mollythestaffy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Our 11 week old Staffy has started to chase her tail over the last few days. No matter how much we try to distract her she seems to revert back to chasing her tail and barking at it. We have tried telling her "No", offering her toys and even holding her tail round so she can see it and get it in her mouth. We are worried that if it goes onto long she will do it right through her life sending her slightly insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReXy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 (edited) lol sorry had to laugh . its cute, but can turn into an obsessive behaviour,, just out of interest what colour is she (would love to see pics) the reason i ask this is... i know a few people with different breeds,, 1 of my old dogs did this , and they all had white tips on their tails..lol , the dogs must of thought it was something strange on the end of their tail so they had to chase it and get it, my dog stopped doing it allt he time.. and just occasionaly he would do it when he was playing.. im sure she will be fine, unless she is doing it constantly all day and its causing problems.. piccs are a must!!!! eddited for spelling... Edited August 15, 2006 by ReXy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: And her name is Molly?????? See the brat in my sig, called Molly? She chases her tail, though not as often as you describe but then she is 12 months Can you distract her with food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 This could easily turn into an obsessive behaviour. I have had some success with spraying a dogs tail with wound guard. It's a spray you get at the vet and you usually spray it on bandages etc to stop a dog chewing on them. It's the only thing that worked to stop my dog. You could also physically stop her each and every time you see her doing it and then moving her somewhere else for a bit of a ball game or a treat. I wouldn't treat her or play with her as soon as you stop her, give it a few seconds or she might learn to chase her tail for the game! The dog I had who would was borderline obsessive with her tail, had a solid coloured tail, not a white tip in sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 I would really try to stop this while it is a relatively new habit. It can become compulsive and destroy the dogs life. Would an Elizabethian collar help. You could make one out of a bucket or pot plant. Put her on a lead and "run the legs off her" anything to keep her away from her tail. I would even see the vet and resort to a sedative or rescue remedy or similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pesh Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Here's my two bobs worth.................. As already state it can become a compulsive disorder................. It can be from the dog not recognising it's tail is part of it's body. Think about it, it wouldn't really turn around to see whats hanging from it back end. I would start to have quiet time, and when your patting the dog, extend the pat all the way down the tail so it realises it part of the body. Distract the dog with new toys, have three boxes of them, each day put away the toys from box 1 and give box 2 & so on. This way the dog will be kept occupied. If that doesn't work, elizabethan collar. The spray for bandages on the tail. Last resort, medication. But remember there is herbal medications out there that work well. Good luck..................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 How often is she doing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReXy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 some great advise there, as others have said it van become a obsessive behaviour that you definatley dont want.... how often is she doing it.. if its becoming an issue already best to get straight on it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollythestaffy Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 quote name='ReXy' date='15th Aug 2006 - 09:59 AM' post='1173291'] some great advise there, as others have said it van become a obsessive behaviour that you definatley dont want.... how often is she doing it.. if its becoming an issue already best to get straight on it.. Thanks for all the advise!! Yesterday she seemed to be doing it whenever she wasn't eating sleeping or playing with the kids. This morning we have given her a big run and the tail chasing seems to be have slowed a bit. The worse part of it is that once she starts chasing her tail that becomes her top priority (apart from food). She becomes disinterested in playing when she thinks there is something behind her teasing her. Her colouring is white all over with tan patches over eyes,one ear and a small tan patch at the base of the tail. She starts puppy pre-school tonight so they may be able to assess how much of a problem it is. Here are a few pics of Molly: [a tachment=47648:attachment][ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Awww she is cute! Distract her with treats if she loves food, being a stafford she will probably love any type of food, so you can use low value treats that won't fill her up too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 IT can be a big problem in bull Terriers, take the advice and try to stop it NOW! she is very cute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReXy Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 aww she is very cute... good luck with her.. would love to see pics as she grows.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 She is simply gorgeous!!!! Hopefully with a puppys short concentration span she will easily be distracted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flycow Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Sorry to hi-jack this thread, my pup has started chasing her tail and chew it, twice-thrice a day as well. Just like to ask besides medication, can I just put something of bad taste (like lemon or chilli) on her tail so she'd taste it? Thought it's safer this way than medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 I have had some success with spraying a dogs tail with wound guard. It's a spray you get at the vet and you usually spray it on bandages etc to stop a dog chewing on them. Rebanne suggests trying wound guard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Yep, i would put something that tastes bad on the end of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 http://critterweb.com/btneuro/portrait_ofa_spinner.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipy Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 lol sorry had to laugh . its cute, but can turn into an obsessive behaviour,, just out of interest what colour is she (would love to see pics) :D the reason i ask this is... i know a few people with different breeds,, 1 of my old dogs did this , and they all had white tips on their tails..lol , the dogs must of thought it was something strange on the end of their tail so they had to chase it and get it, my dog stopped doing it allt he time.. and just occasionaly he would do it when he was playing.. im sure she will be fine, unless she is doing it constantly all day and its causing problems.. piccs are a must!!!!eddited for spelling... So true, our amstaff used to do this when he was little, only occasionally and I saw him do it maybe 5 times, and then he stopped, AND YES, he has white tip on his tail. Maybe colour the tail tip until he forgets about it... :D :D :D It is funny, we thought we ended up with the dumbest dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 eddited for spelling... gotta luv that...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReXy Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 eddited for spelling... gotta luv that...... lol i know and i still didnt get it right..lol... thanks !!!! dougie for pointing that out..lol.. sometimes i think i should just leave it,, someone will know what im talking about.i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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