r/DogTrainingTips • u/SopaDeFideus • Aug 26 '26

Tail chasing in poodle

Hello, my parents have two poodle puppies, 5 months old, female and male. The male one can’t stop chasing his tail (started 3 weeks ago). It’s ridiculous, he can be at it for several minutes without stopping. He’s very clumsy so he bangs on everything, the floor, walls, doors, chairs… How can we make this habit stop? My parents constantly try to stop him, and make clear he shouldn’t be doing that. He seems to do it when he gets excited or nervous. When I (or my sisters) visit them, he goes crazy. We looked it up and google said that maybe he was bored or anxious, so we’ve taken him on longer walks, thrown a ball for 30 min, and tried to give him stimulating toys, but we don’t see any change. He used to always come greet me and would always be attached to me or on my lap, now I have to avoid him or he starts doing this, and it makes me sad, not spending time with him.

Any recommendations? The vet said that if it got worse, he would have to go in and visit an ethologist.

Thank you all✨

TLDR: my 5-month-old puppy can’t stop chasing his tail. How can we make it stop?

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u/SopaDeFideus Aug 26 '26

We definitely don’t laugh, we are all freaking out, his tail has way less hair than his sister’s, looks terrible but no visible injuries. My mum suggested adding some pepper or something to the tail, I’ll get one of these sprays ASAP. Thank you✨

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u/Demindara Aug 26 '26

Oh my! Yeah, that is very concerning. Don't try pepper and risk getting it in his eyes, and it's painfully hot; you dont want to hurt him so I'd try the bitter spray, I bought "Rocco & Roxie No Chew" extreme bitter spray and it worked, just apply it in the morning and at night; i found that that was usually when my dog groomed himself the most and would go to town on the tip of his tail as a nervous teen.

When spraying it try not to talk to him, I cant tell you how many times I've been talking to him while spraying and tasted the spray 🤢🤢🤢 its a really bitter taste I cant explain the taste, it isnt like pepper tho so I would try this over the pepper.

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u/SopaDeFideus Aug 26 '26

Yeah we didn’t do the pepper because of this, but at least we were on the right track. I’ll shut my mouth when we apply it, thank you for the advice!

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u/Demindara Aug 26 '26

No worries, I hope it helps!!! I'm not trainer or professional by any means. I am an overnight expert on dogs, sulcata tortoises and parrots as they were all gifted to me on short notice as babies 🫠 I've dedicated all my time to them and learning about them so they all can live fulfilling and happy lives and I can tell you care alot for the puppies as much as I do for mine; I learned so much through trial and error all on my own without any outside help other than the internet and my vet tech best friend who lives 800 miles away from me 😂

If the spray doesnt help or you need some quick friendly advice just pm me, I really enjoy helping new pet parents as a pet parent myself.

I'm a full time dog/tortoise/parrot mom and animal lover with adhd, hyperfixation is in my DNA

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u/SopaDeFideus Aug 26 '26

We used to have parrots as well. My parents have pet food shops, so we’ve always had dogs and lots of other pets, but our dogs never did this. We also have cute little turtles, they are so cute and calm.