# Tail chasing



## JazzyGirl (May 25, 2009)

Is this a German shepherd thing? I have only had 3 dogs in my life, 1st and 3rd German shepherds, they both chase(d) their tail.

my 2nd dog a Gsd x Border collie did not ever chase his tail.

Just curious.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

You stop them when they do it, right? 

I don't think it's a shepherd thing. I think it's a high drive, bored thing that can become an obsession.


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## JazzyGirl (May 25, 2009)

No, I don't stop Jazz when she chases her tail. She doesn't do it all the time, just occasionally.

(the other dog I was referring to is long gone, he was a childhood dog, and I don't think he was obsessive about it either.)


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

You need to stop her when she does it. There have been dogs that have had to had their tails amputated because it can become a compulsive behavior.

Jax does it. When I catch her I tell her No and quickly redirect her attention to a toy.


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## Gyggles1 (Nov 8, 2005)

OH really this is interesting I didn't know you were supposed to stop them from doing this, Duke does it more so when something ummm like agitates him or he gets excited maybe I should say, he gets pretty wild when he does it meaning if he's by the couch you don't want your arm or leg hanging off of it or he might accidently get you in the process. Good to know!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Karlo did it when he was younger, when he was overly tired in the evening. I re-directed him immediately. He is a bit obsessive about the teaserballs and jollyballs, so I know his tail would become an object of obsession too.


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## Furonthefloor (Aug 14, 2009)

I was curious then is spinning (as opposed to tail chasing) also an obsessive type behavior? I have one I'm trying to break the spinning. He does it when he is excited when he's going to get to go out the door.


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## CherryCola (Apr 24, 2006)

It can be a boredom thing and should be stopped if it is clearly turning into an obsession. However, some dogs do it out of excitement. My girl will always chase her tail if I say 'dinner time' or 'let's get your lead'







It doesn't seem overly obsessive or to be a problem..
I'm not sure about it being a GSD thing, but I know Cherry's litter mate also chases his tail when he's excited. Our Border Collie has never chased hers.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

My terrier mix used to love to chase his tail. I didn't stop him because he never did it in an obsessive way or for very often or long at a time. It was funny to watch him because he had a tail which curled over his back, so he really could not catch it most of the time! He would curve his body and his tail towards his head but still it was not within his reach. Sometimes I would give him a hand, and then he'd turn in a few more slow circles with his tail in his mouth because if he stopped moving the tail got too far away to hold on to.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

This may not be a matter of a dog simply being bored. There may be behavioral or even physical health issues involved.




> Quote:
> Discovery News Video March 24, 2009 -- A team of veterinarians has found a surprising link between compulsive tail-chasing in dogs and high cholesterol, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice.
> 
> The finding adds to a growing body of evidence -- mostly from studies on humans -- that high cholesterol may be a marker for behavioral problems such as panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder, which could be expressed by frequent tail-chasing falls in dogs. ...
> ...


Whole story at: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/24/dog-tail-chasing.html

The vast majority of puppies start to chase their tails when they realize "there's this thing back there!" Some outgrow it sooner than others (as they develop self-awareness) . In young puppies, it's very common and certainly, nothing to worry about. In fact, overreacting can give it more attention than it warrants and create attention-seeking behavior.

I let my pups chase their tails when they're very young, but after a couple weeks, I just toss them a favorite ball or squeaky toy when I see them starting (I don't say anything, but simply redirect). The behavior just dies out before they even really enter full adolescence. My dogs are also mentally stimulated and physically well exercised, so this wouldn't be a primary way for them to entertain themselves. 

If you have an adult dog that tail chases to enough to be concerned, a quick blood panel at your vet's office may not be a bad idea. Then, you likely need to redirect when he starts to tail-chase AND give him better ways to burn off mental and physical steam throughout the day.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: 3K9Mom
> I let my pups chase their tails when they're very young, but after a couple weeks, I just toss them a favorite ball or squeaky toy when I see them starting (I don't say anything, but simply redirect). The behavior just dies out before they even really enter full adolescence. My dogs are also mentally stimulated and physically well exercised, so this wouldn't be a primary way for them to entertain themselves.


This actually might be why my terrier liked to chase his tail. He was a rescue, I found him as a stray when he was 4 years old and I have a feeling he was left alone a lot so the tail chasing may have been a way to entertain himself. Another thing he did was he would toss a ball for himself by putting the ball between his front paws and then using his open mouth to push it to one side until it went flying-- another way to play by himself. Even though he got plenty of exercise and stimulation (lots of clicker training) he still liked to do those things.


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## Smith3 (May 12, 2008)

interupt the behavior


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Jax08You need to stop her when she does it. There have been dogs that have had to had their tails amputated because it can become a compulsive behavior.


yep. we had one of those dogs. anytime he was nervous, stressed, even excited, his tail would get to wagging and BAM he'd start chasing it. eventually he began to catch it and things progressed to the point of him attacking his tail. we didn't realize how much of a growing problem it was and we just cleaned the wounds and sat back puzzled. we started separating him from the other dogs and avoiding situations that potentially led to a chase. we returned home one day to Rocky sitting in a puddle of blood - he'd chewed his taill OFF. off to the vet we went where pretty much the remainder of the tail had to be amputated and he was then put on some version of prozac.

this was all over a course of 1yr... from the first occurrence to the amputation.


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## CherryCola (Apr 24, 2006)

> Quote:
> 
> The reason, they said, could be that high cholesterol levels glob up cell membranes at the microscopic level, affecting the flow of brain hormones such as serotonin that are involved in mood and behavior. ...
> 
> Female dogs were more likely to be obsessive tail-chasers, but the researchers aren't sure why.


This is interesting and something to look into.. My girl, although as I said is not obsessive but she does chase her tail. But she's also suffered a false pregnancy which is to do with hormones, I believe.. Does that sound stupid?







I just wondered if these would be the sorts of things to occur if your dog had a hormonal imbalance.

I'm quite interested in this as I have severe OCD myself. I take a lot of medications which are supposed to increase the amount of serotonin in my brain, but unfortunately, I'm still not getting great results


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## jheinsjr (Mar 17, 2009)

my two year old female has the tail chasing issue. we have found that the only thing that helps is lots of training and exercise 
she is a stress case though, she gets nervous meeting new people and constantly wants praise and affection.

we recently moved and it put her under a lot of stress, so she is doing it more than normal I took her for a 2.5m run today and it seemed to help


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## Jborden (Mar 15, 2011)

My one year old german shepherd has been doing this since he was a puppy. I just noticed yesterday that the end of his tail was bleeding.... again.... I have him muzzled now. Hopefully he will start associating the muzzle as time out for chasing his tail. I show him the muzzle and he stops chasing his tail for a few minutes, then he is right back at it as soon as I look away. He seems to do it when he is bored. I try to keep him supplied with toys and let him play with our other dog, but his massive jaws destroy any toy I get him within a matter of hours.


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## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

Jborden said:


> My one year old german shepherd has been doing this since he was a puppy. I just noticed yesterday that the end of his tail was bleeding.... again.... I have him muzzled now. Hopefully he will start associating the muzzle as time out for chasing his tail. I show him the muzzle and he stops chasing his tail for a few minutes, then he is right back at it as soon as I look away. He seems to do it when he is bored. I try to keep him supplied with toys and let him play with our other dog, but his massive jaws destroy any toy I get him within a matter of hours.


Redirect with something yummy, Kong filled with peanut butter or new toy. I wouldn't muzzle him, he will eventually associate the muzzle with bad things and in a time of crisis you will need it.

Muzzles should come with good things, that way if you have an emergency and need it the dog will readily accept it without a fight.


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## Jborden (Mar 15, 2011)

We used to have a kong toy around here somewhere. I'm sure it's in hiding or it's been chewed up, but If find where they stashed it, I'll give it another try, or buy some more toys.
Thx


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## Polistes (Feb 14, 2011)

My friend has a lab and I like grabbing and holding his tail because that will cause the lab to chase after the tail for a few moments, and I get a kick out of it. Though afterwords the lab moves onto other things.

I had no clue that tail chasing could be bad, I always thought of it as a play behavior....


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