Does your dog bite its tail, maybe even until it bleeds?
Such behavior can be very distressing for you and your dog.
It can be difficult to tell if your dog is just going through a phase or has real medical and health issues.
In most cases it is Boredom, fears, allergies, hotspots or affected anal glands.
You can now find out how you can tell what your dog could be suffering from and when you should consult a veterinarian.
In a nutshell: Why is my dog biting its tail?
Chewing and biting your own tail can have various causes. These can be psychological or physical.
The most common reasons are:
- boredom
- anxiety or stress
- injury or inflammation
- parasites
- Affected anal glands
- obsessive compulsive disorder
In any case, you must ensure that the Check your dog’s feeding becomes. In addition, you should first ensure that your Dog appropriately utilized and gets busy.
If you have any questions or don’t get any further yourself, you can contact the Online vet association Dr. Sam report.
There you reach 16 hours a day a veterinarian who can give you an initial assessment by phone and video chat.
Dog bites its tail: 7 causes
Broadly speaking, there are seven different causes that could trigger your dog’s behavior.
1. Allergy
Your dog may have one allergy or intolerance.
This allergy can be acted out both externally and internally.
This means your dog may have irritated skin from not being able to tolerate the shampoo.
On the other hand, it is also possible that your dog does not tolerate a feed and is in pain. Mostly kick then side effects how strong stomach noises, diarrhea or Vomit on.
2. Anxiety or stress
Dogs are pack animals and don’t like being alone at all! Some dogs de-stress on the sofa and chew on it, others chew on themselves.
If your dog is more of a couch potato and there is little movement, it can happen that your dog tends to behave in this way because it doesn’t know what else to do.
However, your dog may have also learned that chewing on the tail gets your attention and you then engage with it.
3. Affected anal glands
The anal glands are very important for dogs because the secretion comes out of them, which the dogs are known to sniff at the buttocks of the other.
If the Anal glands inflamed or blocked are, your dog will bite or point at them blood in the feces. Some dogs suffer from it too constipation or drag your buttocks across the floor.
4. Injury or inflammation
No matter how well you take care of your dog, you don’t always recognize all injuries immediately. Sometimes your dog will point it out to you, sometimes it will hide it.
It is often about small cuts or inflammations on the buttocks, that your dog wants to clean and scratch.
In worse cases, it can also be one fracture of the coccyx act.
5. Boredom
Do you sometimes play around with a quilt end or click your pen when you’re bored?
While you are happily playing around with your pen unconsciously, your dog is just chewing on itself or other things.
Chewing can only be an activity – after all, your dog cannot get himself a chew bone.
6. Parasitic infestation
Parasites like worms or fleas are pretty nasty. The animals’ saliva itches and burns – so the dog licks and chews on the painful areas.
With a tapeworm, the dog’s ailments are more likely to be in the rear end. That’s why he chews there more often.
7. OCD
Unfortunately, there are also dogs that have not experienced very good things in their lives.
Because of this, some dogs, when they are placed in a new home or endure great suffering, develop obsessive compulsive disorder.
These disorders are with equate to self-harm in humans – the dog suffers and does not know what to do with it. So he starts destroying his own tail, chewing off claws or otherwise expressing his frustration.
In this case, it is advisable to hire a dog trainer or psychologist who is well versed in the subject.
When should you visit the vet if the dog is chewing its tail?
Does your dog have these symptoms?
- irritated skin areas
- frequent bum slipping on the floor
- small visible animals
- compulsive scratching, sliding or biting at certain parts of the body
Then consult a vet to be on the safe side.
If you want to get a professional and expert opinion quickly, arrange a video consultation with a real veterinarian now.
at Dr. Sam, the first contact via WhatsApp is free and you can reach a veterinarian within minutes who will tell you what to do – without waiting, without stress, without additional costs!
5 possible solutions: stop the dog from biting the tail
1. Check and change the chuck
Leave one at the vet allergy test carry out.
After that you can change the feeding with the help of an expert.
As a first step, you can also stop using any new feed or grooming products and see if the symptoms go away.
2. Increase utilization
Keep your dog busy and give him something to do. Get out more often, get new toys, or browse new tricks from our list out of!
3. Remove parasites
With a certain detergents you can wash your dog as a precaution. There is also flea and parasite collars, that prevent infestation.
4. Reduce fears
If your dog is afraid of certain situations, you should approach these situations with an expert.
5. Eliminate OCD
From experience I can advise you to first give your dog the possibility of self-harm. One can do that ruff be suitable.
This will prevent the injuries from getting worse. Dress your dog’s wounds and then tackle OCD either yourself or with a dog trainer.
Also Energetics, animal naturopaths or animal psychologists can help you with this.
How can tail biting be prevented?
Make sure yours dog is adequately exercised and does not get any substances that it cannot tolerate.
Regular baths with parasite shampoo and thorough grooming are also important. You can also use parasite collars.
For other problems, you should primarily work on your dog’s psyche.
Explainer video
Conclusion
There are many reasons that can lead to tail chewing.
It is best if you give your dog a good workout, check it regularly for parasites and know if your dog has any allergies, and if so, which ones.
If you have minor questions or symptoms, you can continue to contact us dr Sam call up. So you don’t have to worry anymore and can carry on with peace of mind.