Dutch Shepherd Forum

I have a 14-month old male Dutchie. He's had an issue with compulsively chasing his tail. This issue is genetic and anxiety driven, not because of a lack of exercise or bordeom, I found out his father has the same issue.

In a nutshell:
He is kept outside during the day in a 25+ foot kennel with his other 2 companions
Schutzhund training 2x/week
High energy exercising 2x/DAYfor at least 3o minutes (bike ride or ball chasing)
We live on 2 acres
Has chew toys, stuffed toys, etc


This issue started when we moved to a new house in September. I think I've tried everything that I could do myself, but its coming to the point where he might have to be medicated which I really don't want to do. Additionally, just this past week he busted open the tip of his tail 3 times, now its wrapped to heal, but potentially have to amputate part of it.

Has anyone experienced this issue or know of someone who had this issue? And what are some things that helped? I know that this behavior will not stop unless he is medicated, but I don't want medication to affect his ability to continue Schutzhund training as medications alter personalities. Plus, I don't want to keep him on something for the rest of his life. Any suggestions? Research I can read (though I've googled this many times)? I'm thinking of using a Bite-not collar for when I'm not home so it restricts his head from looking back. I will not use an electric collar, I've already tired this and it was not effective.

I am a strong-willed and dedicated owner, so there is no chance I would considering putting him down due to this specific issue.

Is it specifically tail chasing? Or is it just spinning - which can be common in some DS and lots of Malinois. For the most part, I don't care if they do it, as long as their parts stay intact.

Tail chasing because he is focused on his tail only. In the very beginning, he wouldn't stop unless I physically grabbed him. Yelling or distracting would not stop him. Thats when I started to use the e-collar. Now I can yell and he will stop.

I don't mind it either, but it's at the point now where I'd come home to a blood bath, and I mean a real bad one. I don't know how to post pictures on here but his kennel area along with the other two dogs were covered in blood. Also, I'm noticing scabs on his paws from it.

Your thoughts? Thanks

Something is stressing him. Have you tried a DAP collar? I know it's not a permanent fix, but it might slow him down.

http://www.amazon.com/Appeasing-Pheromo ... B000HPVH78

Zane doesn't have a problem with tail chasing but is ocd about snapping at fluttery stuff (leaves, his own fur as it falls off his body, etc). We've just done our best to institute a zero tolerance policy for dog ocd and he's definitely getting better. He always gets a good amount of exercise, but getting him totally wiped out will stop it completely for the day. So, it may be worth thinking up a way to up the intensity of your dog's morning exercise on days you won't be around to supervise him.

Can you see him gearing up for a tail chase before it happens? If not, then I'm not sure what you can do. But, with Zane, he gets an "I'm concentrating" forehead wrinkle and starts wagging his tail in a particular way about 30 seconds before he's lost to the world. As soon as I see either of those, I do everything I can to distract him immediately (sometimes just saying his name and getting him a cookie is enough, other times I have to grab him and squeak a ball in his face to snap him out of it). Once he's off chasing fur, it becomes much harder to stop him. That's helped a lot since it stops him from practicing the behavior and it seems like it's been tapering off as we've been keeping a closer eye on it.

I know one of Patricia McConnell's books has a section on ocd behaviors, but I can't remember which one (probably The Other End of the Leash, but I'm not sure about that). It didn't go into a lot of detail about how to treat it, but recommended getting a good trainer immediately because she thinks compulsive behaviors can become debilitating if left untreated.

Donna, does he also pace in addition to the tail-chasing? So when he is chasing the tail, he is biting at the same time or when he 'catches' his tail? Is that right? Humm....I have a friend who has Mals and a couple of them are spinners, one even had to have the end of the tail amputed because he did it so often when crated. They travel to shows and training so the dogs are crated often. I dont think she had a resolution. I personally have never had a tail-chaser even in the foster GSDs that came through.

My Zip is a pacer, if left outside during a nice pretty day in a 1 acre fenced yard, she will pick one corner and do a figure eight, literally nonstop for the entire time. She has paced deep paths in the same place. I dont leave her outside in the total yard by herself any longer. She does have a smaller kennel that she can stay in periodically for fresh air but mostly she stays inside in her room in the house where she does settle quietly. Needless to say, it was always very difficult to keep weight on her with her pacing.

I'd like to hear a solution to this too so keep us posted please.

You will probably find that it all comes down to stimulation, and not neccessarily physical exercise. It's more of a combination of both. Have you ever noticed how the "smarter" breeds also have more OCD behaviors?
Or are more succeptible to those behaviors. Mental exercise that keeps them engaged and interested is where your going to find the answer. Take a close look at your dogs physical exercise routine, and now his mental exercise routine. Now put your shoes in that routine and see how it works for you, perhaps you yourself would start displaying some OCD behaviors. I really don't mean to sound judgemental, quite honestly I don't really know his full routine. You do. Take a close look, and see what kind of workout his brain is getting.

Remember, your talking about the "Chuck Norris" of dog breeds here.