I've also heard that Prozac is very useful in obsessive compulsive disorder. I saw it used on a cat that was obsessively biting its own tail until it bled, and it worked miracles.
The other suggestion I have is that you give the dog a mission, some sort of useful reason for being. I've seen Cesar Milan often use this method with neurotic dogs. He gives them something to do. Usually he uses a backpack made for dogs (they are available in very small sizes for toy dogs - I saw one online today, could have been on gollygear.com). He puts something in it, like a bag of dried beans, or a jar of pickles or anything that has some weight to it, maybe a 1/2-1 lb for a little dog. Then he takes them for a walk. That seems to do the trick in the dogs that Cesar has had to treat for neurosis. It makes them feel useful, and they no longer do their neurotic behavior.
One dog he rehabilitated kept running around the house outside. He did it so many times that he had worn a path in their grass. You might check your library or a video store. The episodes are available to buy and some video stores, such as Netflix carry the series. |