Why Do Dogs Chase Their Tails. Its a no brainer that our canine companions are as smart as a whip.
Therefore they try to chase and catch it.
Do smart dogs chase their tails. A dog experiencing anxiety may chase and bite their tail in the same way as a person bites their nails. Over time the habit may get worse and happen more often. If your dog chases their tail and they cant be stopped with gentle redirection or if your dog bites their tail to the point of hurting themselves immediately contact your veterinarian.
Why do dogs chase their tail. Steve Weinberg DVM is the founder of 911 Vets an in-home pet medical service in California that provides. Sometimes a dog chasing their tail can just be a normal behavioral act.
Dogs that are chasing their tail are actually very smart. This is their way of playing or getting your attention to tell you something is wrong in this area. Dogs have been known to experience hair loss on their tails due to this kind of behavior and even cause themselves injury.
What it boils down to is if you notice that your dog seems to be chasing after her tail an excessive amount the best thing you can do for her health is to have her checked out by a veterinarian. So a behaviorist would say that a dog chases its tail because the tail is moving and the canine prey instinct evolved to reflexively chase that which moves especially when bored. Like other weird behaviors our dogs might do understanding them will make us better pet owners.
While it may be a behavior we look at as charming or silly from our dogs its actually important to understand why our dogs chase their tails. In other words they can chase their tails due to an underlying mental illness that causes them to unnecessarily chew bite and chase their tail. Reasons For Dog Chasing Tail 1 Boredom.
Dogs most commonly chase their tails out of boredom. Dogs require exercise and fun every day just like humans do. A dog will chase their tail to expend some energy if they are bored as a way to keep their mind and body moving.
If you observe your dogs doing a lot of tail-chasing it may be a sign that you need to play ball or take them for a walk more. Its a no brainer that our canine companions are as smart as a whip. Why Do Dogs Chase Their Tails.
At first it seemed that this behavior served little purpose and was a mindless repetitive behavior that helped pass the time. But in the last 10 years tail chasing has been regarded as a symptom of a compulsive disorder much like compulsive self-licking. This implies that the dog has some genetic.
There is no definitive answer to this question right now. Science is still out on the issue of dogs awareness of their own body parts. Dogmatic statements on this issue should be taken with some skepticism.
There does appear to be some association. Dogs Chase Their Tails to Relive Boredom. Tail chasing can be a way to relieve boredom and expend some excess energy says Dr.
Erin Katribe a Texas veterinarian and medical director of Best Friends Animal Society a non-profit animal welfare organization with a nationwide outreach. Tail chasing is an activity like running around the yard or. If you find yourself clicking your pen incessantly during a long meeting its possible that youre either really bored or really anxious.
According to Readers Digest dogs often chase their tails. Why do dogs chase their tails. The dogs may chase their tails due to several reasons lets find them out below.
Ignorant Puppy If you find your younger puppy chasing his tail its normal. Usually they dont know that their tail is a part of their body. Therefore they try to chase and catch it.
Dogs will often chase their tails because of boredom. This has been pointed out by dog trainers and behavioral experts. Puppies do not realize that their tail as part of their body but instead see it as a toy.
They therefore create their own entertainment using their own bodies. As dogs grow old this kind of play stops. Even though tail chasing can be entertaining for all involved at times you may want to distract your dog from this behavior by offering her a ball or a Frisbee to chase every so often.
According to the book Why Dogs Do That. A Collection of Curious Canine Behaviors in some cases a visit to your veterinarian may be necessary.