How to Stop Your Dog From Chasing His or Her Tail

Video Transcript

"Let's talk about to talk about how to stop your dog from chasing their tail. One of the first things you need to do is try to determine why is your dog chasing his or her tail. Is it because they're bored, they're overly hyperactive or it's an enjoyable activity? It is something you can put on cue for your dog if they seem to enjoy and then if they do it off cue, in other words you haven't asked them to chase their tail or spin in a circle, then you wouldn't reward it and hopefully that behavior will diminish. A couple of the things to take care of right off the bat are look at your dog's diet, is your dog's diet high in something like grains that could be causing hyperactivity to which they may be allergic. You might want to work with somebody who is very interested in nutrition for example, a small boutique pet food distributor in your area or your veterinarian. That would be the first step. The other question is is your dog getting enough mental and physical exercise? Lady here came to me at four years old as a rescue, she wasn't getting enough physical exercise nor was she getting enough mental stimulation. She was also twenty pounds overweight. So we got her weight down, we gave her plenty to do and to think about, and that behavior diminished. Every now and then, she'll get a little excited and she'll chase her tail but it's nothing like it used to be. If you try all of these things and your dog is still chasing his or her tail, then you might want to - you probably need to go and talk to a veterinarian, you might need to look at an obsessive compulsive disorder. But that would be a very rare thing. And there are medications on the market for that. But again, you can try to deal with it a little bit on your own and then outside of that certainly consult a professional."