# Puppy won't stop sniffing and pacing



## MattinAustin (Oct 22, 2008)

I posted this before but figured I'd move it over to the puppy area to see if anyone over here could help out.

Our 6 month old started a habit about a month ago of picking two spots on the ground and running back and forth between them. It doesn't matter if he is inside or out, upstairs or down, he will find 2 spots and run back and forth sniffing and running back to the other spot, somtimes barking while passing a certain spot. He always seems much more interested in doing that than even playing. If you throw the ball he will go get it and then go back to doing it again. 

Is this normal? What can I do to break him of this? It seems more like a nervous tick than tracking behavior. If you put some treats on the ground he'll often ignore them if they aren't right on his back and forth trail.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Hi there. This does not sound normal. Your puppy could have some sort of neurological problem, similar to OCD in people. Did anything precipitate this behavior? Have you ever played with a laser light with your puppy? Does it seem to be light that he's fixating on?


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

Without seeing the pup it will be difficult for people to diagnose the problem.

First a complete Vet check is in order. Complete Blood panel, eyes checked, etc. 

Next how much and what type of excercise is your pup getting. If not a medical condition then my guess without seeing the actions are an OCD type behavior. Some dogs with OCD behaviors will chase their tail.


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## MattinAustin (Oct 22, 2008)

Thanks for the responses. No its not a light fixation. He'll do it outside even if its 9 at night. He will chase his tail a little bit but maybe only for few seconds from time to time.

The pacing he'll do for 20 minutes + without a break. You can lay down on the ground on his route and he'll just readjust the route to either stop at you and turn around or go around you.

Really struggeling with training now because he is so obsessed with doing this.


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

You need to make sure that there isn't an underlying medical problem or all the training in the world isn't going to fix the problem.


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