I now have to contradict myself from previous postings about this subject. I said that I had not known young dogs do this BUT now I have noticed a young bitch who is staying with sitting in a corner of the kitchen and jumping for periods of perhaps ten minutes at imaginary flies. I think I remember reading that sometimes this had been caused by vitamins missing from the diet. Any one else got any ideas, it is funny to watch her but I do wonder if she is at all distressed.

Hi Alice, I have two young springer's that do this and it can be annoying. They have been seen by a behaviourist and it is classed as a compulsive behaviour and you have to some how break the cycle in order to stop them. This however is not as easy as it sounds though it may be easier with just one dog.
It was suggested that I put my dogs on clomicalm to help but at £160 for 2 months supply for one dog I am not paying that much especially as they may need to be on it for 6 - 12 months and they may not work. I am looking into a more natural way of calmimg my two and am waiting for some info on herbal tablets from Norwest herbs. I have been told that they are not distressed infact they get a buzz from doing what they are doing.

Sorry to butt in on a subject I know nothing about but I keep seeing mention of Clomicalm being so expensive. My dog was on it and although it did her no good because we weren't advised to do behavourial changes alongside the medication, it didn't cost nearly as much as £160 for two months supply (and she's an overweight collie so she had quite a high dose).

If anyone would like I could try and find out how much I paid; you could maybe talk to your vet about the high price then.

Andrea

I've read somewhere (??) that this could be caused by floaters in the eye (I have lots and they are annoying). They look like small insects flying all around. You never know. :)

Hi Andrea, this would be quite helpful to me if you could check the price you paid. I think our vets are charging a high price but without knowing cant prove it. We are being asked to pay £324 for two months supply for the two dogs, this being £162 each and if it does not do any good its an expensive item, I have heard back from alot of people who have used it and in 90% of them its not worked. Our behaviourist also thinks our vet is asking alot.

That is outrageous money
Here in Ireland they are about 73 cents each so x by thirty
so if im right then thats E21.90 euro,s plus vat @ %21
so in sterling should be under £15
That added to fee for visit
Your vet is stealing from you

I've just got a month's supply of Clomicalm for my dog again. It cost £34 for thirty 80mg tablets. My dog is a big boned (I don't like the word fat) Collie and so she needs to be on half twice a day which works out at £34 for a month. I know that the 80mg is the most expensive one, there are smaller doses you can get but the receptionist actually showed me it in the pricing book they have there and it was definitely £34.

We're gonna try these again alongside behavioural modification (she's a bit of a barker when we're out) so I'll let you know how it works for us (nothing else has!!)

Love to everybody's pooches, Andrea

Our vet wants £76 for one months supply for each dog, that is a mark up of over 100% on your vets price, its not fair that they can do this, I know they have overheads but to make so much profit is not fair on their customers as without us they wouldnt have a business. I might do some research into this and try and find out what other vets charge, maybe a change is in order if our vet is over pricing like this.

I've been reading up on this. It is a compulsive disorder that can become quite serious if not treated. Some say a diet with higher acidity and more animal protein helps. Some psychotrophic drugs can help. Some don't.

A behavioural treatment that can help in early stages to keep this from getting really serious is to interrupt the behavior. One way that was suggested is to blow a horn - like a duck call - while walking out of the room. This gets the dogs attention and it notes that you are ignoring it. This can go a long way to help break the behavior pattern before it becomes serious. The dog will want your attention and will discontinue fly catching. Praise - and invite the dog to engage in a healthy behaviour that will reinforce not repeating the fly catching.

Also, the dogs environment needs to be rich with toys and activities and a minimum of time alone or kenneled or crated.

Some people find this behaviour amusing at first and encourage it. Fortunately you have diagnosed a potentially serious problem in time to prevent it from escalating.