I'm totally lost on this one....Help????

doxielady5569128 · February 28, 2006, 02:14:39 PM

Lately Poky has been doing some really weird rituals that I think may be obsessive. Is it possible for him to have obsessive compulsive disorder? and if he does, how can I help him??

Here's what he does- Porky gets all his toys out from his toy box one by one. He lays them out on the floor in a certain order and in a specific spot. If he gets one toy slightly out of place from the last time he did it, he picks up all the toys and puts them back in the toy box and starts again till he gets it just right. Then after he finally gets them laid out...he goes to end of the living room and starts running, as he runs, he picks up each toy he comes to, runs to the next toy and drops it so he can grab the next one. If he misses one he goes clear back to the start and start arranging them out of the toy box again. After he is finished with his run and pick up routine. He stops in the kitchen, licks his left leg four times, and then starts working his way back to the start, so the toys end up in the same position they were when he first arranged them. He can repeat this for hours!

Is he being obsessive or is this just some weird game he invented to keep himself occupied?? If its just a game I don't understand the significance of licking the same leg four times in between his runs. :scratch: Nothing in this "game", or whatever it is, EVER can be changed or he seems to get frustrated and has to start all over. He sometimes arranges the toys so much that he gets tired from running around making sure they are all perfectly positioned. This is the weirdest thing I have ever seen any dog do, so any ideas would be helpful. I have tried getting him to stop by hiding one of the toys he typically uses to do this, but then he spent the entire day getting the toys in and out of the box and wondering where the missing one was.

It was like he thought if he kept putting them back in the box the missing toy would magically appear, so he couldn't stop until I finally gave in and got it out. I had the vet check his leg that he was licking so much to make sure he didn't have any fleas or anything irritating it and he said the leg was just fine. I have not yet talked to my vet about this "game" thing though. Do you think I should???

Rocks Mom · March 01, 2006, 04:48:45 PM

Porky sounds kinda cool to me Rock doesn't do that but he gets really weirded out if you try to take his blanket away from him its like his security or something.......The wouldn't say anything to the vet it's not hurting him right?????? Rocks Mom

Beth · March 02, 2006, 08:13:34 AM

It sounds cute what Porky does, based on your description. However, if this really bothers you, or if you just want to find out some answers, perhaps videotaping Porky's behavior and then showing it to your vet would help. At least this way your vet can see exactly what Porky is doing and let you know if there is anything to be concerned about. If it makes you feel better, have your vet check it out.

TerriL · March 02, 2006, 08:32:45 AM

I have pretty much decided, after my three, that nothing really surprises me with dachsies! I posted a few days ago about Toby's compulsive behavior around the pool and have pretty much decided that he does what he does and there is not much that I can do about it!
Porky sounds like he is enjoying himself anyway....so who knows? Maybe it's just the way he likes to play! My Buelah likes to take all of her toys out and pile them up in the back yard. I put them away and she takes them out.
Wouldn't it be great if we could figure out what they are thinking? :)

doxielady5569128 · March 02, 2006, 10:11:32 AM

It is pretty funny and cute watching him do this "routine", but he seems to get so upset if one little thing goes wrong. That's what concerns me about it. I am pretty sure it is just a weird game because yesterday he was trying to get the cats to join in.

They didn't really understand why he was nudging them along. I think they thought he was trying to be mean to them. I ended up having to separate them all. Just like human siblings. LOL The good thing about this game is after he's done, all the toys are put away by him. So...I think I'll just let him be and have fun watching it.

TerriL · March 02, 2006, 12:25:55 PM

Poor kitties! LOL!
Hey, next time your in Florida would you bring Porky over to teach my three how to take care of the toys? :) That's a skill that they have clearly NOT mastered.

Buelah says...dats what da mama is FOR! Geez! If I took care of da toys, she wouldn't have nuthin to do!

Rich · March 02, 2006, 01:44:58 PM

Sounds like Porky has created a job for himself. Have you done any training with him? If he is able to do things that you train him to do (another job) maybe he won't be so fixed on toy arrangement.

doxielady5569128 · March 03, 2006, 12:19:23 PM

Rich...Thanks for the idea about using training to distract him from this game. We had trained him to put away his toy in his toy box when he was very young, so maybe he decided they had to be arranged on the floor in a certain order too. I'm not too worried about it anymore because it keeps him busy. Ans the vet said it is fine as long as he's not obsessing over other things. The vet said as long as he gets exercise doing it, I wouldn't complain. LOL

Terri...I'd love to have Porky teach your doggies how to do that. Porky even taught our kittens. LOL
I'm actually not even sure how he learned it,My husband and I were picking up toys when he was 7 weeks old and we handed him one and Porky put it right into the toy box. So...I guess he learned by imitating us. He's pretty smart with stuff like that.

SkeeterN · March 06, 2006, 05:03:07 AM

Personally if one of my three doxies did something this intellegent I would just sit back and watch and laugh. So far the only thing smart my dogs can do is sit to beg for treats. They are rather as sharp as a box of rocks. Well my red wants the squeeky part of her toy if you tug it.?