When Corvallis resident Leslie Knight’s two-year-old border collie, Tucker, was only about 4 ½ months old, he started to chase his shadow.
That may sound like a harmless game, but Knight was not amused.
Tucker’s behavior became so all-encompassing that she began rising at 4:15 a.m. to give him an off-leash run before the sun came out.
He also became “obsessed” with his own reflection when he spied it in shiny objects, such as the door to the family’s woodstove.
Knight took Tucker to Dr. Christopher Pachel, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at Animal Behavior Clinic in Southeast Portland.
Pachel determined that Tucker’s strange behaviors were caused by a compulsive disorder – essentially the canine equivalent of human OCD.
Scientists have been studying canine compulsive behavior as a way to learn more about the condition in humans.
A new study published in the journal Genome Biology revealed that researchers have identified four genes with high rates of mutation found only in dogs with OCD.
If the same is true in humans with OCD, the findings can help scientists find better ways to treat the condition in people.
What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?
In human psychology, intrusive, imperative and distressing thoughts are called obsessions.
When people act on those thoughts by repeatedly checking door locks, washing their hands or arranging things in a particular way to ease their mind, the behavior becomes compulsive.
We don’t know whether dogs experience obsessive thoughts, but they do sometimes engage in repetitive behavior that can harm them or interfere with their lives.
Examples include repeatedly licking or chewing a part of the body, chasing tails or drinking water excessively.
Certain breeds appear to be predisposed toward compulsive behaviors.
Bull terriers are typically spinners or tail-chasers, border collies are more likely to pursue shadows, while Doberman pinschers are prone to flank sucking.
In some cases, the behaviors develop over time, while other times they might be triggered by stress or a particular incident.
Diagnosing OCD in dogs
While many dogs come into Pachel’s clinic to be evaluated for compulsive behaviors, he says, only a fraction of them are actually diagnosed with it.
“It is a diagnosis that is very difficult to make with 100 percent certainty, because there’s such an overlap between the behavioral diagnosis and other factors,” he says. “A fair number of them are more likely to be caused by an underlying medical condition.”
Causes may be due to a range of dermatological, neurological, musculoskeletal or gastrointestinal issues.
Or Fido may be engaging in a repetitive behavior because he’s bored or stressed.
To determine the root of the behavior, Pachel conducts an exhaustive exam and interview with the owner to find out when and where the activity occurs.
If he suspects the condition is neurological, he’ll refer the patient to Dr. Robert Kroll, a board-certified veterinary neurologist at VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists in Clackamas.
Depending on the dog’s behavior, Kroll may check for issues such as nerve damage, a spinal tumor or a neurological condition.
Dogs that seem to be snapping at the air as if chasing imaginary flies, a behavior known as ‘fly-biting,’ may actually be having a seizure.
Meanwhile, Cavalier King Charles spaniels that scratch obsessively near the neck could suffer from a Chiari-like malformation and syringomyelia, a painful and serious congenital condition.
As far as Knight knows, there was no known trigger that initiated Tucker’s shadow-chasing.
She’s just happy that she found a way to manage it.
Pachel developed a customized treatment plan for Tucker that incorporates Prozac and behavior modification exercises. (There is no “one-size fits all” approach for treating OCD, since each case is so different).
Knight now avoids potentially triggering situations in order to prevent Tucker from “practicing” the unwanted behaviors.
She no longer lets him off-leash when it’s sunny out.
Knight also learned some counter-conditioning techniques, such as rewarding him with food when he looks away from his reflection, which have helped dramatically.
While her experience with Tucker has been hard, it has led to a positive outcome.
“It has inspired me to study to become a dog trainer so I can help other people with dogs with difficult issues,” she says.
She invites other owners to discuss their experiences by e-mailing her at email@example.com.
Examples of compulsive behaviors in dogs:
- Spinning in place repeatedly.
- Chasing tails.
- 'Fly snapping,' or lunging in the air as if to catch invisible flies.
- Chewing, licking or scratching one area of the body repeatedly, often to the point of causing injury.
- Chasing shadows or lights.
- Flank sucking.
- Barking constantly, even when there's no visible trigger.
--Monique Balas; firstname.lastname@example.org