The dog is chasing its tail. Painful conditions of the body

A dog is an active, inquisitive and playful creature. However, a passion for one's own tail can also indicate serious problems with the animal's health. Let's look at your pet's behavior and determine whether there is cause for concern.

Discomfort

Exists a whole science about the behavior and education of dogs - cynology. Experts say that a dog rarely chases its tail because it is in a good mood. For most puppies this is normal behavior. But if the habit does not go away with age, the animal’s interest in body parts increases, measures need to be taken.

It is necessary to find out what motivates your four-legged friend to action. Pay attention to the nature of the chase. It may be accompanied by barking, howling, and an attempt to bite itself.

Most problems four-legged friends cannot solve on their own. They try unsuccessfully to get to problem areas, and people perceive it as a game.

Inaction leads to severe consequences. The main measures to eliminate symptoms are as follows:

prevention of worms;
inspection for ticks, lice, fleas;
If external signs There is no infection, the dog needs to be shown to a veterinarian.

Diseases

Your doctor can help you determine why your dog is chasing its tail. The reasons often lie in:

tissue irritation anus– manifestation of consequences minor damage, allergies and diarrhea;
inflammation or blockage of the anal glands is accompanied by wild pains and itching - pets crawl with their butts on any surface (floor, carpet, ground);
violation vestibular apparatus– the animal suddenly begins to spin around its axis;
liver disease - in addition to chasing the tail, vomiting and diarrhea occur.

The vet may not find any health problems.

Psyche and genetics

If the cause has not been identified, the pet probably requires more attention from its owners. The dog no longer cares whether they laugh at it or scold it. She seeks any reaction to her existence.

There are individuals with serious deviations caused by DNA. If a dog runs after its tail and bites it, this may indicate a mental disorder. In this case, it is not possible to wean your pet from a bad habit. Group of drugs and special exercises will help correct behavior, but will not change the gene pool.

The disorder accompanies the animal throughout its life, periodically manifesting itself in bursts of anxiety and aggression. Even breeding representatives, no matter what characteristics their breed has, are not allowed to breed. Mental disorder will be given to the puppies.

The question of the psyche has been poorly studied. The disease is diagnosed when the puppy is 3 months old. Until this time, his chasing the tail is perceived by the owners as a harmless game. Previously, people did not attach any importance to the psyche problem. Some seizures were considered symptoms of other diseases.

If you have symptoms, you should seek help from experienced professionals. It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of why a dog chases its tail. Many points require additional study.

Should you be concerned if you notice that your pet has started running in circles and catching its tail? Many dog owners try to cope with this pet behavior on their own, often taking the wrong steps, leading to worsening compulsive behavior.

In order to act correctly, you need to know about the reasons why the dog began to behave this way.

Causes of obsessive behavior in dogs

There are often cases when animals who have anxiety threshold exceeded. Such dogs, when left alone at home, begin to whine, bark loudly and chew furniture and clothes. They have rapid breathing, salivation increases, animals can run chaotically around the apartment and hide. Anxiety may be caused by for various reasons, and any action of the owner can serve as an irritant for the onset of such behavior.

For example, the owner of a dachshund on the forum said that when feeding his pet, he was constantly pulled and distracted. And now every meal at any time can provoke this inappropriate behavior at the dog's. By eliminating the provoking environment, you can help the animal get rid of the obsessive state: feed in a different place, change the bowl for another.

Fear or phobia of loud noises also leads to obsessive behavior. This could be a loud ringing phone or alarm clock. Or, for example, this situation: guests came and rang the doorbell, and the dog barked loudly and woke up the child. The owners sharply pull the dog back and force him to shut up. Next time, the impetus for playing with the tail may be the doorbell, the dog no longer barks, since this is prohibited, but begins to spin around and catch its tail.

If the pet is just limit in motor activity (strict collar, chain), then you won’t be able to get rid of a bad habit. It is necessary to exclude exactly the reason causing this behavior. On the contrary, if it is impossible to perform a stereotypical action, the dog’s level of anxiety may increase.

Dog breeders believe it can help development of competitive behavior. The animal is taught new commands, for example, “lie down”, “sit”. First, the pet is trained in the absence of stimuli. And then, when the dog can remain calm while executing the command for at least 20 minutes, you can try adding a stimulus, gradually increasing the strength of its impact.

For example, if the dog was annoyed by the phone ringing, you can make a recording and turn it on quietly. If the animal behaves calmly, then you need to praise it and treat it with something tasty. It is better if these trainings are carried out before something pleasant for the dog, for example, feeding. This way negative associations are replaced by pleasant ones. The amount and frequency of exercises depend on the severity of the obsessive state of a particular animal. The duration of training can be several weeks, and you need to work patiently with your pet and not force the process.

Obsessive behavior can be caused improper docking of a puppy's tail. If the operation is unsuccessful and a vertebral fragment remains, then the nearby tissues may become inflamed, thereby causing the dog to want to lick or chew its tail. In this case, the animal must be shown to a veterinarian, and, most likely, surgical intervention will have to be resorted to.

If your pet has injured its tail, a violation may occur. nerve endings, which also leads to restless behavior in the dog.

But if the animal’s coordination is suddenly disrupted, then this may be a manifestation of such an ailment as vestibular syndrome. And in combination with vomiting and loose stools, this may indicate liver disease.

You should check your dog for glycemia - increased content blood sugar (especially if the pet is a small breed).

Mood-Related Behaviors

It happens that, left at home alone, the dog begins to get bored and has to look for entertainment. Tail chasing is the most accessible. And then, in order to attract attention to himself, he begins to make similar movements in front of the owner. If, seeing such behavior, you immediately begin to pet your pet and flirt with it, then it will realize that in this way it can gain your favor and will try to manipulate you. And if you don’t focus on this action, the dog will forget about this behavior and will not try to repeat it.

The second way to get rid of a bad habit due to your pet’s boredom is to increase physical activity. Make your walks longer, try new routes. Use this method: throw objects at him and ask him to bring them, and then good execution teams play with him.

Fortunately, in most cases, a dog, like a cat, chases its tail because it good mood and for her this is a kind of entertainment.

But if there is even the slightest risk that the behavior is associated with an illness, do not hesitate to visit the veterinarian.

Often a pet trying to catch its tail with its teeth evokes affection and a smile. Majority inexperienced owners dogs perceive this behavior as a fun game that allows the dog to occupy himself in his free time.

Game or problem?

Little puppy getting into new house finds himself alone. The brothers and sisters who surrounded him earlier have disappeared and the baby, ready to play all day long, is trying to find something to do. It is at this time that most dog babies look around and notice a funny tail, as if living its own life. own life. Not yet understanding that the tail is part of itself, the puppy tries to catch up and get acquainted with an interesting object. But the tail, oh horror, runs away from him, not getting caught in his teeth, or slips out of his mouth every time he tries to grab him.

The owner should understand that tail chasing is not a cute behavioral feature of the pet, but serious problem, which can lead to deterioration in the health and quality of life of the animal.

First of all, there is a real threat of serious physical injury, for example, causing serious injury to oneself or even amputating the tip of the tail.

In addition, prolonged running in a circle leads to imbalance of the vestibular apparatus and deterioration general condition animal. In especially severe cases, such obsessive states can cause physical exhaustion and even illness in the pet.

The worst thing you can do to break a bad habit is try to stop your dog from doing it. This is difficult to do for several reasons:

Firstly, you will not be able to provide the animal with round-the-clock attention, and if left unattended, the dog will try to resume stereotypical actions.
Secondly, by fulfilling the owner’s ban, the dog may acquire another bad habit - swallowing inedible objects, or even increased aggressiveness.
Thirdly, similar radical measures worsen between pet and owner and lead to increased nervousness in both.

Second necessary rule- changing the pet's lifestyle. Fill his life and interesting games, the owner's attention and healthy diet. Realization of the animal's natural instincts - the desire to hunt or pursue prey - helps a lot. For this purpose they use cooperative games with dogs (fetching) or joint sports (chasing a mechanical hare, field tests for hunting breeds, ).

In about half of the cases, prescribed treatment and lifestyle changes are enough to remove unwanted behavior and over time, completely wean your pet from the bad habit.

If you and yours four-legged friend If you're unlucky enough to end up in the other half, you'll have to work hard to get rid of the tail chase. Animal psychologists advise teaching the dog so-called “competitive behavior” - a chain of sequential actions that reduce general nervousness in the presence of an irritant.

Most often, elements of training are used for this, for example, the commands “sit” or “lie down”. At first, the dog is taught to perform such actions in a calm and relaxed state. Subsequently, when the skill is practiced and consolidated, stimuli are introduced. First in a weakened form, seeking the execution of the command, and then increasing its strength. Moreover, competitive behavior in mandatory applied when the chase resumes. It looks something like this: when a dog tries to catch its tail, the owner does not scold or prohibit unwanted actions, but gives the necessary command, achieving its implementation. After which the pet is praised and encouraged, reinforcing pleasant associations.

This path is long and difficult; often the animal may experience breakdowns and relapses, after which it is necessary to go back a couple of steps and resume training from the previous stage. But if you apply maximum firmness and persistence, the unwanted habit will be defeated.

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Any form of dog behavior has its own motivation. Many people are familiar with the situation when a dog chases its tail, and, having grabbed it, begins to torment and gnaw at it. What explains this rush? There can be quite a few reasons and not all of them are harmless. In some cases, such behavior indicates that the dog is seriously ill, which means he needs veterinary care. The pathology is called “caught-tail syndrome.” From this article you will learn why your dog behaves this way and how to wean it from this bad habit.

Main reasons

The reasons why a dog chases its tail can be quite varied. They fall into three main categories:

The first includes behavioral features when “tail catching” is a dog’s behavioral reaction to various situations.
The second group of reasons is this: the dog reacts to physical discomfort in the back of the thighs and anus.
The third category consists various pathologies, the symptoms of which are painful sensations and itching in this area.

A separate and most serious reason is psychological problems. The disease is called “catching tail syndrome” and is an independent pathology.

Features of dog behavior

Let's look at why healthy dog chasing his tail. The main situations that can cause this behavior are:

Manifestation in a young dog hunting instinct. The puppy is interested in any moving object, including its tail. He simply cannot help but chase the fleeing target.
Boredom. If the animal is rarely walked or played with, it makes up for the lack of physical activity through a kind of chase. This is an opportunity to run around and have fun on your own in a small space.
The desire to attract the owner's attention. Perhaps she feels lonely, and so in an unusual way tries to attract attention to itself, to provoke a reaction from the owner - negative or positive.

Physical discomfort

Anything that gives the pet pain or other unpleasant sensations in the area of the tail or croup causes an attempt to get rid of them, which the dog does, trying to reach the problem area. It can be:

burrs stuck in long hair and piercing skin, or fur matted in tangles in the back of the body;
irritation and itching of the skin in extreme heat, especially in the presence of thick fur;
if the tail is docked incorrectly, the sharp edges of the stump can put pressure and injure the skin;
Tail injuries can lead to disruption of nerve endings and pain in this area.

Painful conditions of the body

If a dog often chases its tail, this may indicate various diseases And pathological conditions body. They have symptoms of pain or severe itching in the anus and back of the thighs:

Allergic reactions that cause rashes are sometimes localized in the anus and cause severe itching there.
Hormonal disruptions during estrus in females can cause states of psychological instability, manifested in a similar way.
Inflammation of the paraanal glands as a result of their blockage is the cause severe pain. Wanting to relieve his condition on his own, the dog tries to reach the location of the pain.
Helminths that live in the rectum also cause itching in the area. anus. Dog trying to eliminate unpleasant feeling, undertakes various actions. In addition to twirling in one place, she can ride on her butt on the floor. Helminthiasis - especially common reason“catching the tail” if the dog leads a street lifestyle or its diet contains raw meat.
Hypovitaminosis is another possible reason skin itching and spinning in place.
Vestibular syndrome develops as a result inflammatory processes, flowing in inner ear or damaging auditory nerve. As a result, the dog loses spatial orientation and suffers from severe dizziness.
Liver disorders can be suspected if this symptom is accompanied by a deterioration in the general condition of the animal, yellowing of the mucous membranes, lack of appetite, nausea, and stool disorders.
Late castration is fraught hormonal imbalances, and therefore behavioral characteristics that can manifest themselves as anxiety, as well as circling in place.

Psychological problems

In some cases, the disease in which a pet chases its tail is an independent pathology and is called “tail-catching syndrome.”

The pathology is genetic in nature and is an obsessive-compulsive disorder (obsessive desires that turn into repetitive actions).

The disease is diagnosed in early age and progresses over time. It can be corrected by providing psychological assistance and the use of sedative therapy, but complete elimination of symptoms does not occur. Dogs with similar pathology excluded from breeding programs because it is hereditary. They do not take part in dog shows.

Pathology is a symptom of neurosis obsessive states and is accompanied by an increased level of anxiety in pets. It manifests itself in attacks without loss of consciousness, the cause of which are areas of pathological electrical activity in temporal lobes brain responsible for animal behavior. Periods of circling around its axis can usually last up to 10 minutes. Before this, the sick dog closely examines its tail, accompanying the action with a yelp or growl. Unreasonable fears, hallucinations, and painful aggression may occur. The disease worsens if the animal is kept in a confined space for a long time (in a cramped enclosure), which causes an increase in the level of anxiety. Other irritants can also trigger an attack: loud sounds, strange dogs on his territory, sharp shouts.

Given mental disorder in addition to “catching the tail”, it also has whole line symptoms:

constant licking of paws;
gnawing your own hair until bald patches form;
clicking teeth;
unpredictable aggression;
coprophagia (eating one's own or other people's excrement);
look at one point.

The first signs of the disease may appear during puberty, during hormonal changes body.

How to get rid of an unwanted habit

First of all, it is necessary to find out what are the reasons why the dog rushes to chase itself.

Behavioral characteristics can be easily recognized. If the dog or puppy does this for fun, the movement is not intrusive. They easily forget about it as soon as the owner offers them a more exciting activity.
The owner needs to carefully examine the back of the thighs, croup and anal area for causes. possible discomfort(coat problems, improperly docked tail, etc.).

If the discomfort is caused by any internal pathology, then only certain treatment will help:

when allergic reactions use antihistamines;
inflammation of the paraanal glands is eliminated by cleaning them using anti-inflammatory and antiseptic agents;
Prevention of helminthiasis consists of regular deworming with special complex means.

Treatment for catch-the-tail syndrome is the most difficult. It is almost impossible to completely defeat her, since she has genetic origin. All applicable curative measures are symptomatic in nature, and if they are canceled, relapses of the disease will recur. Moreover, it is useless to apply punishment to the dog, to put on a muzzle. The obsessive desire to perform this or that action will not disappear.

The owner’s main goal is to reduce increased level anxiety and eliminate the formed bad habit. In a calm environment, behavior is adjusted, aimed at distracting the animal from obsessive actions through positive reinforcement and development new reaction on irritant. Competitive behavior training is used when, when circling resumes, the dog is given commands that it has already been trained in advance. Having achieved their fulfillment, the dog is encouraged with affection or a treat, gradually weaning it off. unwanted actions and reinforcing the positive association.

Thus, we figured out why the dog chases its tail. This action may be a variant of the norm, or it may indicate pathology. But in all cases, the dog’s life should be filled with positive communication with the owner and interesting activities, which will also serve as a distraction factor. This could be walks, joint activities that help realize the hunting instinct in the form of running after a mechanical hare or fetching.

Many dogs love to chase their tail. This type of behavior is very common in dogs, but it is not often that their owners can understand this behavior in their animals. Chances are you've watched a dog chase its tail while spinning around and wondered why it does this. Is this normal behavior in dogs? Answer: sometimes. As a pet owner, you must learn to recognize what is normal dog behavior, and thus learn when such behavior will be abnormal.

Chasing your tail can be completely natural and safe behavior in some dogs, but signal a serious behavior problem in others. Therefore, let's take a closer look at the reasons that can cause this animal behavior.

Entertainment

Puppies or young dogs may chase their tails, playing with themselves in this way. Very young puppies cannot even understand that the tail is part of their body. Since dogs are genetically potential predators, they will always find something to run after as they grow and develop.
This trait leads to the fact that dogs love to chase dogs smaller than themselves or other small animals. In the minds of young dogs, the tail is simply a toy attached to the body that can be chased. Many dogs can start chasing their tail when they get bored.

Health problems

But be careful, dear owner, when watching the picture of such entertainment for your pet! Your dog may be chasing his tail for more than just fun. Happens. That the animal feels some discomfort in the tail area and may try to bite it. Most often the problem is associated with fleas, anal glands or skin problems. If your dog is chasing its tail frequently, you may want to contact them and check to see if the dog has any medical conditions.

Behavior problem:

Some dogs may develop an unhealthy habit of almost constantly chasing their tail or spinning around. This behavior is not normal, so you should not ignore it. Dogs may actually suffer from this compulsive habit, which can be caused by long-term stress and anxiety. Rest and relaxation, a positive attitude and care from its owner can be beneficial for the animal.
Please note that some dog breeds, such as bull terriers and german shepherds may be predisposed to chasing their tail. However, this does not mean that all representatives of these breeds will run after their tails.

When tail chasing is a problem

If your dog starts chasing his tail very often or seems obsessed with this habit and you are having a hard time distracting him, this is worth paying attention to. Special attention. The problem may be caused by physical or psychological disorder.
To find out if the animal is sick, you need to examine the skin on the tail and around the anus. Make sure the dog doesn't have fleas or any wounds. Even if everything looks normal, you should visit the veterinarian. It is possible that the dog may have worms or itching, which can easily be eliminated with treatment prescribed by the veterinarian.
It is important not to ignore the fact that when a dog chases its tail excessively, it should not be left unattended so as not to cause dog obsessive behavior or other problems with your pet.