dog.. behaviourists please HELP!!

[ksacres]

It sounds to me like this behaviour was taught to her by your roommate. A positive reinforcement behaviour- attention when she played with a light. I'm sorry to say, but a puppy taught something so young, you are going to have a hard time trying to scold it out of her, as well as being very confused especially if she was expecting a reward.

 

[snugglepup]

Can you interrupt her when she goes into shadow-chasing mode? If so, then medication probably won't help. If you can't interrupt her, I would seriously look into medication (sometimes even anti-seizure meds help) before going any further.

Assuming you can interrupt her, I doubt it would go away on its own for any reason. Like you said, it is a self-reinforcing behavior. I would not give her the opportunity to practice the behavior uncontrolled, especially in a working setting. If it is not truely compulsive, and she just thinks it is fun... you could try putting it on cue. Sometimes this works really well for certain weird behaviors. Then once you have it under stimulus control, just don't give the cue when you need her to do something else. You could then give the cue to chase as a reward for doing something you wanted her to do, like pay attention (Premack's Principle). She may then be able to work if she doesn't see it as a conflict, but rather working as a way to earn the privilege of shadow chasing. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if I am explaining it well.

Here is an example:

My first competition obedience dog was a coonhound (am I a masochist or what?). Being a hound, he most desired sniffing the ground, followed by food. At first I tried to never allow him to sniff the ground. Let me tell you how well that worked out! Then I decided to put the sniffing on cue, "Go sniff!" Then I would ask for a few steps of heeling, when he did well, I would C/T and release him to go sniff. Sniffing (high probability behavior) was reinforcing for heeling (low probability behavior). This worked so much better that we were able to finish his CD with placements.

 

[GAhen]

I saw the show done by the "Dog Whisperer" it was great.
He recommends that you become the pack leader.......walks everyday and consistency.
I have trained many dogs and have seen great results from Cesar's techniques.
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/
The one key thing is YOU must be the pack leader..........You must correct the behavior every time.
I have 13 dogs and if I was not the pack leader around here it would be caos....
Be strong and best wishes.

 

[snugglepup]

I'm sorry, GAHen, but I have to disagree here. Certainly good leadership is important in any household, but compulsive behaviors are not socially motivated. Shadow chasing is not a dominance behavior.

 

[Cara]

Snugglepup that makes a lot of sense, and we haven't tried that. I guess it's like training them to speak so that you can shut them up LOL The habit must have started out of boredom, but I don't know when. I've always been home most of the day with her, and she's got plenty of canine friends to play with. She's very playful, and her toy is usually her reward for a find. I think i'd rather try and eliminate the behaviour altogether rather than confusing her with it being ok sometimes and not others, but i'll settle for her doing it when I let her.

When you say medication, do you mean sedatives or are there other psychiatric drugs for dogs?

There's no distracting her when she starts it, which makes me think it's compulsive rather than just misbehaving. Even if I can catch hold of her, she is still focused completely on it and will go straight back to it as soon as I let go. I'm worried about playing with her to distract her, and her seeing that as a reward for chasing shadows. Other than the shadow chasing she's a very obedient (if wild) dog, and we have a great bond. I think she's just too smart for her own good at times. I wish she could be more settled. It's upsetting seeing her so obsessed with it, it reminds me of the strange behaviours zoo animals develop.

That's funny that you had a coonhound for an obedience dog. My first dog was a Black and Tan and she had the hound hearing loss when something more interesting was going on. The same goes for my old Bloodhound and the one I have now! I always tell my husband the key to owning a hound is not taking yourself too seriously LOL

 

[snugglepup]

I know what you mean. Stereotypic behaviors are usually treated with either a tri-cyclic antidepressant (like clomipramine) or an SSRI (like fluoxetine). A lot of vets knee-jerk perscribe clomicalm because it was the first FDA approved drug of its kind for dogs. Doesn't mean its the right choice for every dog.I am not a vet and can't make recommendations there, but its definitely worth talking to a vet behaviorist if you can. I don't like to screw around with working dogs. I will tell you to walk away from anyone who tries to give you ace.

I would also be cautious about using the toy in situations where she is reacting. For many working dogs, the toy puts them in a state of arousal... which is counterproductive to trying to keep her calm aroung lights. I would be concerned that pairing lights and the toy might send her nervous system into overdrive... not helpful when you want her to be thinking out a scent problem.

My old hound was training in SAR before his hips got the better of him. It's quite a commitment, but we loved it. If my family life allowed it, I would still be doing it. I have a terv grump now that would be fantastic.

Oh, and you are totally right about not taking yourself seriously. Nothing like a hound dog to teach a person humility. LOL!

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Does your dog show the same behaviors when other dogs are around? My Boxer mix became a whole new dog when I got her a dog of her very own.

Most of her crazy behaviors were just boredom and excess energy. Now both dogs are worn out when I get home from work. A tired puppy is a happy puppy!

City Girl
(not a vet)

 

[Cara]

Yes she does

We have 4 dogs that are all together unless i'm working with them. One is her age, another is 6 months younger, and then we have a 5 month old puppy. For the first 8 months that I had her she had an older Bloodhound friend. She does play with the others, but she will also ignore them to play her shadow game.

Something else just came to mind. A couple of times out training she has had the shakes bad. I think it was probably caused by swimming in the cold, as she doesn't have much fat on her under the long retriever coat. She might have got herself so wound up that she brought it on though. I gave her some puppy food each time and she was ok after 10 mins or so.

I think I may try finding a herbal alternative before using medication on her. As loopy as she is, the wildness is part of her if that makes sense.