Charlie, my 2 year old English Springer is a fantastic dog - child friendly, cat friendly, everything friendly, with a permanent grin on his face. HOWEVER, he has a major compulsion to chase dust. If he's on any hard surface (patio, pavement etc) he spends his whole time manically staring at the floor, leaping about and snapping at God knows what that he thinks he can see moving. When he gets really excited he starts yipping and barking too.
When we go for a walk, he is so obsessed with leaping after every dust ball and leaf blowing past, he pays absolutely no attention to any form of command. He's a strong boy, so the only way I can take him out is on a Gencon collar and even that doesn't hep much on a windy day!
If we are out in the garden he will run and spring from one end of the paving that goes round the house to the other. Given half a chance he will do it for hours, only stopping for a rest when he's completely out of breath before starting again.
Walks we can manage, but the problem with him chasing dust in the garden is that he gets so excited he wags his tail like a lunatic and doesn't notice that he is bashing it against the brick wall, fence, chairs etc. You won't believe how many barriers we have put up against hard objects in the garden, but somehow he always manages to bash it. As a consequence he keeps splitting the tip of his tail.
Once split, his tail takes forever to heal as he just opens up the wound over and over. We've had loads of trips to the vet as it ends up getting infected and he has to have antibiotics.
Vet recommended some natural remedy pills called Nutri Calm for Dogs. Recommended dose was three pills a day, but there was no noticeable difference and cost was £30 per bottle of 50 pills, so that's a non-runner.
We are now at a point where the vet has recommended that we have his tail docked, which we are loathe to do. Any suggestions for how to deal with the compulsions (and what might be causing them) before such a drastic step?
Thanks to you all
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Springer with OCD - advice and experience please
15 replies
busyhouseof8 · 25/05/2011 15:02
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.