Articles about American Pit Bull Terrier
Tail Chasing in Dogs
Tail chasing, at first glance, may appear to be a normal component of play behaviour in dogs. Problems arise when such behaviour becomes excessive and the dog injures itself during the activity and when the dog cannot be distracted for other activities. Many would define tail chasing, or whirling, as a stereotypic behavior. Stereotypic behavior can be defined as a ritualistic, repetitive, constant sequence of movements appearing to serve no obvious function. Such behavior is often found in cases where animals are confined and where their behavior is restricted, but can be present in ordinary environments, as well. Tail chasing has also been known to be more common in certain breeds, such as Bull Terriers, indicating this behavior may be hereditary in some cases.
Why Does Tail Chasing Occur?
The primary causes of excessive tail chasing often involve aspects of learned behavior or medical problems or both. Behavioral causes: Attention-seeking, Boredom, Anxiety Tail chasing and other stereotypic behaviors may be a result of operant conditioning, a process by which a behavior is affected by its consequences and an association is made between a stimulus and a response. Because dogs are social animals, attention from the owner is often a positive reinforcer causing an increase in the frequency of the performed behavior whether the owner intends this or not. Even adversive attention may act as a positive reinforcer of the behavior, especially when the animal receives little owner attention in the first place. In this case, any attention the dog receives is highly rewarding. This type of behavior is known as "attention-seeking behavior". Boredom is another postulated cause of some stereotypes, but an unlikely one. A diagnosis of boredom as a cause of stereotypic behavior can be incorrectly assumed....to continue reading this article please click on here...
