haleigh Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 I had my private lesson with Amanda Nelson a couple weeks back. She said that yeah, Joy and I have a bond, but not a working bond. So, it's only me doing the feeding, playing...etc., I hand feed her, and I provide EVERYTHING for her. Her agility lesson a week ago was a little more than stellar. She only ran off for 5 minutes, but when she came back, she didn't do her random jumping crap. A few days ago (monday, maybe??) she started this weird thing at home. Joy's been barking nonstop. Yeah, 'typical' border collie stuff. But I mean nonstop. She will wakeup and just start her high pitched panic bark. If I leave her alone for five minutes, she starts barking. She also chases the walls. If I'm playing with her, she'll stop bringing it to me half way and run full force to the nearest wall and start scanning the base like theirs gold or something. Even if we're cuddling she'll do this. Before training last night, I ran out of Joy's anxiety drops, and it was raining. I thought Joy would be iffy because of the rain, but she was fine. I was able to get a solid 15 minutes in with Joy actually listening, before she glazed over and started chasing the wall. We called it quits, and tried getting Joy over for treats and toys. She only came back for a whole 2 minutes out of a half hour. Most dogs with OCD things would think this gets boring after a while, but not Joy. If she's not starting to get back into her normal self by next week, I'm taking her to the vet. I was thinking we should get a CBC or an eye exam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 I would get a FULL check up, not just an eye exam. Dogs that do things like that (not all, but some) can have neuro problems or have some kind of imbalance in there chemestry (K+, CA+, etc.) Fingers crossed it just behavioral. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Haleigh, Is it possible that Joy found something exciting at the base of a wall and is now translating that to "all walls, all the time"? I ask because my neighbor has a young dog who likes to hunt lizards. There don't have to be any lizards actually present--she will obsessively look for them at the foundation of their house, where the walls meet the porch floor, etc. It's very annoying when I go over there to let dogs out for them because she is so obsessed with looking for lizards that I have to physically get in her face to break her concentration and get her to go out in the yard and do her business. I think it's a good idea to get a vet check, but if she's already exhibited signs of OCD I'd be willing to bet that something caught her attention at the base of the wall and triggered her prey drive, which the OCD then took over. As for the barking, I don't have any opinion on that except that it's really *not* a typical border collie trait. I have nine border collies here, and only one actually barks for something other than "alarm barking." In fact, I would say that border collies are generally considered to be pretty quiet dogs. Anyway, if Joy were mine, I'd keep a drag line on her and if she took off to troll the walls or whatever, I'd get her and bring her back. Allowing her to just do it for however long she wants is allowing her to be self-reinforcing. When I have to let my neighbor's dog out, she gets a harsh voice correction from me for running off to look for lizards. I don't let her get away with it and just wait her out--I insist that she stop and come back and do what she's supposed to be doing (going potty). J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandra s. Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Could you have mice? We sometimes have mice in the walls. The dogs ignore their sounds unless they've just been chasing one that got in, but another dog might go nuts at that... When a mouse does get in, and they go after it, they will go through a short OCD period of staring at the wall/floor angle with great fascination. The last time, I had to shut them into the bedroom at night to break the habit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 A reminder that BCs can get overly OCD. Worse than some people I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haleigh Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 I don't really think she sees, hears or smells anything. It's just one of those gut feelings. She won't stop at anything....even her favorite toy or treat. I ran away from her screaming Ouch! (which she tries to 'protect me' no matter the circumstance or place) and she was still staring at the wall. I don't know- maybe I need to post a video. I've seen OCD dogs but not this intense. If I get her into the vet, should I just ask for a complete physical and blood workup, or any other specific things that might not be included? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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