Dogs: Obsessive, Compulsive and Proud

Dogs, by nature, are prone to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Who hasn't seen a dog circle a specific number of times before they sit? I don't know if vets diagnose OCD as a disease the way psychiatrists diagnose it in humans (or how people self-diagnose OCD and label their neighbors with OCD).

Dogs embrace their OCD. Their behaviors bother only their human caretakers, not them. I think dogs are comforted by their tics and quirks.

Meet Aimee. She is our five-year-old Yellow Lab and she is classic OCD. She paces in the elevator. She can only eat treats in her special spot. She licks obsessively. She licks her paw and then changes position slightly and licks some more.

The result: she she leaves a perfect ring of saliva on the rug. A crop circle so perfect, you and I couldn't have drawn it with a protractor. (Remember protractors, anyone?)

Maybe Aimee is just trying to tell us the UFOs have landed.