We have a 2 year old Husky named Chloe. Over the past year she has developed this very obsessive personality. When she gets focused on something, she will not let up. She paces, pants, gets a crazy look in her eyes, just will not relax. I feel bad for her because she let's it ruin her life. She is at the point right now where she does not even want to play, she is too busy worrying about what the other dogs might get, even when there is no food, toys, or anything that is around.

For example, we use to be able to have a routine where I would go to bed, and she would sit at my doorway till I gave her a biscuit. I had to stop doing this, because every time I make a move, she takes off, starts freaking out, and has about plowed me over in the process. I had to end that fun routine. I just got tired of not being able to walk down the hall, she also nippy with the other dogs, thinking they may get something and she will miss out.

Next she has a toy watermelon that she will constantly carry around, give to us to hide for her, if she is not happy with where you hide it, she will obsess and keep moving it from person to person.

Walks are impossible, she freaks, flips all over the place, and just causes chaos wherever she goes.

She has been to the vet for this. Of course their answer is drugs. I already have one Rottie Mix that I have to sedate during thunderstorms, I really don't want to have to drug her for the rest of her life.

She is healthy, the only thing that has ever happened to her was Christmas Eve weekend 2011, she walked into the living room, and started stumbling, by the time we figured out what was going on with her, she started stiffening up and her neck was twisting around. Took her to the ER Vet and they kept asking us if she could have been poisoned. We said NO. We were trying to figure out what could have happened, she was outside for less then two minutes. After a night at the vets, they told us her symptoms were Marijuana poisoning. Asked my kids if they did illegal drugs. NO!!! I was offended. I am still not happy with that diagnosis, I think it was more neurological, but I am only a vet tech, what do I know, right.

So I am just asking, if anyone has a Husky who is like this. Or any advice.

Thanks
JoAnn

Hi and welcome! I'm sorry you're dealing with so many issues and the e-vet couldn't help you. Did they run any bloodwork to prove poisoning? I tend to think that e-vets, like er docs, just do triage, and if you're not dying and out of the woods, then they have to move onto the next patient, they rely on your regular vet to look deeper. Is there a good vet hospital in your area? You might be able to find a neurologist that can look deeper and help you. A member's puppy recently started having seizures and she took her pup in to see a neurologist. Here is her thread and diagnosis. https://www.itsahuskything.com/t10655-shadow-is-having-seizures?highlight=shadow. What do you think in your gut? If you are a vet tech, I tend to think that you are pretty knowledgeable on what is normal behavior and what is not AND you should trust your instincts.

At first glance, I would have said this husky needs a LOT more exercise and some mental stimulation. If she is constantly trying to play hide and seek, maybe she's bored and under exercised. How much exercise does she get? Has she ever been run to exhaustion? What kind of training have you done for taking walks? Have you tried some no pull options, like pinch collars, no pull harness, gentle leaders, or anything similar?

It almost sounds like to me, and please forgive me if I'm way off since I only just met you, that you might be afraid to exercise her because of that incident in 2011, and she is really pent up and bored, so she has developed these obsessive habits to deal with it. My first husky was extremely high energy and if I didn't give her enough exercise and stimulation, she would gnaw on her tail. She had it almost stripped completely in some places before I figured out she just needed a TON of exercise. I would run 6 miles, 6 days a week with her, and she still wanted and needed more. How is she with other dogs? Could you take her to the dog park or doggie daycare? I also believe that huskies need to be able to run, not run off leash, but they just need an outlet for running. Weather that be biking, roller blading (scary!), jogging, sledding or whatever, they love it and have a deep instinctual need for it.

The last thing I will mention, that seems to be a husky thing, is that they very easily develop habits/routines that can seem neurotic to us, but that make complete sense to them. If one time, she had a great time with that watermelon playing with you, she will keep going back to it, and it becomes self rewarding. The fact that she seems obsessed with it, might be totally normal to her, because that's when she can engage you in play. The biscuit thing sounds like the zoomies to me. http://www.seattledogspot.com/blog/dog-blog/post/husky-gets-severe-case-of-zoomies-on-agility-course I love this video because it just shows why a husky can be such a challange. Overall, I would say it sounds like she needs more exercise and a "job." Huskies are working dogs, and if they don't have an outlet, they will find their own. Sometimes its destructive behavior and sometimes its something else.

If she hasn't had any other incidents like the one in 2011, it sounds like that may have been a one time thing, but I completely understand why you would doubt the original diagnosis. Who knows, maybe somebody threw something over your fence. However, I'm sure going down the road of seeing a neurologist will lead to a lot of expensive tests and may not ever lead you to a diagnosis. If I were in your shoes, I would dramatically increase her exercise, and start from square one with basic obedience training. See if you can find a way to run her to exhaustion, where she lays down with a huge smile on her face and is content to just be where she is. Then start the training. If that doesn't work, then maybe start looking for a medical cause.

I read another post where it made it sound like you have 4 young huskies and then you mention a rottie. Is that correct? Or am I off on how many dogs you have in your house (at least 5)?

Maybe it is a lot of chaos/competition for her and in your other post it sounds like she was the first of the 4 huskies. When you brought new puppies into the house, was she given a lot of attention still? Do the other dogs often steal things from her or do they leave her alone when she has something? What happens when she is by herself? Much of it sounds like it is resource related. Loki my husky pup will always try to steal things from Lexi and we have to distract him. At times, we will let her go into gated off rooms to enjoy her things in peace. However, Loki only does this when she has something different then him. When they are the same, he is content. He is getting better, but it is work. My dogs all need to understand when it is on the ground and available it is fair game, but when another dog is enjoying a toy it is their toy for the time being. Is she crate trained - can you keep her special toys in the crate and make her leave them there when she is out?

For the obsessive part, play into it some as long as you want, but then it needs to stop and she needs her breaks. My lexi is obsessive about fetch. When we have guest, she will literally try to rotate through everyone willing to throw the ball. However, we would put her in a down stay once she was too tired and put the ball up. She was not allowed to get the ball once put up. I think it may take time, but I would not give in. The watermelon is up, it is done. My Lexi still does this at 11 years old - just loves fetch to death. She will get to the point where she is walking and taking breaks with her ball in the shade and still come back for more. So for my dog I know it is not a energy thing, but for your dog it may be related to need for more exercise. But, I think it is important to put limits on it.

For walks, I would try taking her by herself and using treats for good behavior. Lexi was fearful and goofy too as a pup, but with a lot of one on one time, she now walks very well. Possibly get a training harness or collar like the gentle leader or walky dog. If you stop exercising, I think the problems will just escalate. So you need to find some ways to get the energy out.

I assume you have a fence with that many dogs, if yes I would try a flirt pole. You can look them up on you tube. I have started to use a flirt pole for loki as one of his games. It is like a big cat toy for a dog. It can wear them out and may play into her obsession some in a healthy way for toys like her watermelon - work on things like get it, leave it, drop it. Attach that at the end and let her chase - make her drop it to continue, etc. Again, I would do this without the other dogs around and try to get her chasing it full speed. Once she is good at it, it can include jumping for it and other things since she is old enough for that now.

I guess before going down the neurological route with only one episode, I would say maybe a behavioralist could help as well since you don't want these issues to escalate assuming the exercise is in order. My dog has seizures set off mainly by stress, but seizures can be from toxins as well. If it was a one time event that long ago, I would just monitor and make sure your vet knows.

You folks are absolutely wonderful!! Thanks so much for the input. I guess I should tell your our regime a bit. In addition to the 4 Huskies, I have a Min Pin (mine), and a very old Rottie/Border Collie. As most of you know every Husky has a very distinct personality. Chloe is actually and I hate to admit this, a pet store puppy. My Dad bought her for my son one Christmas. I notice her personality is so much different then the 3 boys. She is very intelligent, but knows when not to be, the boys are from a private breeder and are more happy go lucky.

All the dogs get walks, they all get personal bye bye time with us. Right now we cannot do much outdoor activity because being in AZ, you would die before you get down the street. This is where the treadmill has come in very handy. Chloe can go forever on that thing. I just hate it because it does not give them the outdoors and fresh air they need. We have a wagon for them to pull, we vary weight in it, she is very good about that, just freaks out because she is on a leash and going someplace. Once she calms down, and realizes the other dogs are not around, she just takes off. Also after dark, when it is down to 100 degrees. LOL, my son will take each dog by their self and take them on a bike ride.

Surprisingly Chloe is the head honcho in the house, the boys know they cannot take a toy from her, when she is eating she will move aside and let them to their bowls, she just has her own little thing going on in her mind, that one of them might get something better, even though they are not.

My vet is on a quest for a good behaviorist for our Rottie/Mix Rylee, maybe I will see if they can help me with Chloe.

My heart does tell me that Chloe was not poisoned, she did not have symptoms of a toxin, they really never could really pinpoint what was going on, just that her blood work says poisoned, my husbands cousin took her dog to the same place, they said it was poisoned too. Who knows, I will just wait and see what the vet finds for me.

The joy of these pets is absolutely wonderful, there is nothing like a good Husky hug when you are at your lowest point in a day.

Thanks again, everyone. keep the advice coming.

I always feel funny when I tell people we have all these dogs. I find myself reassuring myself and them, that I have the money for them, I make sure they get vet care, they are healthy and well loved. I am sure some of you can relate to this.

Ah ha! Cabin fever! I don't envy your summer weather down there! I can totally relate to the husky herd. I only have one now, but if I could I'd love to have a couple more. Honestly, she sounds healthy to me and like that seizure or whatever it was, was a one time thing. My parents had a golden once that had seizures as a reaction to some pest stuff sprayed on their trees. As soon as they stopped that, the seizures stopped. It could have been something environmental, or something someone threw over your fence way back then. Who knows, maybe some neighborhood punk ditched their pot in your yard. See if you can look at it in the same context you would if she never had that issue. Would that change how you approach it? My instinct says searching for a diagnosis this far down the line will end up eating a lot of your time and money without yielding a result, but, I'm not in your situation, so you would know better than I do what she needs. I would tend to agree with the others that its a behavioral issue. I don't think you need to medicate her though, it seems like some behavioral interventions might help. She sounds a lot like my first husky honestly, she was from a BYB and was crazy smart and super hyper. My current one needs a lot of exercise, but he's just not as intense as she was in many ways, he's from a show breeder. I've also heard that the males tend to be more goofy, happy go lucky types as well.