need help with an obssessive pacer!!

[Oogway]

Hi all I am at my wit's end with this dog and am going crazy!
I have a rescued German Shepherd that I got from a horrible situation. She's 2-3 ish (haven't has her very long) and is a pretty good dog but because of the conditions she was kept it she has horrible ocd tendancies. Most are under control except one.

When it comes time to take her to the bathroom (on a leash) i litterally hate doing it .

She will only go in a clockwise circle that is about 8 feet in diameter no matter where I take her, the worst part is that she will make about 50+ rotations before finally going to the bathroom. No matter how long she has held it etc it is always the same thing.

If you try to make her go counter clockwise or break the cycle, she completely shuts down and will just lay there motionless.
someone please help me

[katieliz]

is it the length of time it takes her to go that's hard for you...like, is it cold out where you are or are you in a hurry??? one thing you'll have to have with a rescue like this is patience, with a capital P. sometimes when a dog has lived in a bad situation it takes them quite a while (like many months) to change their ocd ways.

perhaps others will have different advice but i'd say don't try to go counterclockwise or break the cycle. let her be her, whatever that is or takes, until she has developed some trust in you. these kinds of dogs have been thru SO much.

thank you so much for helping her. and i ask this with kindness and appreciation for what you've done...but WHY is this one behavior making you "at your wit's end and going crazy".

welcome to the board, please post more about your situation, there is quite a vast amount of knowledge here and i'm sure someone will have valuable suggestions to help you.

what's your new girl's name. where (sorta-kinda) are you from?

[carmspack]

some dogs just are obsessive and it has nothing to do with how they are raised. Trying to change it will only create anxiety and entrench the obsessive behaviour even more. Very common obsessions are flank sucking, paw licking, tail chasing, spinning , chasing shadows or laser pointer beams, flying insects , fence running , these are all rituals . Talk to your vet and use a combination of drugs and behaviour modification.
It can drive you crazy to have repetitive , useless behaviour .
One of my favourite books from way back was "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Picador): Amazon.co.uk: Oliver Sacks: Books

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Picador): Amazon.co.uk: Oliver Sacks: Books

http://www.oliversacks.com/Unfortunately the GSD is one of the top dogs to experience obsessive behaviour.
Carmen

[PaddyD]

Originally Posted by katieliz

is it the length of time it takes her to go that's hard for you...like, is it cold out where you are or are you in a hurry??? one thing you'll have to have with a rescue like this is patience, with a capital P. sometimes when a dog has lived in a bad situation it takes them quite a while (like many months) to change their ocd ways.

perhaps others will have different advice but i'd say don't try to go counterclockwise or break the cycle. let her be her, whatever that is or takes, until she has developed some trust in you. these kinds of dogs have been thru SO much.

thank you so much for helping her. and i ask this with kindness and appreciation for what you've done...but WHY is this one behavior making you "at your wit's end and going crazy".

welcome to the board, please post more about your situation, there is quite a vast amount of knowledge here and i'm sure someone will have valuable suggestions to help you.

what's your new girl's name. where (sorta-kinda) are you from?

All of the above.
Plus just one idea from a non-expert. Can you take her to a place, like the woods or a trail where she doesn't have the opportunity to go in circles and will decide on her own to go? Don't force anything, just see if nature takes its course. I am sure there are many references on how to break OCD behavior, but I agree with the above about first getting her trust and respect and forming a bond.

[WendyDsMom]

Is this while on a walk? Or just in your back yard?

My friends Chow used to only go at the base of a tree in the back yard and he had to "cha-cha-cha" before and after he pooped. While I was dog sitting - he quickly learned that he HAD to go while we were walking - so he picked the base of a different tree along our 2 mile walk! Still did the "cha-cha-cha" but at least it was out of the back yard.

They were amazed that I got him to go during a walk (and heal like a gentleman) and they ended up using my walk schedule when they got back from vacation. They had young kids and didn't want them finding poops in the yard.

If its in the yard, take a walk with her instead - if she walks a mile in an 8ft circle before poops - perhaps walking a mile in a straight line will make her poop too!

[Zisso]

My girl paces. She will pace in circles when we are playing, when she is excited, when she is confused and just in general. She is what I consider a high energy dog. If she doesn't get enough exercise, she paces. She is extremely bad when excited.

For example: I take the two dogs out to play. I take two toys each. Z likes wubba's and Nadia likes Cuz's. So out we go with two of each toy. It used to be that I could use one toy to entice her to come back and drop the Cuz she had so she could fetch the 2nd one. Now she won't even do that. So I end up playing with Z and she just spins in circles around us. Getting her to bring a toy back and give it to me is nearly impossible.

I let her do her own thing. I think if there is anyway you could let her 'do her business' off leash, she might go faster, but other than that, you will have to be Patient and accept that this might not be something you can 'fix'. I have tried to fix it for 2+ years to no avail. She will not go other than to mark at parks or elsewhere, so I can't keep her away from home for extended periods of time. For us, it is just the way it is.

[GSKnight]

First, thank you for rescuing this dog.

Second, a circling before eliminating does not seem to be uncommon from what I have read. 50 times is a bit much, but I am sure this will lessen has your dog becomes more comfortable.

[mysweetkaos]

Is going out to "go" on a leash something she is just starting after moving in with you? She could just be anxious as it is a new thing for her. I agree GSD's can tend to have some OCD...if it isn't harmful I would just let her be and settle in.

[Oogway]

Hi everyone and sorry for the late reply. I rescued her from a situation where she was in a pen her ENTIRE life, no joke, she never has left it. It was about 15ftX15ft. Food or water at times when someone remembered to go check on her ( no one lived anywhere near where she was kept) with very very minimal contact, like as in only to give food and water over the top of the fence. Broken bones not fixed, you name it.
I saw her in the pen and she would run around it in circles, so it is not new. Just behaviour that she picked up probably as an outlet to her crappy lifestyle. She also dug holes to china in that pen. She hasn't dug her though, that's under control.
Yes, it is the pacing that just irritates me to no end as It's 50+ rotations for pee and then another to crap. I don't have the time to stand there for that as it can take her a long long time. Also, yes it is quite cold where I live, and lots of snow.
She has to be taken out on a leash, if she is not she will just run away.
I bet you that taking her for a run etc would probably help but I can't do that everytime she needs to go out.I don't think I am the rescuing type as I run thin on patience, but I couldn't just leave her there.
I guess my question is, clearly this won't resolve itself but is there anyway I can make her at the very least make less rotations??

[iBaman]

This is something she may have to work out on her own....try taking her on a nice long walk (bundle up if it's cold...I have to with sheldon, as he goes BONKERS if I don't walk him). Good luck with her =3