- Location
- East Sussex
I am no expert nor a behaviourist nor do I have any experience of this, except, I suppose, that Plum occasionally digs her blanket when settling down but all the dogs I've owned or known have done this at some point and it feels different from what you describe with Kipper.
My first response was is it a bit of OCD? A repeated compulsion which would be driven/underpinned by anxiety? I appreciate what you're saying about the seeming lack of anxiety and it wouldn't be surprising that the habit manifests when he's tired.
In the vid he seemed easily distracted which strikes me as a good thing. And when you said the clicking was you not a clicker I thought "why not use a clicker?" so that he looks at you, you click, he is rewarded with a treat for stopping.
What @Oberon wrote was very interesting, and makes sense, so then I guess it's about being sure it's mildly self-soothing and watching for if it increases in its intensity or regularity.
On Victoria Stillwell's show, about working with challenging dogs, she worked with a setter who had OCD - he was transfixed by shadows and patches of light on the wall and would be very much 'in the zone' and therefore difficult to distract. So when you said Kipper got 'in the zone' it made me think. (The setter was very much a challenge compared to how you describe Kipper).
As I said, I'm pontificating only, which isn't always helpful I appreciate, without a bit of experienced substance to back it up. (I've worked with humans with OCD but not dogs!)
If it was me I would possibly mention it to the vet to see if they had any ideas (the next time I was there, I wouldn't be making a special appt) and I might do a bit of Googling to see if there was any info out there. And if it increased in intensity or regularity or Kipper started to seem distressed, I would probably have a chat with a behaviourist.
My first response was is it a bit of OCD? A repeated compulsion which would be driven/underpinned by anxiety? I appreciate what you're saying about the seeming lack of anxiety and it wouldn't be surprising that the habit manifests when he's tired.
In the vid he seemed easily distracted which strikes me as a good thing. And when you said the clicking was you not a clicker I thought "why not use a clicker?" so that he looks at you, you click, he is rewarded with a treat for stopping.
What @Oberon wrote was very interesting, and makes sense, so then I guess it's about being sure it's mildly self-soothing and watching for if it increases in its intensity or regularity.
On Victoria Stillwell's show, about working with challenging dogs, she worked with a setter who had OCD - he was transfixed by shadows and patches of light on the wall and would be very much 'in the zone' and therefore difficult to distract. So when you said Kipper got 'in the zone' it made me think. (The setter was very much a challenge compared to how you describe Kipper).
As I said, I'm pontificating only, which isn't always helpful I appreciate, without a bit of experienced substance to back it up. (I've worked with humans with OCD but not dogs!)
If it was me I would possibly mention it to the vet to see if they had any ideas (the next time I was there, I wouldn't be making a special appt) and I might do a bit of Googling to see if there was any info out there. And if it increased in intensity or regularity or Kipper started to seem distressed, I would probably have a chat with a behaviourist.