# Ruining His Tail?



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

So, Tucker USED to have a lot of nice feathering on his tail.

But he's always been a tail chaser, now I notice a lot of the feathering is gone 


















As you can see in these two pics, there's some big chunks of fur missing.


It's even worse now... 

He won't stop chewing his tail no matter what I do... I guess I'll have a Golden with only feathering on the end of his tail? lol I don't know... 

Good thing I didn't plan on showing Tucker afterall.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Here's a pic I just took, like I said... it's RUINED. So not only did he destroy our gardens now he's destroying his own body... uggh. I thought Goldens were supposed to be smart :doh:


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

Even without much feathering on his tail,he's gorgeous.What about putting some bitter apple on it?.It might help!.


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## Lego&Jacub (Jul 18, 2006)

oh... TUCKER!!! Leave your gorgeous tail alone boy!!!!!

Is he bored?


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

Maybe he's pregnant????


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

golden&hovawart said:


> Even without much feathering on his tail,he's gorgeous.What about putting some bitter apple on it?.It might help!.


That's my first thought, too. Sure wouldn't hurt to try it....


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

My dog likes to "trim" the feathers at the back/top of his hind legs. I have watched him do it.....he nibbles to keep that hair so it is never long (and pretty, boo hoo). He doesn't chew his skin and he isn't obsessive about it but he definitely keeps it trimmed (a cleanliness thing in his mind? no hair for dropping poop to brush against?)


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

I dont know why he does it... he has so many good toys to chew on, which he does... but at night he likes to sit on the couch and chew the fur off...lol.

I'll try buying some bitter apple and putting it on his tail. I wanted him to have a pretty tail! lol


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## harlowsmom (Feb 25, 2007)

Harlow has done this. She chases her tail, than gets so excited when she catches it that she takes a bite out. Than she'll jump and look surprised , like she just realized that it's attached to her! Sometimes she'll give me a dirty look like "mom, why didn't you stop me! That hurt!"


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

First of all I'd tell him no every single time I saw him do it... and honestly, if it was that bad, I'd put a bucket collar on him when I wasn't home and at night. Maybe I'm too vain about my dogs, but I couldn't stand that. I am pretty sure I could train the dog never to do it in presence, though, and a few weeks of preventing it when I wasn't around could probably break the habit. I'd try the bitter stuff, too!


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## Blondie'sPal (Aug 2, 2005)

Blondie did this when I first got her about 2 years ago. At the time I didn't have a fence and was walking her three times a day for her excersize and with her still being somewhat of a puppy ( she was about two at the time,) she was extremely energetic. So, to get my attention, she would start chomping on her tail feathers and her tail became a rat tail!! I was so dismayed, I didn't know what to do and felt horrible. Some of the folks on this website gave me some great advice. The consensus was she needed more excersize. So, I enrolled her in day care two days a week and starting running with her in the mornings. This plan took care of it and she finally FINALLY got her mind off her tail! It grew back and is a beautiful silky fountain of feathers once again. Now, I don't send her to day care much becuase it's too far. But the fence in back really helps her burn off that energy.


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## KatzNK9 (Feb 27, 2007)

Ozzy does this now & then but so far has done negligible damage to his beautiful tail. I try to discourage him as much as possible but sometimes it is hard & I find a clump of hair he has pulled out.


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

I agree with ACC,
put an elisabethan collar on when you can't keep an eye,on him.It might have become an habit that you need to break.If you are in the same room,say a big "no" and throw a can of gravel to startle him.You can also use a spray water bottle.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Have to agree, too... more exercise


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

you could always 'dock' it...  : 

Imagine...a golden with a docked tail... :lol:


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

It seems more like a boredom thing to me also...
But just in case.... Is there a chance the pup has fleas, worms or impacted glands...? Something itchy or uncomfortable going on at his back end?


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## Thor's Mom (Feb 25, 2007)

I agree with LibertyME. If he's doing that, make sure there's no reason. While it could simply be lack of exercise it could be critters, anal glands, dry skin, etc. It certainly might be worth a trip to the vet to rule those things out.


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## gracie's mom (Aug 6, 2006)

I know what it is. 
The same as some people are born with what they feel is the "wrong" body, he actually feels he should have been a Lab and is doing his best to establish the body he feels he should have been born with. Shave him down, send him to therapy, give him prozac and have LabLover put on your license plates. He'll be fine in about 6 months.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Don't forget to take him to drag shows, too. Starlite loves them (and that I am not kidding about). HA!


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

But he already gets so much excercise... ugh... wish I would've just gotten a Pomeranian like I wanted...lol. At least then if he bit his fur off you can dress him up in cute little outfits.... :doh:

Tucker's been a tail biter since he was 8 weeks old, FYI, so I'm almost positive it's not fleas or anything.

He also chews on his legs. I said it before, I'll say it again, I have the weirdest dog ever.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Some goldens have OCD (meaning they become obsessed with something and engage in repetitive behavior). How often does he mess with his tail? Is it triggered by some particular antecedent?
I noticed when Brooks was very young and I gave him peanut butter, he afterward licked the fronts of his forearms. So I thought some peanut butter got on them. Later, I realized he licked his forearms any time he was given peanut butter, even when I was sure there was no peanut butter on them..... The vet said possibly mild OCD was the cause. I stopped giving him peanut butter and never saw any more forearm licking.

I have also noticed that when we do a particular walk (same route) on the way back Brooks will always lie down on a particular lawn in the exact same spot and does exactly the same thing (grabs his leash in his mouth). 

Are all dogs habitual in nature like this?


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

Have you thought about checking his thyroid ?.It could be related.
More exercise will certainly help.Take yr bike and go for a run or take him for a long swim!.
What i would also do,is cut it short so that it grows nicely.Do you only have one dog?.
Maybe it's his way of telling that he needs a friend.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

He doesn't seem to do it at any particular time, but he does it a few times a day, since I've started spraying his tail with bitter apple spray he hasn't done it as much. I checked his tail over for flakes or hotspots or fleas, and found nothing. 

I'm thinking its just a bad habit, as a younger pup we always used to play with him and say "Getcher Tail!!" and he'd chase it... bad mistake on our part I guess.

I have to get him appt. for flea/heartworm meds in a week or so, so when I go in for that I'll definitely ask about the tail thing.


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