OCD in dogs - glimmer man

Glimmers, ahhhhh glimmers.

Glimmer - a faint or unsteady light; gleam, twinkle, shimmer, or flicker

I hate glimmers. My daughters dog Penny (the bull terrier) is also a glimmer dog. So what do I mean by glimmer dog? A dog who sees the tiniest of glimmer (definition above) and goes after it. It can become a problem, much like shadow chasing. So far Riggs has gone after a few shadows but not like his glimmers. Perhaps there is a more steady supply of glimmers and this is the only reason.

I’ve dealt with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) in many dogs, my own included. As many of you know Tilley was a shadow chaser; which is why she became an amazing and quite famous frisbee dog. Her need to chase became obsessive as does most OCD dogs. Tilley’s shadow chasing issue started at the age of 4 months old when she very quickly realized that our 3 acre property held a plethora of bug and bird shadows to chase. After moving to California it became clear that I needed to get a handle on her behavior.

Tilley was a very high drive dog, as is Elsa; but Elsa has never veered off of actual items to chase, thankfully. Riggs’ problem started later and with a very small glimmer from my cell phone on the floor. When I saw it I yelled internally “noooooooooooooooo not another one. “ I had not thought that Riggs was a high drive dog but he is. He prefers glimmers but will chase shadows, beams of light and water from the hose. He has also noticed those little specks of dust floating in the beams of sunshine and tries to bite them.

To say that Riggs is hyper vigilant to his surroundings is an understatement. Nothing gets passed him and everything is assessed. Not a glimmer goes undetected but I have already managed the water and flashlight issue. But the glimmers are his biggest problem, you can very literally see it in his eyes. His pupils dilate and he slips into his “I cannot control myself” behavior. Right now he is still on the mend from being neutered but once he is all done, it will be back to maniac style retrieving which is one thing that definitely helps. He has a need to chase so chase he must.

It is very important to get a handle on OCD, not matter what the trigger is. Dogs must learn when and where they can indulge their need to chase; because left unchecked it can be a very dangerous behavior. Tilley once chased a crow’s shadow across a park and out onto a street. That was the very moment that it all changed and she became a frisbee dog in the making. She knew that when she was home in her fenced yard that she could indulge, but that was the one and only place.

Lots of dogs chase, but chasing and obsessive chasing of anything is not good. Once obsessive comes into play, so does loss of control. So you must take back control and get the behavior to a manageable level.

I’m sure that many of you have questions…ask away.

A tiny hunter

Wolves at the California Wolf Center that we visited several years ago.


Yesterday, Elsa and I were at the harbor.  It is truly a beautiful place; but, it is filled with squirrels. Not tree squirrels like the type with big fluffy tails, these are ground squirrels.  They look more like prairie dogs than the squirrels that you see in the forest or treed areas.  Anyway, back to the harbor. When Elsa and I arrived we saw a tiny white toy poodle standing frozen at the edge of the rocks where the squirrels live.  I smiled looking at her fancy haircut and small stature.  The man on the other end of the leash was talking to her; trying to coax her away from the little rodents, but she was not budging.  "Can't take the hunter out of the poodle," I said, smiling.  She didn't look like a hunting dog but she most definitely thought that she was and in fact she was.

    This little guy may not look much like his ancestor, the wolf.  But the drive to hunt is still in there. 

The man told me that she had caught one, I was shocked.  The squirrels were not that much smaller than she was; and I imagined her with one in her mouth doing a victory dance.  The squirrels are bold; not scared of dogs because most are kept on a short leash.  But they obviously got too confident on the day that this little white toy poodle was hunting.  I love seeing dogs that still have an ancestral drive in them and humans that give them an outlet for it.  Especially when it is not a dog that you would think would have that sort of drive.

Dogs are dogs and when we give our dogs an outlet to be a dog, it can be truly wonderful.  Seeing the man with the little white toy poodle at the harbor; standing patiently as she got her fill of "the hunt," was amazing.  I know a lot of people who freak out if their dog caught a squirrel, killed a rabbit or chased a neighborhood cat.  In fact I've had many calls from very upset dog owners who's dog had chased down and nearly killed a cat.  Dogs are dogs and whether we like it or not; they descend from wolves.  Yes even the little white toy poodle, yorkie and other very non wolf looking dogs.  They can all have that inner desire to chase and hunt.  But not all hunters are alike.

All of my dogs except for Mandy (my first dog), have been hunters; but not all have been killers.  Jessie loved to hunt and killed without a second thought.  She would sit at the top of varmint holes and wait patiently for them to come out.  One day at the park she caught one off guard and swallowed it down whole, before I could do anything about it.  Ahhh, Jack Russells.  :)  Tilley on the other hand was all about the chase.  She would slink down low when in the presence of the harbor squirrels; and there she remained until we left.  Every step was methodical and nothing else existed around her.  The hunt was the exciting part for her; I know this because she once caught a rabbit and brought it to us.  She hadn't killed it, although it died of fright in her mouth.  Rabbits are extremely fearful which makes them very hard to rescue and rehabilitate.  They die very easily, but of course I guess being in a dogs mouth is a very scary place to be.   Tilley had loved every second of the chase and finally catch, but not the kill. 

So  many people think that their dogs are far, far removed from the hunters they once were.  Some are but most are not.  That drive to hunt or chase is still very much alive; sitting just beneath that genetically modified coat.  You can take the dog out of the forest but you cannot take the hunt out of the dog. 

Drive

The drive to retrieve is okay, as long as it is within a safe environment and under control.  

Drive: an innate, biologically determined urge to attain a goal or satisfy a need.

Prey drive, we've all heard the term and although it does come from the genetically hardwired behavior to chase a moving object; I prefer to call it just that, chase drive.  Many drives have nothing to do with prey as in animal killing.  Most of it is just the simple desire to chase something moving.  There are many different types of drive in our dogs today.  I saw this big difference when Penny was at our house.  Penny is driven by glimmers, it is becoming a problem.  She is most definitely obsessed and cannot stop unless she is physically removed from the room.  Every night when I would empty or fill the dishwasher as the sun was setting she would go off by the glimmers created.  I had to kick her out of the kitchen; obsessive drive is not something you want to fuel in any way, shape or form.

Elsa and Luke on the other hand are driven by things that they can get; lizards, crickets, balls, frisbees, etc.  Their desire to chase has not moved to the constant need to chase.  I had one of those and one is just fine with me.  Tilley, she had OCD and it was all about shadows.  She started very young; at four months of age we noticed her following butterflies.  Thinking that it was adorable we watched and watched until we noticed that it was not the butterfly that she was chasing but the shadow.  At the time I didn't realize that this was a problem; I thought she was a smart girl to find something that gave her a sure thing to chase daily.   No, it was a problem in the making.

OCD (Obsessive, compulsive disorder) is not a good thing; especially in dogs who we cannot sit down and explain to.  Her desire to chase shadows quickly moved to any shadow, anywhere.  It was not until one day that she chased the shadow of a crow into the street that I realize the dangerous implications of her problem.  So what do you do with a dog like this?  We transferred her desire to chase to objects; so that we could control the chasing.  She was given error feedback if she tried to chase a shadow outside of our yard and she learned quickly.  She became an amazing disc dog and would literally chase and retrieve anything that you threw for her.  We redirected her drive.

It may seem cute in the beginning but an obsession on something that cannot be caught is a bad one.

Obsession:  a persistent preoccupation, idea or feeling.  The act of obsessing or the state of being obsessed.

Not good in any form.  Obsession should be dealt with immediately.  Elsa cannot figure out what Penny is doing when she starts with the glimmers.  Penny cannot figure out what Elsa is doing when she is after a lizard; different, very different.  One is drive, the other obsession.  You can see Penny waiting for a glimmer when she stands transfixed, staring at the wall.  It needs to end there but it must also be redirected onto something else; something that is controllable.  Just ending it will be nearly impossible.

Consequences

Like I always say, I just need to head out with the dogs to get blog ideas.  So, yesterday I decided to take Elsa out alone.  It is good for her and I to visit the parks without Luke.  We got to the park and there was no one else there; I love when that happens.  Out comes the chuck it and I fire away.  I thought it would be good to work the entire park so we head down to the other end.  After returning with the ball in her mouth; Elsa looked past me as her ears went up.  This was the first piece of information in the sequence of events.  I turned quickly to see what she had seen and it was a rabbit.  She thought about it for just a split second; dropped the ball and charged full speed.  I called her name in vain.  There is always a point when you realize that your attempts to stop what is happening are futile.  This was one of those moments.  She was gone and she was not coming back until she caught the rabbit; or at least that was what she thought.

I put the Chuck it in my belt and got a hustle on.  Elsa looked up at me for an instant and I called out "hey!"  I didn't want to use "come;" I knew she wouldn't come.  She thought about coming when I yelled "hey," but went back to her rabbit pursuit.  I was mad now, not as mad as I needed to be though so I put on my mad face.  I knew full well that this was a great training moment.  So I put on my best serious posture along with the face and made a b-line to my rabbit crazed girl.

She was at the other end of the park so I had plenty of 'think' time.  Often you don't have 'think' time so things just play out as hey unfold.  I was walking fast, there was the chance that she might try to get under the fence after the rabbit.  As I approached Elsa I yelled out a loud "NO;" I wanted a clear association to the word and what was about to play out.  (More on NO in another blog.)  With all of my time to think on the way to Elsa I knew that I had to grab a hold of her; at least for the initial point of getting her off of the rabbit.  If I just tried to shoosh her away like I would on a typical non compliance recall she would just skirt around me after the critter.  So with my posture upright and rigid, I donned my mad face and grabbed a hold of her harness.  I turned on a dime and head back towards the xterra.

I said nothing else and let my body do the speaking.  She knew, she knew that I was mad.  Now, if she had had a collar on I would have only grabbed for an instant and then had to work on shooshing or hooked her leash up immediately.   I do not like collar grabs as they can really create a negative effect.  I walked abruptly; with serious definition in every foot step.  I soon hooked up her leash as we continued onto the xterra.  Every bit of me wanted to head to the other end and continue our chuck it fun; but a lesson was being taught, right then and there.  I had to leave, she had to have consequences.  I didn't want to end the fun but it had to end.  Elsa had crossed a line that needed consequences.

Was I shocked that she went after a rabbit?  My ever so picture perfect girl?  No, I was actually happy.  This was very important information that I needed.  We've been around rabbits before that have only drawn her attention for a second.   Perhaps because they are usually at the end of a bush and dive under out of reach. This one was out in the open and running a good distance.  It was more than she could handle and she caved.  So we had a lesson before us which was perfectly timed.  She was not in danger of being run over; there were no other people around so this was the perfect place and time to have this lesson.

Once we got to the car I utterly only "get in."  My tone still stern along with my body.  That is when it ended, lesson over.  Typically a lesson is played out with feedback.  Instant, a reaction following an action.  This lesson carried on longer as the final statement was the vehicle.  Game over, fun over.  Knowing my girl as I do; the event will have a lasting impact.  This is exactly what I need.  There will always be something to chase; things that are very hard to ignore but a dog with drive must learn to ignore somethings.  Elsa's drive is nothing compared to what Tilley's was; this is a walk in the park.