Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I didn't know of a better place to put this question, but since it is related to dogs - here goes:

My GSD is about 1.5 years old.. how in the HELL do I break her of chasing her tail?

She paces and chases her tail... especially when we have company.

HELP!

I didn't know of a better place to put this question, but since it is related to dogs - here goes:

My GSD is about 1.5 years old.. how in the HELL do I break her of chasing her tail?

She paces and chases her tail... especially when we have company.

HELP!

My 5 year old does that when he gets worked up. A stern "NO!" usually does the trick.

If you have a crate for her you could try crating her??

A "NO!" gets her attention and she ceases the behavior for about 10 minutes.. We gave our crate away to some people that really needed it (they couldn't afford one).. she is too big for it now anyway. :mad:

Well you could just cut that ol' tail off, J/K :D

Sounds like boredom, or Hypertension (like when she gets to exited)

Take her out to the field and run the heck out of her, give her some chew toys like rawhides, ropes, etc.

The Dog Whisper on A&E had a similar prob on his show, I really can't recall what he said, but I think more exercise was the main treatment.

Thats my advice, but I'm no expert by no means, hope you can tame it. Good luck!

Yes, Cesar's cure was to give the dog a job:) Long, focused walks with a back pack to get out some of the nervous energy. I beleive he put two bottles of water in it to give it some weight.

I'm not an expert, but here is my suggestion...

GSDs have drives like every other dog. Even though GSDs in America are often victims of improper breeding, causing lower drives looked for in a working dog, they still have high drives. Your dog could have a high prey drive and no exercise that allows it to get out.

In addition to the focused walks (i.e. not letting them smell, pee or track, just walk with the backpack) try some tug exercises. Tie the dog out on a normal, non-pinch or choke collar with about an 8' lead (something with some stretch, but not too much). Then tie a towel to a long piece of rope or get a regular dog tug. Move it around in front of it and after the dog gets worked up a little, feed it to them and play tug. Repeat this exercise until the dog is very tired. As time goes on, make the dog have to do more, bark and animate to get the tug and then shorten the amount of time he/she gets the tug. Make this FUN! and tire them out!

Then inside, correct the behavior with the tail. Start with the "no" and follow it up with physically stopping it. Make sure the dog knows that there is a time and a place. Keep up the walks and rag work, at least 4 times a week.

Last I would say to get another kennel that fits the dog and use it. The unfortunate thing is that once the tail chasing is corrected, he/she may find something else to get out the nervous energy and GSDs can be very destructive. I usually will not allow a working dog freedom in the home until after they are four years old.

Good luck and like I said, I'm not an expert... This is what I would do if my housedog had the same issue.

Try this article.

Hope it helps..

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/tail-chasing-in-dogs/page1.aspx

Try this article.

Hope it helps..

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/tail-chasing-in-dogs/page1.aspx

That is great info. My GSD does it nearly every time I want to wrestle around and rough play. He plays back and does not cower away, but he nearly always starts tail chasing and biting.

I am a very strong pack leader (seems with a 100 pound dog you need to be) and this article tells me that what I see as play may be frustrating him in some way. Makes total sense to me.

Thanks for the awesome suggestions guys.. I appreciate your help. My wife has about had it with the tail chasing!

From that article "Affected German shepherds often engage in compulsive pacing and circling behavior, too, including running in large figure eights. "



AHHHH!!!!! * RIPS HAIR OUT *

Very similar to the advice I gave. The first GSD they paired me with was like that. As long as he was working for the day, he was fine. Take a day off and he was nuts. He chewed a portion of his tail off. I wound up getting a different dog:rolleyes: