# Help?! Ripping tufts of hair out of tail?



## SoCalEngr (Apr 11, 2020)

When Kona gets excited, she will, at times chase her tail. It even can get to the point where she will grab her back leg and "take herself down". It's more consistent than we'd like, but it only happens when she's spun up.

But, today my better-half caught her with two significant tufts of hair that she had pulled out of her tail. This is a bit disconcerting. How concerned should we be (i.e., physical issue? purely behavioral? a "phase"?).


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Tail pulling can become a neurotic habit.. when you see her doing the pre-pulling activities, distract her!! While its possible she had an itch its more likely she just discovered she has her very own chew toy.


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## SoCalEngr (Apr 11, 2020)

Okay. So this seems to be something we need to help Kona get past.

We have multiple chew toys, but we tend to leave them out for her to chew on when she wants (she can be quite a focused chewer). Would it be better to keep these put away, and only give them to her at specific times?

As an FYI, with our current work schedules, Kona gets an AM and PM walk, both of which include sessions in our backyard. During the workday, she hangs with my better-half, but gets short walks and a short time to blast around the backyard (not as long as AM nor PM).

We've also noted, with the weather cooling down, that Kona's want-to-play level has gone up.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Maggie does the exact same thing. When she is playing with our little Papillon, she will get so excited and start running in circles with her tail in her mouth. As soon as she starts the circles now, I get her attention and call her to me for a treat or something else. At first, I thought it was cute and just watched her then she started pulling tufts out. Not cute anymore 
Jules


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

Monty does the same thing when he is really excited, usually after playing with some toys or wrestling with his siblings he will suddenly take notice of his tail, catch it and start going in circles with it, before laying down with his tail in his mouth. What I usually do is clap my hands at him tell him no before distracting him with another toy. Thankfully he hasn't started pulling tufts out.


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## SoCalEngr (Apr 11, 2020)

JulesAK said:


> Maggie does the exact same thing. When she is playing with our little Papillon, she will get so excited and start running in circles with her tail in her mouth. As soon as she starts the circles now, I get her attention and call her to me for a treat or something else. At first, I thought it was cute and just watched her then she started pulling tufts out. Not cute anymore
> Jules





Ffcmm said:


> Monty does the same thing when he is really excited, usually after playing with some toys or wrestling with his siblings he will suddenly take notice of his tail, catch it and start going in circles with it, before laying down with his tail in his mouth. What I usually do is clap my hands at him tell him no before distracting him with another toy. Thankfully he hasn't started pulling tufts out.


Exactly! Kona...

...gets excited (for various reasons)
...doesn't know what to do with herself
...chases her tail
...catches her tail and takes herself down (or, for a walk)
It actually is quite cute (especially when she's walking herself), but it's obviously not a "_desired behavior_". My main concern with treats is I don't want Kona to associate the treat with starting/stopping her circles. So the key steps to interrupting this behavior seem to be...

...notice the warning behavior (over-excited and starting to circle)
...interrupt the unwanted behavior (give her something to do that is desired)
...reward her for the wanted behavior
Thanks all!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Sometimes it's just a phase they go through... sort of like young cats hunting their own tails. 

Assuming your dog does not have a screw loose, should see her do that less as she grows up.


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## SoCalEngr (Apr 11, 2020)

Megora said:


> Sometimes it's just a phase they go through... sort of like young cats hunting their own tails.
> 
> Assuming your dog does not have a screw loose, should see her do that less as she grows up.


LOL! That's good to know. There are, however, times when I'm fairly certain that Kona's skull is simply a container for a loose-screw-collection! 🤣😂🤣

We'll still try to help her get through this "phase", if only for our peace of mind. 😉


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

I hear you about the treats. I kind of distract her first so I don't believe she is associating the treat with that. I usually call her over and put her in a sit stay or down and am rewarding for that.
Jules


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Rukie also does this occasionally. Usually in the morning after what I assume was a nice poop, he runs in, scratches his back on any feet sticking off a recliner or the front edge of the sofa, then gently bites at shoes, spins around and grabs his tail. My adult kids say it is a form of twerking. Sometimes a tuft of hair is pulled out. We let him do the back scratching but intervene when he's going for the tail by calling him or telling him to leave it. I think to him it's like a little party dance move he does when he's feeling extra happy.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

cwag said:


> Rukie also does this occasionally. Usually in the morning after what I assume was a nice poop, he runs in, scratches his back on any feet sticking off a recliner or the front edge of the sofa, then gently bites at shoes, spins around and grabs his tail. My adult kids say it is a form of twerking. Sometimes a tuft of hair is pulled out. We let him do the back scratching but intervene when he's going for the tail by calling him or telling him to leave it. I think to him it's like a little party dance move he does when he's feeling extra happy.


Made me laugh!


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Logan occasionally chases his tail, but I haven't noticed any pulling out of hair. He used to run in between my legs and then circle to grab his tail and do circles around my one leg. That seems to be slowing down lately. It was a cool trick though. lol


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

diane0905 said:


> Logan occasionally chases his tail, but I haven't noticed any pulling out of hair. He used to run in between my legs and then circle to grab his tail and do circles around my one leg. That seems to be slowing down lately. It was a cool trick though. lol


Maggie also does the run around my leg holding her tail! It is really cute. 
Jules


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

JulesAK said:


> Maggie also does the run around my leg holding her tail! It is really cute.
> Jules


Ha -- yes, it is. I laughed the first time he did it. Teaching himself tricks. 😅


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## Rion05 (Jan 4, 2016)

I have a high-energy golden who always loves (needs?) to carry things who does this...started when he stopped grabbing our pants legs when excited...so when he realized he should not do this, he switched to his tail! I did not become alarmed until he pulled out a chunk of tail feather - ugh! I was worried he might injure himself. We've used some Fooey spray on the tail and redirect him to a toy (often means we stuff a toy in his mouth) and it has improved quite a bit. Every so often, however, we need to use some more Fooey (and that stuff is gross...we can taste it when he wags his tail after application). It does work, however.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer chases and rips fur out of his tail when his allergies are acting up. Always the same area - the center of his tail


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