4 ms·
My Greyhound/Lab cross was diagnosed with OCD and treated with medications (too long ago to recall what we used), exercise, and lots of redirection training. T
by jrace 8y ago
My Greyhound/Lab cross was diagnosed with OCD and treated with medications (too long ago to recall what we used), exercise, and lots of redirection training.
The diagnosis came after we had to have all his claws removed due to fungal infections. He would chew on his paws whenever he was left alone. Despite having 3 cats and another dog in the house, as soon as there were no more humans he would get anxious and OCD.
The meds helped to reduce, but the true treatment was redirection of his compulsions.
- 0xcde4c3db 8y agoWhen you say "the true treatment was redirection of his compulsions", do you mean that a regimen of redirection eliminated compulsions, or that the compulsive behavior is replaced by a different behavior that isn't harmful?
- jrace 8y agoreplaced with different behavior. It never cured him, only broke him out of the cycle temporarily. The key was being able to redirect his energy away from himself. Once I was able to spot the cycle and "break" him out of it, usually with a sharp sound, I could then redirect him to something else, his favorite toy, or to chase me around the couch. It was the breaking of the cycle that seemed the most effective. It did take a few months of medication before redirection could work. His issue was likely a combination of genetics and poor upbringing. We got him at age 2....and was his fifth (and final) home. As you could imagine he never got over his separation anxiety even 13 years later. Excuse me while I go and remove whatever just got in my eye ;)