Chasing Tail - Is this normal?

Hi Everyone,

I have a 8 month old male GS that we recently rescued.

Some of you may have noticed that I have a training thread in this section but didnt want to add this question to that thread to complicate it.

Over the last few days Simba (GS) has started to chase his tail when ever I go outside to pat or play with him.

Is this just a puppy thing or is there a deeper problem here?

Hi my 2 had a stage of doing this Samson has now stopped he's 8 months Sasha still does it and she's 6 months old, maybe as your boy had been badly treated before you got him he is now getting used to being a puppy and chasing his tail is fun, also if he is an outdoor dog?? He may get bored if alone for long periods and it is soothing and self stimulating for him? Not a psych or anything just my own thoughts on it

Simba chasing his tail could just be playful puppy behaviour, but I definitely would not encourage it - and in fact try to discourage him by distracting him and playing with him with a tug or toy instead.

You say you rescued Simba, did he spend any length of time in kennels? Sometimes tail chasing can be a learned behaviour of dogs that are stressed and bored in kennels, and become really ingrained and hard to deal with if left for too long.

It is a form of OCD and a symtpom of kennellosis, I would review what his lifestyle is like and break the habit by increasing mental stimulation, providing stuffed kongs etc

Is he working or show bred do you know?

Exactly. I've seen a lot of dogs with this type of compulsive behaviours, while working at a shelter.

I would not worry at this point though. Puppies tend to play with their tails when bored. As mentioned above, try to distract him with toys or by just running away to attract his attention. Be careful not to reinforce this behaviour by offering play and attention.

Simba is strictly an outdoor dog. I can understand dogs doing this if they are bored but he only seems to do this when i go out to play with him?

Ill keep an eye on it and post up if he stops or continues.

Simba hasnt spent any time in kennels that I am aware of. The people I got him from claim they had him since a pup straight from breeder.

i will try to increase mental stimulation, have been looking for kongs but a little rare around my area. ive seen one that you can store food in and when the dog plays with it the kong spits out food, really want that one!

Is it possible they had him in an outddoor Kennel as some people do or kept him in the kitchen? This would mimic a kennel like environment.

couldnt honestly answer that one. I know the back yard he used to be in was tiny so this might have something to do about it.

when I fed simba this morining he started eating, then chased his tail for a bit, then continued eating again.

overall he is going it less. when I walk him or play ball he doesnt chase his tail but if I am outside and dont give him attention he tends to chase his tail

It could have been brought on by keeping him in the yard on the trainers advice for so long. Now that you are changing trainers try to get him out for as many short walks through the day as you can. It sounds like it might have come on through boredom of being stuck in the yard for too long.

Do not give him attention when he does it, unless it is to redirect him to doing some thing else. Never encourage it as it can become so bad that they never can stop and will cause them selves harm doing it too much.