Tail chasing in a 5 month old female German Shepherd Dog - Page 1

Can anyone with knowledge and/or experience please post concerning tail chasing in a 5 month old female German Shepherd Dog. Thanks in advance. Don D.

Hello Don, so sorry you are having this problem, just a few questions,

How often does your pup do this?

What do you do when this happens?

Can she be distracted when he is tail chasing?

How much exercise does your puppy have each day?

Is she left alone for extended periods?

You must try to distract her from this as it CAN most definately become a very heart breaking problem.

TAIL CHASING CAN BECOME COMPULSIVE SO YOU HAVE TO CORRECT HER NOW !!!!!!!

You will also find this topic has been done a number of times and you might find somethng to help you if you do a search.

Don D. 

dogshome9 makes some interesting comments and ask great questions - same ones my vet asked.

we took our male on daily walks, daily mental exercises, and just fun activities but in the end he chased and chased.  with the help of a very expensive behaviorist we have determined that a large percentage of shepherds carry a gene that results in the OCD behavior of tail chasing.  Drugs have stopped this behavior and calmed him down but has also changed his personality.

good luck with what ever you do - dogshome9 is right it is heart breaking!!

I am NOT an advocate of drug use to stem the behavior.  In it's most effective use, it is done temporarily, and in conjuction with behavior modification techniques.  For a tip that might provide a more recent lead to effective treatment; I recall a recent study that attributed the condition with high levels of cholesterol.

darylhret,

I have never heard of that theory about high chloresterol levels, could you please tell me where you read it?

For me my 5 month old puppy split a baby canine tooth and it became infected and had to be removed, while he was recovering from the surgery I noticed him paying too much attention to his tail, as in watching it when it moved and trying to catch the tip. He very quickly progressed to spinning with in a few days He had no interest in food, play, swimming, toys or any kind of work.
Whether he was on or of  lead and he could not even take 2 or 3 steps without spinning to catch his tail.

That is why I said it is heart breaking I have been there, Good luck with your puppy !!!!!!

Do an engine search for "tail chasing cholesterol", and you'll get thousands of results.  In March 2009, the Journal of Small Animal Practice published a study.

Crates and kennels have contributed more to tail chasin than any other single element, IMO. Maybe not 100%, but the vast majority of the time I see this behavoir the elements are present or sometimes dogs with too much drive and no opportunity to expel it. Its amasing how forty years ago you almost never saw this behavoir in the breed. But then forty years ago, crates, and over the top drives were not part of the GS environment like today.JMO

These related studies below are in the journal I subscribe to.  Just remember, there's no magic pill.  I had the behavior develop in one of my pups about four years ago, and the owner happened to be a DVM, animal behaviorist, who seemed to think that administering drugs while crating the dog in exess of 16 hours daily was the solution, and promtly did so without my consultation.  There are no studies using drugs that have provided ANY significant results WITHOUT the inclusion of behavior modification.  PERIOD.  You need to interact with your dog!!

Use of fluoxetine, diazepam, and behavior modification as therapy for treatment of anxiety-related disorders in dogs
Miguel Ibáñez, Bernadette Anzola
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
November 2009 (Vol. 4, Issue 6, Pages 223-229)
Abstract | Full Text | Full-Text PDF (121 KB)


Use of memantine in treatment of canine compulsive disorders
Barbara M. Schneider, Nicholas H. Dodman, Louise Maranda
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
May 2009 (Vol. 4, Issue 3, Pages 118-126)
Abstract | Full Text | Full-Text PDF (164 KB)


Can behavioral problems lead to neurological abnormalities? A case report
T. Camps, A. Oliver, M. Oliver, M. Amat, V. Mariotti, S. Le Brech, J.L. Ruiz, X. Manteca
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
January 2010 (Vol. 5, Issue 1, Pages 52-53)
Full Text | Full-Text PDF (53 KB)


Mild polycythemia associated with compulsive disorder in dogs1
Mami Irimajiri, Elizabeth E. Jay, Larry T. Glickman, Andrew U. Luescher
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
July 2006 (Vol. 1, Issue 1, Pages 23-28)
Abstract | Full Text | Full-Text PDF (125 KB)

My young male injured himself at 4-5 months old and the vet recommended "crate rest." Within a week he was chasing his tail. The advice I got was to put him in a smaller crate.:(
I chose to keep him in a room, rather than a crate, and find a lake so that he could get some no-impact exercise.

Yes, tail-chasing can be just pure neurotic, but I whole-heartedly agree with Gustav that the vast majority is too little exercise and too much isolation.

--Mary