{"id":10433,"date":"2021-07-31T15:56:07","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T15:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/?p=10433"},"modified":"2022-11-23T19:32:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T19:32:51","slug":"does-your-pet-need-a-good-spring-cleaning-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/does-your-pet-need-a-good-spring-cleaning-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Dogs Chase Their Tails?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Why do dogs chase their tails?<\/p>\n

Is it for fun, or is there some deeper meaning behind it?<\/p>\n

A dog chasing its tail is a stereotypical image, but not many people actually know why our canines do it.<\/p>\n

Truthfully, it can seem pretty pointless to us.<\/p>\n

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However, while this behavior might seem rather innocent, it can be a sign of underlying problems that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

There are a number of different answers to the question \u201cwhy do dogs chase their tails.\u201d<\/p>\n

But how do you tell why your dog is chasing his or her tail?<\/p>\n

And when is it time to take your dog to the vet?<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll discuss all the reasons behind why dogs chase their tails and help you figure out if it might be time to have your pooch checked out.<\/p>\n

What Does It Mean When a Dog Chases Her Tail?<\/h2>\n

A dog might be chasing its tail for a number of reasons.<\/p>\n

The most common and innocent reason is simply out of boredom.<\/p>\n

Dogs need to run and have fun. When they don\u2019t, they might resort to chasing their own tail.<\/p>\n

Another reason is for attention.<\/p>\n

If your pup has noticed that you pay attention to him or her after a tail-chasing excursion, that may be a technique used to continue to get attention.<\/p>\n

Genetics can also play a role in how much a dog chases her tail.<\/p>\n

Certain breeds tend to do it more than others.<\/p>\n

There are also a couple harmful reasons your dog might be chasing her tail.<\/p>\n

Dogs might chase their tails if it they\u2019re infected or irritated by fleas or ticks.<\/p>\n

The severity of the problem can vary quite a bit depending on what exactly is wrong.<\/p>\n

Dogs can also chase their tails as a compulsive behavior.<\/p>\n

In other words, they can chase their tails due to an underlying mental illness that causes them to unnecessarily chew, bite and chase their tail.<\/p>\n

Reasons For Dog Chasing Tail #1 \u2013 Boredom<\/h2>\n

Dogs most commonly chase their tails out of boredom.<\/p>\n

Dogs require exercise and fun every day just like humans do.<\/p>\n

If they don\u2019t get it, they sometimes attempt to entertain themselves by chasing their tail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is particularly common in puppies, who tend to be more active than their adult counterparts.<\/p>\n

If your dog is chasing her tail and you have been unable to find a cause, it is probably due to boredom.<\/p>\n

If your dog seems to be chasing her tail out of boredom, it might be a good idea to figure out why, exactly, she is bored.<\/p>\n

While it is not necessarily harmful for a dog to chase her tail when she is bored, it can be a sign that she is not getting enough exercise or being mentally stimulated enough.<\/p>\n

Getting your dog outside more or purchasing some toys designed to mentally stimulate her might eliminate the tail chasing behavior.<\/p>\n

Reasons For Dog Chasing Tail #2 \u2013 Attention<\/h2>\n

This reason usually emerges after a dog has begun chasing her tail for a different reason.<\/p>\n

For example, your dog might originally have begun chasing her tail because of boredom but, after getting a reaction from you, is now chasing her tail just to get that reaction.<\/p>\n

There is nothing innately wrong with this behavior, and it will usually not progress to the point of injury.<\/p>\n

However, if your dog chases her tail regularly for attention, then this can cover up illnesses that might cause a dog to chase her tail.<\/p>\n

In other words, if your dog chases her tail for attention but then develops an infection, you would not notice a change of behavior and might miss the infection altogether.<\/p>\n

Because of this, we recommend regularly checking your dog\u2019s tail for problems, even she is usually only chasing her tail for attention.<\/p>\n

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Article by Kristin Hitchcock<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why do dogs chase their tails? Is it for fun, or is there some deeper meaning behind it? A dog chasing its tail is a stereotypical image, but not many people actually know why our canines do it. Truthfully, it can seem pretty pointless to us. However, while this behavior might seem rather innocent, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10433"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13929,"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10433\/revisions\/13929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickhamanimalhospitalandboarding.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}