# OK, tail chasing is OUT OF CONTROL!



## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

How do I get her to stop? I take her out to go potty and she starts. I can't get her to stop. I say Leave it, and stop it you







. She gets so wrapped up in it that I can't get her to go potty. Now she wants out again cause I know she has to poo but she was to preoccupied w/ her tail before. It's worse w/ the snow and she doesn't do it all the time but when she does, it's bad. 

I all but have to drag her back in the house. 

How do I get her to stop this aside from skinning her alive? She looks like a moron!


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## Ruthie (Aug 25, 2009)

Bison went through a tail chasing phase when he was young. It was always worse when we had a busy week and were able to give him the exercise and mental stimulation that he needed.

I would suggest more exercise and "work" for her. To stop "in the moment", I would tell her "NO" firmly then distract her with playing something else or giving him a few commands.

Does your girl know "go potty"? That might help with the outside chasing.


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## Strana1 (Feb 9, 2008)

Have you checked under her tail to see if something is irritating her?


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Her tail is fine but she's irritating me lol. She just loves to chase her tail when she's wound up and then she starts running all over the house.


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

I hope it's a phase but I swear my hubs makes it worse cause he thinks its funny, but he's not the one taking her out when she's burning around in circles.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

This is something you need to get under control as it can escalate into an OCD behavior. 

As someone said above you want to distract her every single time, stop her before she gets started. If that means keeping her on a leash when you take her out to pee then that's what you've got to do. Both you and your husband need to be on the same page with the plan to get her to stop.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Baron (2 yo male GSD) will occaisionally get the "crazies" - goes running around (inside or out) like he is out of control. been doing it since he was a baby although he does come out of it much easier now.


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

She IS on a leash when she does it. I try to stop her before it starts, but she goes from 0 to 10 in a millisecond and I'm missing the clue. I'm very worried about OCD. I told him he's gonna be the one paying and upset when she has a nub instead of a tail. MEN. 

What is the best way to distract? Treats? I've tried that before. she eats and goes right back to it. I don't want to reward the behavior. I've tried ignoring it. I tried the Cesar's "shhh" which works more for my son doing it than me.







I've tapped her on the butt, I'll held her so she can't chase, I've put her between my legs where she can't reach. 

IF I keep walking, she keeps spinning as I walk, following behind me. Once she gets close to the house, she usually stops and goes up the steps just fine.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

What do you do for exercise, besides walks? Do you play tug? That is one of the things my pup really enjoys and it wears his energy a bit. I saw on Cesar where there was a spinning GSD and he put a backpack on him, he was set in his ways so it helped minimally. Your pup is a bit young to be wearing much weight, so I'd try to get the energy out another way. Tracking for her meal would be a great outlet, too.
Do not ever use a laser pointer on this pup for "fun" it will probably be extremely destructive to her mental state.
A friend just pulled a young stray GSD from a shelter here, and his tail had been recently docked. She isn't sure why, hopefully it wasn't the previous owners way of dealing with tail chasing...


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Yikes... I never want to dock. We'd figure something out before that ever happened. 

The last few days has been really crazy and cold and she hasn't gotten her share of energy burn I'd say. Today was my bday so I went out to lunch w/ my sister and now she's sleeping off her dinner and her almost nawing my young one apart. *sigh* He tries to play w/ her so much but her teeth are still really sharp and he's so small... He always goes back for more and her nips are always playful, going after a toy or trying to get him to play more. 

Think we'll get some tugs in once the kids hit the hay! She loves tugs now.. before not so much.


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## LandonsNana (Dec 21, 2008)

Sounds like too much energy. Try 1) More exercise and 2) Diet, read what in her food and snacks. 

A friend had a hyper GSD puppy one time and then found out her sons were feeding her cookies...human cookies, full of sugar, for snacks.


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

She's not really that hyper. She is kinda the most calm pup I've ever seen, but she gets spurts. As for food, She's on Orijen Puppy mixed w/ a little bit of Evo 95% meat canned. My kids wouldn't give her their cookies LOL, besides, I regulate that stuff here. They must ask for treats. and DO they ask *sigh* 

I can't wait till this weather breaks. She's not doing well on the come command right now for some reason and I'm afraid of letting her off leash. I can't really run to chase after her


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## triordan (Dec 5, 2008)

there was an episode on the dog whisperer about a gsd who chased his tail~ sorry i didnt watch the whole episode, you may be able to find it online...good luck


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## Ruthie (Aug 25, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: FuryanGoddess...What is the best way to distract? Treats? I've tried that before. she eats and goes right back to it. I don't want to reward the behavior. ...


I agree, you need to be careful with treats. You don't want her to see that as rewarding the behavior. If you distract her with treats, make sure you have her do something BEFORE you give it to her like sit, focus, shake...

We used a ball to distract him. Went something like this... Tail chase. "NO" Pause. "Bison! Wanna play ball? Look! I got your ball." Basically make yourself more exciting than her tail.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I have had to use elavil (amplytriptline easier to say elavil) on 2 of my dogs in the past for anxiety. One was Kramer for separation in one place we lived (close to the street and Mr. Control Freak couldn't handle it) and Nina was the other she had night terrors (talk about freaky-waking up to a dog screaming). Nina was on, after it soaked in, a very low dose until she passed. Kramer was only on it for that time we lived there. She's very young so that seems like it would be out there in the future if the behaviors continue, but just putting it out there. No one likes meds, but if you've ever used them yourself and they work, you wonder why!

I don't have (knock wood) any spinners. I do have prey drive Ilsa who also loves to chase and bite. It's fun to her, and that is what motivates her. Luckily, she can play with the other dogs and get most of it out of her system. IF she didn't have a way to get that out, I wonder if she might spin. How is your girl's prey drive?

A tail, which she can actually catch and attack? What fun! So if you replace that with another thing, would she maybe stop that behavior. So what could possibly be more enjoyable and reward her more than doing that? That is the question, I think, that if you could answer, you could get some results. 

I will admit to being over my head on this but still want to offer some input because it's important to stop it now, VERY.. I know of one lady who had great success with a spinner. She may have leashed him to her all the time and not allowed him to spin to break him of it. He had already lost part of his tail before he got to her. 

What l'd want to do is have her learn a replacement behavior and I think that would take a while...but if you use a clicker, you may get some good results. Capture the behavior you want-click when she's sitting, laying down and treat. I think you need someone there with you who can help. Are you near Endicott, NY at all? There is a clicker guy there...and you can find more on Karen Pryor's site. 

Agility and obedience classes would also maybe help with her focus.

I would put her on NILIF. Leash her to you and take her for walks and do obedience in that. So walk, do a sit, walk, down, walk, stay...mix it up. I know having some OCD stuff myself that it is a calming thing but that getting me tired wipes it out. Tired mentally or physically and I totally forget about it. Chasing her tail probably gives her something to focus on, and then tires her out.

Tracking would be another really simple thing she could do. Even just playing find it with pieces of burger, chicken or cheese or whatever she considers high value, hidden in a room and helping her to find it. As long as it doesn't make her worse-so you need to talk to someone who actually knows something about this particular behavior first. It is a special one, I think. 

*****What I would want you to do first is to make sure that none of my suggestions would reinforce her behavior! http://www.btneuro.org/tailchasing.htm *****

Tufts Vet hospital has a service where you can fax behavioral questions to them for a fee, they will review and recommend things for you. Dr. Dodman I think it is-big mucky muck guy! OH! And guess what-on that link, he is listed as one of the people to go to about this problem!
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/behavior/ is their site.

So after reading all this, check out those links most of all!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Great advice Jean, gotta get right on the tail spinning thing, it's not funny, it's not cute, it can develop into a serious disorder.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I totally agree this behavior can become compulsive if it isn't dealt with asap.

It isn't funny at all. She is what? 4 months old? It sounds like she isn't getting enough harder exercise (and I mean running not walking) , ball throwing, etc. 

Most puppies have ALOT of energy to burn and they don't 'get' that it's to cold out so I can't do it today, or I don't feel like taking a walk today. 

It sounds like you've got a somewhat normal puppy that is quite frustrated because it's not getting enough mental/physical exercise so it's going to find some fun of it's own. 

One post where you mentioned you were having a hard time with a recall,,,well, recalls are pretty darn easy IF you have something (or you are something) that is much more interesting to the dog/puppy than anything else out there. 

I would UP the exercise/ball throwing play time, and offleash stuff. I would also get into an obedience class asap where you can learn how to handle such behaviors.

Maybe this puppy is just to much for your household?


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

no, the pup isn't too much, she just likes to chase her tail. She's still a baby.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Anka was a tail chaser. 

Anytime she got excited, she would have to put that energy into something...and if I didn't give her anything to do she would chase her tail. We always interupted her and would offer a tug toy or a ball or something. In her crate we would give her something to chew on. It took time, maybe a couple of months, but she learned to consistently channel that energy into commands or another activity. She does very well and has learned a lot of self control, but now when she has "extra" to deal with, she usually puts it into vocalizing. 

Sometimes our dogs are a little like balloons, you squash down one area, and it pops back up in another.


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## Waffle Iron (Apr 3, 2012)

I think tail chasing is also part of being a puppy, not so much being bored.


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## childsplay (Jan 28, 2012)

Uther does this too. Sometimes in the middle of a walk, he will sit in the grass and look at his tail with an intense "I'm gonna get you" look. That's when I know the chase is about to begin and I use that split second to grab a treat out of my pocket and refocus him. 

Some people think it' funny, but it really isn't if you're the one trying to take the pup for a walk! I think if you use the distraction techniques and find a few more energy expending exercises that you both enjoy, the phase will soon pass.

Good Luck!


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## BlackthornGSD (Feb 25, 2010)

Waffle Iron said:


> I think tail chasing is also part of being a puppy, not so much being bored.


Small amounts of easily interruptable tail-chasing is part of being a puppy. 

Do not permit the behavior--hold her by the collar if you have to. Then try to redirect her onto a toy--anything that she can hold in her mouth but that you can maybe also play a little bit of tug with. The Kong Wubba or Tails toy is a good option for this because you can do a bit of prey action (moving the toy to attract her). 

If you got her from a breeder, it'd be worthwhile asking the breeder about it, too--the breeder may know if there are other tendencies like this in her parents or littermates.

At any rate--interrupt however you have to--and do it now before this is an engrained OCD behavior--which will, almost always, turn self destructive.


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## jakes mom (Feb 29, 2012)

Hi FuryanGoddess

I understand your problem, as our dog suffers with OCD chasing lights and shadows - it is not fun behaviour at all.

You really need to reduce her opportunity to practice this behaviour, as you're aware. Personally I would get her a collar that makes it very difficult for her to do it - the inflatable ones look good, so do the stretch ones - but they're very pricey. 

Dog wound protection products from Canine Concepts. at Canine Concepts

I agree with the others that more brain exercise would be good - she needs something to take her mind off her tail. 

I think it was Jean who suggested clicker training and I think that's a really good idea - especially if you have children. You can teach the kids the correct way to do it, and they can help train your pup. I'm sure they'd all enjoy it - the kids could do the trick training, while you concentrate on obedience. I'd remove the collar when training, to see if the training keeps her mind occupied enough. 

There are some lovely videos on these sites

Dogmantics Dog Training the official ?Kikopup? website

Training Positive ? Complete Dog Training Tutorials

Hope that's of some help. Good Luck
_________________
Sue


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## kam214 (Mar 3, 2012)

This thread is over two years old...


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## jakes mom (Feb 29, 2012)

kam214 said:


> This thread is over two years old...


Well spotted Kam - very alert.

_______________
Sue


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Still tons of good info to bring to people's awareness.


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