Every so often a dog can
be seen circling round and round at high speed, chasing its own tail. It
snaps its jaws at the vanishing tail, then spins around in hot pursuit,
sometimes circling so many times that it becomes dizzy and disoriented. For
the human observer what starts out as an amusing folly on the part of the
dog and seems to be no more than a simple play pattern, eventually
becomes disturbing. It begins to look like the stereotype that has
become a behavioural abnormality, rather than a rhythmic game. Sadly,
this is not too far from the truth because persistent tail chasing is
usually the failing of dogs that have been kept in unnaturally boring
conditions.
Dogs are social beings and they are also intensely exploratory. If
they are deprived of companians-both canine and human or if they are kept
in a constrained or monotonous environment, they suffer. The
worst mental punishment a dog can be given is to be kept alone in a tightly
confined space where nothing varies. Fortunately this rarely happens
with domestic dogs. But wild dogs in zoos have often been housed
in small, cramped, empty cages, condemned to a life sentence of solitary
confinement. Observations of such animals has revealed that they
frequently develop 'tics' and stereotyped actions, such as paw biting,
tail chewing, neck twisting, pacing and other damaging patterns of
repetitive behaviour. Sometimes these 'tics' become so savage that
dogs repeatedly bite into their flesh and develop running sores. This
self punishment may seem destructive but it has the effect of providing
acute stimulation in a world that has become an unbearable limbo of boredom.
Tail chasing is a mild form of this behaviour. It is often seen
in a puppy that has recently been isolated from its litter mates. Taken
to a new home it is suddenly robbed of all the rough and tumble play so typical
of a lively litter, and it will seek new forms of stimulation. If
its owners do not play with it enough the puppy may find it difficult to
start up a game and it is then that the tail chasing becomes the best companion
available. There is no harm in this providing the circling does not
become a compulsive obsession. Many lonely puppies do it for a while
and then grow out of it. Only when it persists into adulthood does
it indicate a fault in the dogs environment, and a greater need for social
interaction and adventure. It can normally be cured by increasing
these aspects of the animals life.
The only exception to this rule is when a dog is suffering from some
stubborn irritation in the tail region such as swollen anal glands or
lasting pain from a badly docked tail. But in such cases other more
specific responses such as rump dragging and tail nibbling are more likely
to occur.
Tail chasing can develop into a harmful habit, with some dogs known
to mutilate their genitals during the persuit. For this reason, tail chasing
is just not entertainment for the dog - and often the owner - but a serious
problem. Dr Robert Holmes, a veterinarian and animal behaviourist, told an
Australian conference. "Something should be done to break the habit straight
away." said Dr Holmes.
Dr Holmes said that in extreme cases, tail chasing resulted in physical
damage or the habit becoming obsessive. He said that in the worse case
he had seen, a tail chaser had to be put down after it started mutilating
its genitals.
In these sorts of cases the
dogs grab hold of their tails, then turn their attention to other things
in the area - in this case the undercarriage. In other cases dogs have
been known to pin their tails against walls or lie on their backs to enable
them to bite their tails. The chase is part of their natural predatory aggression
and may finish with growling, biting or injury to themselves.
Identifying the cause of the habit is the first step in breaking the
habit. While boredom was the most common cause of tail chasing, there were
eight other possible causes. Owners often report that it started suddenly
but they didn't worry about it, and often thought it amusing or just one
of those things dogs did.
Apart from boredom and breeding, other predisposing factors could be:
Frustration or conflict; tail trauma; owner reinforcement; flea allergy
dermatitus, annal sacculitis; cuada equina syndrome or stimulent drugs.
An example of owner reinforcement, was where the owner held, stroked or
verbally soothed the dog to stop circling.
It may be necessary to restrict the dog's view of it's tail with an
Elizabethan collar or bucket over the head. Sedation of the animal through
drugs may also be necessary.
After a month of complete suppression of tail chasing, the short term
prevention measure can be steadily removed. Drug treatment should be reduced
over a week period and the bucket or collar could be taken off under strict
supervision at the time of the day tail chasing was least likely. If
the tail chasing resumed, then the bucket or Elizabethan collar should
be resumed for another month.
reprinted with kind permission from
John Chandler, Secretary/Webmaster, ACDSCNQ.
