How do you break an obsessive dog's behavior?

Prevention is a critical part of helping to extinguish the behaviour, so whenever possible, keep your dog out of situations that elicit it. Obviously, you cannot eliminate lights and shadows from your dog’s life, but even simple steps such as hanging dark curtains, spending time with your dog in the rooms with the fewest lights and shadows, and temporarily storing particularly reflective items can help. Your response when your dog begins to chase light or fixate on shadows will have a big impact on his behaviour. Let your motto be: interrupt and redirect, but never punish. Interrupt the behaviour and try to redirect him to some other sort of behaviour. Try to distract him with a favourite toy or use a new squeaky toy to get his attention. Consider rattling his lead and heading out for a walk if that works to distracts him. The interruption should distract your dog, but should never scare him. Good options for redirection include tug, fetch, the ever-popular frozen Kong, a chew toy, outdoor exercise or a training session. An hour walk each day is enough for many dogs, but additional exercise for a young, active dog so interested in light and shadows is really important. Off-lead running for an hour or more a day can really make a big difference, as can tiring activities such as fetch and swimming. Physical exercise can greatly help this problem, but so can additional mental exercise. Giving your dog’s mind more to do may help as much as the physical exercise. Give him enrichment toys that tax his brain, teach him tricks daily or attend classes.

The first thing to do is to get the dog a complete medical evaluation to rule out any illness that could be causing him stress. Most veterinarians agree that one of the main reasons for OCD behavior is stress. Frustration, stress, and lack of human interaction certainly contributed to his OCD behaviors. The first thing I suggested was to hire a dog walker for Kiwi instead of leaving him in the run. In addition, I wanted him to be crated in the house when the family wasn’t home. When the family wasn’t home, Kiwi was crated for no longer than three to four hours at a time. The dog walker would come to walk and play with him for 45 minutes, at least three times a day. Kiwi’s rehabilitation didn’t happen overnight. But because the family was committed to the end result of a happy and stress-free dog, they did everything required to get him on the road to recovery.

First, schedule a vet visit to rule out any underlying medical causes. Once your dog has gotten a clean bill of health there are several actions you can take to mitigate OCD behaviors. Learn what your dog’s triggers are and work to reduce and eventually eliminate his exposure. Keep his routine predicable from day to day and remove any known stressors. Choose an activity that your dog enjoys and start increasing his daily exercise. Not only can exercise lower any anxiety that might be playing a part, but it can release endorphins assisting in relaxation. Keep his brain happy and enrich his days by giving him puzzle toys or food-dispensing toys and games. Work on training with your dog for five to ten minutes a day. Teach him behaviors that are incompatible with his OCD behaviors. For example, if he chases his tail or spins, get him outside to play fetch or work on “sit” or “down.” Reward him with praise and a high-value treat for not continuing to spin.

Dogs often develop these compulsive behaviours to cope with stress, anxiety, or a lack of exercise, mental stimulation or nutrition. We, as owners, need to ensure that we don’t encourage compulsive behaviours by laughing and cheering on behaviours that look or sound cute in puppyhood, but which can become unwanted and unhealthy as the dog grows. Some particular examples include… never play light or laser-chasing games with your puppy, don’t encourage him to bite his own feet, and don’t praise him for barking at nothing at the stage when he is finding his voice. Whatever the reason for the behaviour, it is advisable to react quickly, before the behaviour and resultant damage becomes chronic. With the help of your Bark Buster trainer, you will be able to put in place some behaviour modification to help stop the compulsive behaviour. Early intervention is important.