Obsessive Dog Behavior - Water Crazy!

You don't have to live with the annoyance or nightmare of obsessive dog behavior problems. Consider water crazed dogs...

There are several people who have seen the episode of "Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Millan where the Yellow Lab, Brady, was completely obsessive toward water. Brady would swim constantly for up to 8 hours at a time until he was literally screaming in pain! Not to mention yodelling until he could get to the pool.

I dealt with a dog with the same kind of problem on a lower level. This dog was over 100 pounds and simply loved diving in, squeezing through the doggie door, running through the house, jumping on the couch, and doing it all over again. Not to mention giving her master a good slobber and shake before she dove in again.

"We don't walk her very much," the owner said. "She gets her exercise this way."

"And, uh... You're enjoying this?" I asked, pointing toward the soaked floor, and recoiling from the soaked couch.

"I guess that's part of it," the owner said.

"Guess what? It doesn't have to be."

I was amazed at the owner's tolerance, and still am. An obsession at that level is very annoying and not exactly easy to break.

"First off, this dog should be running twice a day, not walking. She has too much energy and a very high instinct drive," I replied. "You have two choices: Get a treadmill or a golf cart."

Not surprisingly, I discovered the dog had more obsessive dog behaviors, too. Smelling the ground and pulling on a leash like a lunatic were two of them.

Needless to say, that session ended up being a lot longer than I planned. But I stayed right there until we conquered every single problem.

So yes, even the worst obsessive dog behaviors and the most obnoxious can have an end put to them. But YOU have to be more persistent than your dog.

Enjoy the day, and stay dry.

Rena Murray