Link between dog and human OCD
New research into canine compulsive disorder (CCD) in dogs has found similar structural brain abnormalities to those found in humans with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
A sample of 16 doberman pinschers were studied by veterinary surgeons at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, and researchers at the McLean Imaging Centre in Massachusetts.
By comparing MRI brain images of the eight dobermans with CCD to those of the control group, researchers found that brain abnormalities were consistent with those found in human OCD sufferers.
The CCD had higher brain and grey matter volumes than the control group, and lower grey matter densities in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and right anterior insula.
Further, fractional anisotropy in the splenium of the corpus callosum was higher, and also related to the severity of behavioural traits.
Dogs suffering from CCD display repetitive, destructive behaviour such as flank and blanket sucking, tail chasing and chewing.
Lead researcher, Niwako Ogata, said: "Canines that misbehave are often labeled as ‘bad dogs’ but it is important to detect and show the biological basis for certain behaviours. Evidence-based science is a much better approach to understanding a dog’s behaviour."
Director of McLean Hospital, Marc Kaufman, added: "It has been very gratifying to me to use our imaging techniques developed to diagnose human brain disorders, to better understand the biological basis for anxiety/compulsive disorders in dogs, which may lead to better treatments for dogs and humans with these disorders."
The research has been published in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. It is hoped that further research on anxiety disorders in dogs could help to find new human therapies for OCD and similar conditions.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
