Before you can treat a compulsive behavior in your pet, you should try to figure out what’s causing it. The source of the behavior may be medical, environmental, genetic, or emotional. You may need to work with your veterinarian and/or a behavioral specialist before you can figure out the cause. Once you know the cause, you can work on reducing the compulsive behavior. Anti-anxiety medications won’t solve the problem, but they can help. Medicating your pet can help reduce the intensity of a behavior while you work on behavior modification and/or environmental changes. Yes, pets can take Prozac — and … Continue reading →

When a pet is stuck in a compulsive behavior, it can be hard to figure out what set things off. Often, the farther a pet gets from the initial trigger, the harder it is to make the connection between compulsive behavior and trigger. The first thing your veterinarian may do is try to rule out a medical cause. Some spinal and neurological diseases can trigger repetitive behaviors — the change of feeling in an animal’s limbs may cause them to lick or chew the area. A medically-inspired behavior isn’t actually a compulsive behavior. If a repetitive behavior truly is compulsive … Continue reading →

There is a cat who comes to stay at the cats-only boarding facility who has chewed her rump and the base of her tail naked. We have another guest who has stripped the fur off her throat and chest. My dog Moose sometimes licks bare spots onto his forelegs. My parents’ dog Becca used to chew her tail raw during the day while my parents were at work. All of these may be compulsive behaviors. Sometimes, behaviors like licking, chewing, tail-chasing, and spinning are normal. Sometimes they’re beyond normal and into harmful for pets AND their owners. Yes, pets can … Continue reading →

Every once in a while, your pet does something so bad — so outrageous — that you just have to laugh. (Maybe after you’re done cleaning up!) I like to tell a story from Moose’s early days with me. While I was at work one day, he ripped open a garbage bag and redecorated the kitchen with the contents. The cans that had been in the garbage were licked and chewed clean — Moose even left tooth holes in some of the cans. That’s one mighty jaw! I posed the question to some pet lovers I know online, and got … Continue reading →

If you’re a regular reader of the Families.com Pets Blog, you may have noticed that my dog Lally has a bit of a nervous personality. Sometimes, her separation anxiety causes me distress — when I get ready to leave for work, she’ll sit and shake, which makes me feel really bad about having to go out. Both Lally and my other dog, Moose, were really happy when we lived in New Jersey. Not only for the fenced-in yard (though we all loved that feature), but also because my grandmother was good company. She couldn’t drive, so she was almost always … Continue reading →

I’ve talked about “fence fighting” before. Also known as redirected aggression, it is a scuffle that breaks out between pets when they see something on the other side of a window or fence. Basically, the dog or cat can’t get to the thing they want to attack, so they turn on the next nearest animal. Moose and Lally sometimes do this when another dog is walking past the apartment. One moment, they’ll be barking at the patio door; the next, they’re barking at each other. Dogs aren’t the only ones who can turn to fence fighting. Cats can do it, … Continue reading →