# OCD? There's a gene for that....



## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

http://www.today.com/health/what-doggy-tail-chasing-may-reveal-about-our-own-ocd-2D12124613

"Certain dog breeds, including German shepherds, Doberman pinschers, bull terriers and Shetland sheepdogs, are prone to high rates of OCD....... Researchers from the Broad Institute in Massachusetts and Uppsala University in Sweden pinpointed four genes with variants, or changes, that were present in dogs with OCD, ..."


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

next question, do we want OCD in our dogs or not??? LOL

I guess that would depend on the expression of the OCD.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Joby Becker said:


> next question, do we want OCD in our dogs or not??? LOL
> 
> I guess that would depend on the expression of the OCD.


Interesting point. The article only accented the negative aspects in pets. 
Is extreme ball drive/possession a form of OCD? If ball is the reward, and a dog is OCD about it, can dog work through all the other required steps to earn the reward?

The self-destructive (licking/chewing of oneself) behaviors in dogs would be a negative, but what about obsession with a target odor? How could that be a bad thing? Must find, must find, must find....

In human society, those who are wired differently may now find a useful niche for perseverent and/or detail-oriented behaviors.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/30/putting-the-gifts-of-the-autistic-to-work/


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Meg O'Donovan said:


> Is extreme ball drive/possession a form of OCD? If ball is the reward, and a dog is OCD about it, can dog work through all the other required steps to earn the reward?


My number four dog, Ben, was started as a FEMA dog and was OCD for a ball. By the time I got him it was out of hand and the ball, while a high value item, did not produce a work response. I tried to lessen the behavior by having a bucket of balls by the back door and they played with them every day. No change. I switched him to food and, BAM!, I had a search dog. I save the ball as the final reward for when we were all done and he can OCD to his heart's content.


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