I have a desperate need for information regarding a rare condition in canines. I am hoping one of the animal lovers here may have some experience with canine compulsive disorder.
My husband’s high school robotics team went to a meet several hours away last fall. They were adopted by a 4 month old pup who showed up at the location emaciated and desperate for some loving. They ended up bringing him back and, of course, he ended up at our house. We loved on him and fed him for 3 weeks and found him a great home with a nice college student. Updates and photos showed him to be a pampered pup who was rapidly house broken and trained with hand signals to sit and stay. An ideal place for the little guy!
I had told her to contact us if she couldn't keep him rather than take him to the pound. She emailed last Wed (2 months later) and you could read the tears with the words. He had started spinning obsessively and biting his tail when he caught it. She would come home to a bloodbath. The walls where his tail hit were covered in blood. Within 10 hours of the beginning of this behavior she had him at the vet where he was diagnosed with CCD. The vet put him on Prozac and discussed behavior modifications that are supposed to help. Chances are he had been traumatized before we met him and this disorder can hit out of the blue or with some trigger known only to the animal.
Obviously, this is a lot for a student with classes and a job to handle. She emailed after a week because she felt this was out of her control due to her inability to spend enough time with him. And she was right. I am retired and can certainly give up more time.
He has been here a few days and has calmed somewhat. The first day he would try to spin every few minutes. I physically stopped him by starting to pet him instead and by talking to him. By the next day, the spinning had lessened and happened generally when he was excited or once in a while when he was bored. But giving up my life, basically, already is taking a toll.
He spent last night with the robotics team again, helping them build their new robot. He did really well with the kids taking turns looking out for him and keeping him distracted.
My question is this: I am hoping to at least keep at it for 2 or 3 weeks because that is how much longer it would take for the Prozac to kick in. If then, between the behavior modifications and the drugs, he is improved then he can go back to his owner or be adopted out again. But are animals in this bad of shape ever really “normal” again? I can’t see giving up my life for 3 more weeks only to then have to decide to have him put to sleep because he can’t lead anywhere near a normal life.
So does anyone have any experience with this? Does anyone have any idea if this may actually work? Or do people try this and end up having to give up on the dog?
Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!