Can my Yorkie have OCD?
 

Do dogs get OCD like people do?

Hendrix is so obsessive.......

1. He licks himself for like 45 minutes at a time
2. He won't eat food out of the bowl. He has to scratch it out on kibble at a time and then take it across the room and eat it underneath the table. Then he goes back for another piece..... one at a time.... back and forth.
3. When he sees a toy he wants on the floor instead of going and getting it and getting back on the couch he will sit there and stare at it and SHAKE.... like shake HARD until I go and get it for him. He will sit there and shake for 2 hours if I try and ignore him. He does the same thing when we are in bed....

I am sure that there are more obsessive things that he does.... but those are the main ones. Haha they are really funny..... but they remind me of things that a person with ODC would do..... especially the one where he shakes for his toys.

Are anybody elses yorkies like this or is it something I should actually look into?
:confused:

where does he lick?

I know my girls when they eat...Jasmine will wait until you're home to eat and Bella will take a moutful of food out and spread it around the floor then go pick it up one by one. They all have such personalities..the only thing that would concern me is the licking for 45 minutes and the shaking...mine lick themselves but it's usually quick. Hopefully someone else on here has more advice than I have to offer.

He licks his legs..... but he also licks his toys. Haha it sounds funny.... but I am actually concerned. He will lay down and lick his toys for an hour instead of playing with them.

lol i have heard of dogs licking toys- some suck on them like a baby sucks on a soother- it is a calming thing. If you are concerned i would try and preoccupy him with someone else and praise him a lot when he plays normally. How old was he when you got him?

His legs might be related to something else- like an allergy.

I got him when he was 6 weeks old. To my knowledge he does not have allergies. He does get itchy, but its just when he needs a bath.

I think the weirdest thing is how he will stare at his toy and shake haha...... unless someone elses dog does this too and then it won't seem so weird.

I got him when he was 6 weeks old. To my knowledge he does not have allergies. He does get itchy, but its just when he needs a bath.

I think the weirdest thing is how he will stare at his toy and shake haha...... unless someone elses dog does this too and then it won't seem so weird.

It really is important that you noticed this. I don't think this is happening with your dog but mine would lick cement all the time and he ended up with a very rare cancer and passed but this was one of the signs.

I do think it is more of a calming thing also.

I am so sorry to hear that!
I am not concerned about his health.... he is young and he seems to be a healthy little boy. I just am curious if it is an OCD thing or if other people have pets with weird habbits too.

Thank you for sharing though..... and I am so sorry about your baby.

I am pretty sure that is why he does it. He was taken from his mom WAY WAY too early- they shouldn't leave until 12 weeks. I know many other dogs that are taken from their mom too early and do this "self soothing" thing. So i suppose as far as that goes- it is normal.

The shaking is odd- what happens if you call his name? Does he just want you to pick the toy up?

I know I got him wayyyyy to early, but at the time I did not know. I was a very good mama though :)

As far as the shaking.... he just wants the toy. He wants it so bad that he gets fixated on it and shakes. It's riddiculous.

Example:

Yesterday my boyfriend and I were watching TV in bed and the pups were with us and Hendrix was staring at my boyfriend and shaking. After 20 minutes or so of us laughing and trying to figure out what he wanted my boyfreind realized he was sitting on Hendrix's bone...... yeah...... haha. And then when he gave Hendrix the bone he was totally fine and happy chewing his bone.

Thank you for your thoughts.

The only reason I brought it up was because it is important to notice things. The vet told me with my dog it was something that even another vet might not have picked up but who knows.

Mine will shake their head back and forth with the toy in their mouth to try and kill the prey...They also will stare at it and I am guessing to see if it will move but I don't know.
'
These little ones are terriers and can get a wild burr up their fanny from time to time and I have never figured it but I do laugh once they start running around and going crazy..haha

I agree I don't think the health of your little one is in trouble.

Okay now I get what you are saying...My Moose will do this all the time...sit and stare at me until I figure out what he wants...sometimes he will start crying and I still don't know what he wants...I have to keep asking..

Yep yours is a normal Yorkie thing...

sounds like you are a WONDERFUL mommy :) But the licking the toy, in that respect, is normal for him. I know many dogs will take the toy and go somewhere quick and lick/suck on it. The people that I know whos dogs do this- just let them.

Man the shaking has me. I guess if it were me, I would do whatever I could to avoid the shaking happening because I don't think the fixation is necessarily a good thing but by letting him shake, then giving him what he wants, he is learning that shaking gets him what he wants. So if it were me, i would do what i could to avoid it.

What do you think happens when you are out and he wants something? how long can this shaking go on for?

HAHA I totally agree. I try and not give into him or I will put him on the floor so he can go and get the toy himself. He has always been like this.... but he has always been spoiled so he probably know that I will get it for him.

Thanks for the advice.... and btw we have a nanny cam for when we are not home and he never does it when we are gone.... I think its just his way of making me do things for him, maybe?

hahahha oh good!

they are such little goof-balls!

ding ding ding!!! i think you just hit the nail on the head :) Boy these little guys are smart eh?

My baby Ares do the same thing with his food! lol One kibble at a time! I like o.k. that was two kibble bits now I'm one hundred! *giggles*:D I would agree it's a soothing thing, (the licking). Ares licks everything for awhile... our boxer lips (gross I know I'm always grabbing him), his toys, and his leg. My baby boy was way too young to leave his mother as well but my vet said he'll grow out of it. Keep us informed! Ares is three months old and it seems like the licking is calming down a bit!:aimeeyork

hahahaha well I thank you for helping me make this discovery.... Kind of common sense, but I jsut never thought of it like that.

They are so smart it is crazy!

oh and the eating thing is totally normal too- Layla did this when she ate kibble- and does it when she gets a treat.

Ya that seems to be what everyone is saying.... that is a soothing thing. However, Hendrix is 4 1/2 so I don't think he is going to out grow it

they are sooooo weird! haha. They crack me up!

6 weeks? That is young, but who am I to say- we got Derby at 8 weeks. I also expressed in another thread that we weren't really educated about Yorkie's before i started posting here... AFTER we got Derby!

Derby does the licking thing as well, He also does the food thing. I am used to finding kibble in my shoes, and seeing random kibble in weird places in the house. The licking is SO ANNOYING though! He will even lick us constantly... our feet, out arms, our fingers, our clothes.. whatever. Worst is when he starts going at the laundry! CLEAN LAUNDRY! I don't understand how he can pick out underwear and socks that are clean and start licking them. Does the smell of those things stay long after the wash that I am not aware of? LOL sorry grosss... but it grosses me out. I'm like, "Great! now I have throw those back in the wash!" and I'm in the middle of doing laundry lol

I have absolutely NO doubt in my mind whatsoever dogs can get OCD! My Teddy is without a doubt fetch OCD! He lives for playing fetch. He has a ball in his mouth 24/7 literally. He will drop it in the food bowl to eat in the water bowl to drink. He has to take one to bed every night. If we are not throwing it for him he is giving us the puppy dog eyes. And as soon as we pick him up to snuggle him he squirms out to get his little squeeky tennis ball. You will NEVER see Teddy without a ball in his mouth unless he is eating drinking or sleeping but you can bet your butt there is one within a couple of inches.

We think he is a Lab reicarnated. SERIOUSLY people BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. I always wanted a dog that would play fetch. Well I got my wish! LOL :rolleyes:

Derby can't fetch, well he can but barely. He understands the concept if fetching the ball, but he either doesn't bring it back or he doesn't bring it ALL the way back. He also plays fetch with himself, and seems to prefer this... He picks up the ball, motions to throw it with his mouth, and goes to pick it up himself. It's cute, but i wish he would fetch right ! haha I hate walking to get the ball. all he cares about is running and the idea of fetch... Derby bring the ball back! And he waits for you to throw another ball, even though he doesn't understand that you don't have another one in your hand since thanks to him... you have to go get it!

I didnt know anything about yorkies until after I got Hendrix. In all honesty, I really didn't even like Yorkies until after I got Hendrix..... I had no desire to ever own a small dog, but now of course I am so in love.

Ya- mine love the laundry too.... but mine burry things in the laundry. When I pick up clothing food falls out haha.

I didn't like dogs before we got Derby :D Now I call him babydoggy. lol

AHHHHHH that is hendrix TO A 'T'

That is exactly EXACTLY what he does! He has to play fetch 24/7
That is why he is always whining and shaking for me to get his toys for him. Its obnoxious haha. He doesn't play with balls-- he is OBSESSED with squeaky toys. He will fetch for hours!

awwww haha.
I have always loved dogs.... we had 8 growing up haha.
BUTTTT I never wanted small dogs cause I thought they were yappy and ugly and over all just lame.... but now I will have yorkies fo rthe rest of my life. I love them so much. THey just have the freaking coolest funniets personalities ;)

I had dogs growing up too, but [walk of shame] I yelled at them, kicked them, talked down to them. I was very abusive to my dogs growing up as a teenager. Now with my cat? I did no such thing. My cat loved me, but he also didn't' destroy all my things, or bark incessantly, or make me clean up after him to "show responsibility" my parents said...Then again, I was dealing with a mental illness I never knew I had, a depression so bad I tried offing myself, and I think the dog was just a place to take out my anger.

I wanted that dog so bad. I begged for him! I remember that and I picked him out and everything- but then he grew up into this big dog that I grew to hate. He eventually killed himself by drowning in our pool- I feel like it was my fault he wasn't loved enough (nevermind that he was old and going blind)I'm not proud of it, but I was also 15 years old... I'm almost 30 now!

Now? I LOVE MY DOGGY! I feel so guilty now for the way I treated my parents' dog when I was young... I can't believe I was capable of such torture!

I could never imagine anything happening to Derby. I'm the one who freaks out when Derby sneezes or coughs. I'm the one that gets scared when other dogs pick on him, and I'm the one that takes care of him when he's sick.

It's amazing the impact a dog can have on your life when you're ready for it.

I also think it helps that we have a small dog, since I have always been terrified of big dogs. I can still remember when a dog ate my hand almost completely off. My skin dangling and my hand bleeding... You never forget those things. I'm glad Derby is small, and friendly and loves to cuddle!