Tail chasing. Fun or bad habit?

[Theresa Nieman]

I need some help with tail chasing. Dex has such a flag-ey tail that he keeps seeing it out of the corner of his eye and runs 90 mph in a circle until he catches it. When he catches it, he then pulls hair out of it, enough to the point that you can tell the hair is getting less full. He is corrected every time and stops then but will do it later or sometimes right away. This is whether he's had lot of exercise or not a lot, just seems to be a fun activity he has with himself. He does not seem nervous at all and seems to having a high ol' time until he catches it? Any suggestions on how to break him or this OR is this something I should just let him do?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It depends on several factors. Here's some good info to help you determine if the behavior is harmless or needs intervention in Dex's case. https://www.vetwest.com.au/pet-library/tail-chasing-does-your-dog-c...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for bringing up this issue, Theresa, and for posting this link, Karen.  I appreciate learning more things about our dogs.

[DonMarie and Picco]

Picco was a tail chaser but grew out of it after 1 yr old.  But he wasn't aggressive and pulling out hair.  Maybe see if he could be distracted by another toy?

[Ginny Nightingale]

Sounds compulsive to me--hope you can stop it early before it dominates his day--I saw a story once about a dog that did this and they got a vest for him and put small things in it for him to carry--cured him...