Not Appa, but the in-laws new welsh terrier pup chases its tail almost non-stop. They put neem seed oil on her and she stops for awhile. They had her anal glands expressed about 2 weeks ago, and she still keeps chasing. Any ideas?

Is it boredom? If so, training/agility/fetch/toys to play with and a job to do will all help.

Well I am not sure about welsh terriers but I know bull terriers get bad dog OCD and spin none stop. I know they get some kind of pill or something. I would go to the vet and have them look at the dog.

She has a friend (lab mix) that keeps her pretty entertained, but perhaps she could use a little more human-mental stimulation, but she's not deprived. She'll spin and chase her tail on your lap sometimes it can be so intense.

The vet actually recommended the oil. They might have to go back...

wow in your lap! Thats crazy. what does the oil do?

Soothes...?

hmm. lol never heard of that, Then again my dogs never really chased their tails.

That's a crazy one. All of mine except the husky chase tails occasionally. Maybe the oil was supposed to make it unpalatable to the dog?

Sounds like it needs to be redirected close to instantly. I would try a flirt pole to try and redirect the drive the second she starts it. But keeping it handy at every moment would get annoying. Breeds I'm not familiar with are weird.

As soon as they put they oil on she stops for about 20 minutes, then goes back to it.

There's gotta be something up beyond "boredom" or "habit" at this point. Apparently in the mornings when they get her out of her crate her right back-side is soaking wet from her chewing on herself all night long... Poor pup.

I think a return vet visit might be in order.

I would still guess boredom and anxiety then. I'm guessing she doesn't like the crate overnight. I know that border collies can become obsessed with tail or paw chewing if they don't have enough to do. I don't know about terriers, but they are also energetic working dogs, so it could be the same thing (just telling you what I"m basing my guess on).

It doesn't hurt to visit the vet again though. The other thing I would double-check is that there isn't anything on the tail (like a lump or injury) that is irritating her. We only found one of the lumps on Ghost because he was obsessively licking it.

By the way, what is a flirt pole?

I was just outside with the pups and she will chase her tail in the middle of playing with the other dogs. They tend to leave her alone once she starts. Perhaps she's "unclean."

Aw, poor thing.

Assuming you've ruled out a medical reason, I would try a two-pronged approach:
- Distract when you see it happening, to break the habit. A chew toy would be a good distraction as it provides a replacement activity.
- Increase the dog's mental stimulation. Terriers have more energy than you'd think for the size and like most dogs, would like a job to do. It doesn't matter what - learning tricks, playing fetch, playing tug of war (letting the dog win). Two or three short sessions during the day is better than one long session.

What kind of walks does the dog get? Increasing the length of walks and allowing time for sniffing could help too.

Does the dog have a safe place to curl up during the day if it wants peace and quiet? That would help too.

Also, since the dog is new, the behaviour might decrease as it settles in.

I wish I had answers to all of your questions, but we don't get to spend much time around the dog. I pulled out the brush last night while I was there and the poor thing has mats in it's fur right there in the back. Worse on the side she chases most. The poor thing wasn't ever groomed before they got her. I think the mats are causing the problem, honestly. They are taking her to get groomed de-matted this week. Hopefully it helps.

Yeah, it does sound like that would help. The mats will definitely be bothering her. Maybe once that is done and she's had some time to settle in, the problem will go away on its own. If she spins in both directions I think that's a good sign that it's behavioural and not neurological.

This page about obsessive compulsive behaviours in dogs is long but useful and might give you some other ideas too.