outbackdean Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Hi our 16month old GSD has been diagnosed with CCD / anxiety by our vet. He started chasing his tail about three weeks ago (and we have no reason why, no event) He chases his tail that much he has cut his eye and had to have stitches (bashes into objects with no stoping) He is obedience trained and has always had a high drive as per most GSD male pups (he was desexed at 12months of age) He is on Clomicalm 80mg per day for a month to see if it settles him down , he is wearing a DAP collar and we have a thunder shirt for him as we'll Is they anybody else that has successfully cured a problem like this if so what did you do ? PS he has had his tail rayed and shaved , glands checked etc to rule out any other problems. Thanking you for any help Edited May 23, 2014 by outbackdean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosmum Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Hi our 16month old GSD has been diagnosed with CCD / anxiety by our vet. He started chasing his tail about three weeks ago (and we have no reason why, no event) He chases his tail that much he has cut his eye and had to have stitches (bashes into objects with no stoping) He is obedience trained and has always had a high drive as per most GSD male pups (he was desexed at 12months of age) He is on Clomicalm 80mg per day for a month to see if it settles him down , he is wearing a DAP collar and we have a thunder shirt for him as we'll Is they anybody else that has successfully cured a problem like this if so what did you do ? PS he has had his tail rayed and shaved , glands checked etc to rule out any other problems. Thanking you for any help Hi outbackdean, There are people here much better qualified to help you out, but I have a few questions that will make it easier for them anyway. How much time a day do you spend with your boy? Does he spend plenty of time inside with you or out side mostly? How much excersize and mental stimulation does he get daily? When you are not with him, what has he got to keep him occupied? Does he like to chase things? (apart from his tail ) Is he a nervous or does anything in particular stress him ? Do you still do obedience or any other training with him? Till some one better qualified comes in ( they will) I would be interrupt the behavior whenever I see it, get him to focus on something else, starting with me 1st.( 'cos only I can correct and redirect) try to teach him better ways to cope with what ever is causing this.Basicaly try to give him plenty else to think about. You describe him as higher drive. What "drives" him most? Wishing you well with this, must be very upsetting. Edited May 24, 2014 by moosmum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outbackdean Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Hi our 16month old GSD has been diagnosed with CCD / anxiety by our vet. He started chasing his tail about three weeks ago (and we have no reason why, no event) He chases his tail that much he has cut his eye and had to have stitches (bashes into objects with no stoping) He is obedience trained and has always had a high drive as per most GSD male pups (he was desexed at 12months of age) He is on Clomicalm 80mg per day for a month to see if it settles him down , he is wearing a DAP collar and we have a thunder shirt for him as we'll Is they anybody else that has successfully cured a problem like this if so what did you do ? PS he has had his tail rayed and shaved , glands checked etc to rule out any other problems. Thanking you for any help Hi outbackdean, There are people here much better qualified to help you out, but I have a few questions that will make it easier for them anyway. How much time a day do you spend with your boy? Does he spend plenty of time inside with you or out side mostly? How much excersize and mental stimulation does he get daily? When you are not with him, what has he got to keep him occupied? Does he like to chase things? (apart from his tail ) Is he a nervous or does anything in particular stress him ? Do you still do obedience or any other training with him? Till some one better qualified comes in ( they will) I would be interrupt the behavior whenever I see it, get him to focus on something else, starting with me 1st.( 'cos only I can correct and redirect) try to teach him better ways to cope with what ever is causing this.Basicaly try to give him plenty else to think about. You describe him as higher drive. What "drives" him most? Wishing you well with this, must be very upsetting. To answer your questions My wife is home with him six out of seven days a week and he goes in and out with her all day. They do training all through the day with games of tug and flirt pole and walks Then we also have two teenage boys that play with him doing fetch etc He loves to play flirt pole and was prone to chase flies when he was younger If for some reason he is home alone he has bungee tugs and balls and kongs and is given a frozen chicken breast when he is left Yes he is still going too obedience classes with other dogs Nothing seemed to upset him before this cropped up three weeks ago , maybe dry loud thunder he has always been so happy and extremely good temperament with both dogs and people His drive is higher with tugs and flirt but works well for food as we'll The only other change we have noticed in him now is he is prone to bark at people that he knows like he is unsure of them (like someone has attacked him but we cannot work out when unless someone has tried to break in to the yard) I hope I have answered your questions and thank you for your concern Thanking you Outbackdean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 (edited) Hi Outbackdean, Sorry to hear your boy has been diagnosed with CCD/anxiety. I have a 3 year old Border Collie who has also been diagnosed with severe Anxiety & totally understand how stressful it can be although my girl doesn't have CCD. Stella has been on medication for over 2 years now. I am no expert but would have to think from what you have said that something indeed has frightened your boy. Thunder will unravel my girl every time. Certainly sounds like you are doing everything right. He gets training/exercise/attention throughout the day etc etc I have found using the Thundershirt has helped here. I had much more success with DAP spray than the collar. I found the collars ineffective. I spray Stella collar & her bedding everyday. I find distraction works very well before her state of mind actually escalates. Eg. Stella is extremely noise reactive. Pretty much any sound she hears in our back yard will set her off but if I can redirect her at the very onset of her reactivity & ask her to a trick or for a simple task like, on your mat it stops her from reaching a very anxious emotional state. I practice a lot of LAT which also seems to help when we are outside of our home enviroment. So if you can redirect your boy as soon as he attempts to chase his tail, intercept him & redirect his train of thought with the flirt pole or whatever each time he tries any unwanted behavior. It is like retaining his brain if you like. Timing & consistancy are key though. There is no quick fix for issues like this. I have had Trainers/Vets/Behaviorists help & we have made a lot of improvements with Stella. We still have a ways to go yet but am very happy thus far. I think getting some professional help would be invaluable IMHO. Hopefully some fellow Dolers who are trainers or others that have a wealth of knowledge will pop in on this thread & be able to help you. Hope I was of some help to you though. Good luck with your boy :) Edited May 24, 2014 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outbackdean Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Hi Outbackdean, Sorry to hear your boy has been diagnosed with CCD/anxiety. I have a 3 year old Border Collie who has also been diagnosed with severe Anxiety & totally understand how stressful it can be although my girl doesn't have CCD. Stella has been on medication for over 2 years now. I am no expert but would have to think from what you have said that something indeed has frightened your boy. Thunder will unravel my girl every time. Certainly sounds like you are doing everything right. He gets training/exercise/attention throughout the day etc etc I have found using the Thundershirt has helped here. I had much more success with DAP spray than the collar. I found the collars ineffective. I spray Stella collar & her bedding everyday. I find distraction works very well before her state of mind actually escalates. Eg. Stella is extremely noise reactive. Pretty much any sound she hears in our back yard will set her off but if I can redirect her at the very onset of her reactivity & ask her to a trick or for a simple task like, on your mat it stops her from reaching a very anxious emotional state. I practice a lot of LAT which also seems to help when we are outside of our home enviroment. So if you can redirect your boy as soon as he attempts to chase his tail, intercept him & redirect his train of thought with the flirt pole or whatever each time he tries any unwanted behavior. It is like retaining his brain if you like. Timing & consistancy are key though. There is no quick fix for issues like this. I have had Trainers/Vets/Behaviorists help & we have made a lot of improvements with Stella. We still have a ways to go yet but am very happy thus far. I think getting some professional help would be invaluable IMHO. Hopefully some fellow Dolers who are trainers or others that have a wealth of knowledge will pop in on this thread & be able to help you. Hope I was of some help to you though. Good luck with your boy :) Thank you for your comments , we were wondering if getting another pup or dog would help or hinder his development What do people think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I wouldn't be adding another anything while your boy is so anxious. You could tip your dog over the edge. It isn't fair on the new dog either. If you were thinking of getting a puppy another thing could happen that could end up resembling a train wreck. A lot of pups can mimick the older dog. They tend to learn & follow the older dogs lead. Not saying it will happen but it could. Not worth the risk IMHO.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Thank you for your comments , we were wondering if getting another pup or dog would help or hinder his development What do people think Better to get this boy as well as possible. He might misunderstand the arrival of another dog and you are faced with more issues. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 outbackdean - THIS THREAD CLICK HERE may give you some more ideas ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I would say he has had the OCD tendencies for quite a while. He used to chase flies, now he chases his tail. I had a GSD girl that I ended up PTS at 20 months and she had OCD. Tail chasing as well as pacing in circles looking for things in the carpet or grass. She did not have an easy life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Rebanne, sorry to hear about having to put your girl to sleep because if her OCD's. Very sad indeed. They live a tormented cruel existance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I know a 6 month old bill terrier who was pts as well. Pers linked a thread above. I put a website in there with info, Good luck with it, keep us updated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 There is such a fine line with these sorts of behaviour. Did any Vets ever suggest the dogs might also have had vaccinosis? Came across an issue with a Vizsla with OCD issues. Vet decided vaccinosis was part of the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I have only seen one dog who had OCD issues. Heart breaking to witness. Years ago it was a lovely ACD . He chased everything....Then he'd start biting his feet. I remember him being a very cranky boy. Would of been from sheer frustration/torment I would think. Poor fella Stella did start to lick her legs in the same spot a fair bit when she was a puppy but I just kept redirecting her & she stopped doing it thankfully. She definitely did have those tendencies I think. Your so right VizslaMomma there is a very fine line with these sorts of behavior's. I think some folks don't think it is as serious as it can be at times. Watched an terrible UTube clip of a dog attacking it's own foot. People thought it was funny. Shocking stuff. Sorry to hear of your loss too Teebs 6 months is so very young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outbackdean Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 It is with the most sadness I must inform you that today Our GSD Teddy had to be PTS as when we got him up this morning he was bleeding from the anus and could hardly stand we rushed him to the vet they put him on a drip and checked for snake bite etc but he went down hill very quickly waiting on the blood test to come back but it is looking that he may have been baited. thanking you for or of your support in this difficuit time Dean Williams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Oh...I am SO sorry Run Free Teddy - you will now be free of that anxiety and will be at peace . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 It is with the most sadness I must inform you that today Our GSD Teddy had to be PTS as when we got him up this morning he was bleeding from the anus and could hardly stand we rushed him to the vet they put him on a drip and checked for snake bite etc but he went down hill very quickly waiting on the blood test to come back but it is looking that he may have been baited. thanking you for or of your support in this difficuit time Dean Williams He may have had one of the VERY nasty intestinal bugs - HGE, or parvo ....... I do hope it wasn't a bait. What a terrible shock for you . Take care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I'm so sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 oh, I'm so sorry R.I.P Teddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 It is with the most sadness I must inform you that today Our GSD Teddy had to be PTS as when we got him up this morning he was bleeding from the anus and could hardly stand we rushed him to the vet they put him on a drip and checked for snake bite etc but he went down hill very quickly waiting on the blood test to come back but it is looking that he may have been baited. thanking you for or of your support in this difficuit time Dean Williams How devastating. I am so so sorry, Dean. Sending HUGS. Be free, Teddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) I am ever so sorry to read this shocking news. My deepest condolences to you & your family Dean. You did your very best with him trying to help him defeat his own inner demonds. RIP Dear Teddy boy. Your forever free from all your fears now boy... finally at peace . Enjoy boy. Edited May 25, 2014 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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