How do I stop the tail chasing? - Page 2

Some dogs just like to chase their tail....LOL
Yes it can be boredom.  That can be remedied.
And once in a while the dog is just nuts...LOL




















Moons.

Like some people   WE  know!!!!!!!

lol

YR

You can't stop it, I have a female that has chased her tail since she was just a pup now she is 8yrs and still chases her tail. I have tried every trick in the book, when she catches and bites her tail I put medicine on it and wait until next time, it is not a medical problem and the person that thinks it is probably should not own any type of dog, they have so much energy they do stupid things to release that energy. Tail chasing is something that you have to deal with along with other things when you have a high drive working dog..... 

Oh ok, the guru has spoken. I'll go ahead and get rid of all my dogs now. Thanks. Even though all you've told us is that it's NOT a training problem. Makes tons of sense.

VomMarischal is right, though it's not necessarily caused by inbreeding. Could just show up in a line.

Dogs can have mental problems directly related to brain chemistry imbalance. It's not called "OCD" in dogs (different veterinary terminology) but the symptoms are generally the same and have the same basic cause. Most of the time the dog is just bored and doesn't get enough exercise, but in some cases the dog has an actual chemical imbalance.

Usually, tail chasing would not fall under this category unless the dog practices the self-soothing behavior to the exclusion of other behaviors (eating, interacting with others, etc.).

Just as a personal anecdote:

My collie has the canine form of OCD and also has pica (compulsive consumption of rocks, metal pieces....she would rather eat a battery than a steak). I don't give her medication. These dogs only need medication if the behaviors interfere with quality of life. My dog only experiences this level of compulsive behavior when she is already highly stressed. Her specific behavior involves pushing her nose on the ground towards her food bowl, three times to the left and three times back to the right (I've COUNTED - she's crazy yet consistent). If she's not stressed and she accidentally bumps the food bowl with her nose during this process, she will usually finish the behavior and eat. If she's highly stressed and there's a noise during the process or she bumps the bowl or ANYTHING really, she starts the "counting" process over on the right side of the bowl.

One time, highly stressed after a recent move, she was compulsively practicing this behavior for a week and was not eating because she couldn't "finish" the behavior. I decided to leave her food in her crate to let her work it out on her own. I came home to a dog yipping in distress and STILL pushing the food bowl around with a rubbed raw nose. I then decided to let her eat out of my hand until she felt less stressed. Dogs like this are not helped by exercise: she was already getting plenty.

MOST of the time, it's not a brain chemistry problem. MOST of the time, tail-chasing and etc can be redirected through exercise, play, etc. Sometimes, it can't be.

Phenomenal. And really nice job of recording it, too. That stuff just blows me away. It's certainly not only in inbred dogs, but inbreeding increases the chances of its occurance. It happens other times. My Catahoula (not inbred as far as I know) had a rock obsession. He got all the rocks out of the bottom of the creek, and I mean swam down to do it, and then rolled them up the bank (sometimes like a hundred feet or more) and safely away from the water, the whole time rolling them with his nose rather than picking them up. Sometimes they'd be the size of a loaf of bread, sometimes just pebbles. But he wouldn't rest until he emptied some specific spot in the creek. I'd have to drag him home. Nutty dog and loved schutzhund, too. I figured it was maybe a herding thing gone way overboard. Funny that you mention a collie....

Hi Moons

I would suggest the dog in the video is less nutty than the person who is teasing it with the wire pulling its leg.  Look at the front toes of the moving leg.

Margaret N-J

I wasn't talking about the vid, by the way; I was talking about mollyandjack's story.  

I wasn't talking about the vid, by the way; I was talking about mollyandjack's story.  

LOL.......
It's just meant for entertainment purposes after all its been around the block so many times, most people recognize it immediately.
I don't know about a wire, don't care.   Just got a laugh out of it the first time I saw it on television.

I don't think chasing a tail is the end of the world, unless it is a compulsive, neurotic behavior.
I also don't believe I'd blame it on inbreeding.
Some dogs are bred a bit too tight in my opinion, extremely high strung, some breeders want this, I personally do not.
Its a learned behavior in my opinion and can be avoided, breaking the habit may or may not be possible.
A lot depends on who's trying.
Then again I have seen dogs with serious mental problems.  There's only one cure for that in my opinion as well.

vomhunterhaus,
Give the dog something to do, add more stimulation to its environment.  
Don't reward the behavior in any way.   You have to think about this one a bit.
A high drive dog requires a lot of activity and will challenge you daily.
You must be up to the challenge if you have such a dog.

There is much information we do not know,
Is the dog kept inside, in a crate or a kennel?
How much time is the dog left alone?
What activities does the dog have at present, play, training, walks, socializing?
Redirecting this energy is probably the best solution.

Moons.