Hi Everyone,
 
I had a client call me with a great question that actually stumped me for a few hours, her Border Collie was licking the windows in the car and house obsessively and did not know what to do...
 
I asked her all the questions of what she had tried... SHE DID IT ALL!!! and nothing was working...
 
So I tuned into the dog, and she told me she was licking her way out of the car and house to be with her owner... well we all know that would take years to accomplish, but Bella did not care she needed to be with her owner at any cost...
 
In the dog world and human world this behavior is called OCD ( Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which means you do an act over and over again.  An example for humans is leaving the house, then getting out of your car to go back into the house to make sure everything is turned off and the door is locked, yes you have done all the above, but your brain keeps telling you that you have not, so you need to go back and check to make sure you have done this over and over again, I have known people who do this over 30 times every time they leave the house..
 
The good news is this can be corrected when proper medication is given to you by your doctor, if you have this problem, NO YOU ARE NOT NUTS... it's just a few wires are crossed in your brain... once you have the proper med's these situations go away, with the med's and talking with your doctor...
 
Now as for dogs, it is a little different, yes many people put their dogs on doggy Prozac and it helps with the behavior but no one ever thinks to why a dog is doing this, a person can talk with a doctor, well a dog does NOT get to go and talk to the Vet to tell them what is upsetting them...
 
I have found that if your dog does this, it means they are a great working dog... who needs a job, once we train them they are happy and the behavior of licking windows or other OCD behaviors dissipate.
 
In Bella's case the owner did not want her dog to take the medication for all it does with a dog is make them a quiet dog that owner wants the dog to have, with out any work or really addressing the issue of the dog..
 
The first thing I did was to run a K9 report on Bella which I offer to all my clients, her natal chart told me she was not your average cookie but a wonderful working dog that needed to have a job..
 
 I can't tell you how much I love the K9 report's, it will tell me everything I want to know about your dog and they way they are thinking and how to address any problem you are seeing with your dog, this report will tell me how to correct the behavior and the proper method to use.
 
I was quite happy to hear that Bella is going to become a service dog to help other people with their illness's ....  Bella now will have a job which will take away the behavior of licking her way out of a car or house to be with her owner.... she will be able to be with people all the time and help them, so she may complete her job here on earth...
 
To be honest this is one of the behaviors a good trainer will look for not so much the OCD, we like to call it prey drive... for instance they are ball crazy, smart, and wanting to work at any cost....
 
If you have a dog like this, please feel free to contact me and I can send you in the proper direction of a good trainer to give your dog a job, if you are in my area which is NC, I would be happy to work with your dog.... Service dogs are always needed and wanted.  It is just most people do not understand the prey drive and what to do with it, so they either give the dog up and is given the name PROBLEM DOG, which we all know most of these Angels are put down by the SPCA or local pound....
 
So before you choose doggy Prozac or get rid of your Angel, please call me first, I know I would not want to be on a medication that is going to take the ability away to save a life, or be stopped to what I really need to be doing with my life as a dog.... these dogs are Angels sent to us by God, not that all animals are not Angels these babies are just sent to use for other jobs than just your average pet...
 
Remember, these dogs are not pets but just like humans they need a job!!
 
Hugs
Natalie