All dogs have their crazy moments whether it is tearing around the house entertaining themselves or tearing a toy into a million pieces. Some dogs nip their owners in play, others chase their tail and others bark incessantly when riled up. More serious is ‘spinning’ or compulsive licking as these are distinct signs associated with anxiety, depression and boredom and could be considered on the ‘crazy’ side.

There are ‘degrees of crazy’. All dogs can get excited and do ‘crazy’ stuff. Mine grabs my socks and flies through the house with a wild look in her eyes. This will go on for ten minutes if I encourage it and once she is finished, she calms down and relaxes. Is it a necessary way to release tension for dogs? Probably as she will also do it after an intense one-on-one agility class where she has been required to use her brain to problem solve.

Our family dog used to do this same behavior after having a bath – something she tolerated only just and always caused the entire house a certain amount of tension.

Tearing toys apart is similar as well when they do it in front of you or when you are home. Whether it is pent up energy that is needing to be released or a protest to boredom depends on the dog but usually it can be stopped with a play session or walk.

Tearing toys or worse, furniture, apart when you are away is separation anxiety based and different again. Usually this is a dog that is stressed and the destructive behavior is a way of releasing the tension or belaying the anxiety or fear of being alone. This is different then the temporary crazies some dogs get now and again.

Play nipping or aggressive play behavior is normal in dogs when they play with each other. Watch dogs interact at the dog park and you will see biting, grabbing, pushing and bullying going on. The dogs understand that this is all play behavior and it upsets no one for the most part. When dogs play with humans like this, however, it is not always a good thing. In dominant dogs, this behavior means they are trying to flex their alpha dog thoughts – not a good idea, especially if you have kids in the house or have spent time working with him so he knows his place in the pack. It can also hurt! Instead, play tuggies with a toy or towel but always make sure you ‘win’ the game and get the toy otherwise he may become too big for his britches again.

Tail chasing is an interesting phenomenon in dogs. In young puppies, it is part of them discovering their own bodies much like human babies playing with their toes. The pup sees his tail out of the corner of his eye and when he moves to grab it, it slips away from him. Suddenly a chase is on. Eventually he grabs it and the fun is over. That may be the one and only time he ever chases his tail if left to his own devices. However, humans tend to encourage the behavior because we think it is cute so he may learn to do it as a way to get attention. For some dogs, even negative attention is better then no attention so getting upset or frustrated at him will not make him stop. The best way to control the behavior is to ignore it – turn and walk away as soon as he starts. He will learn that it is not a good attention getting behavior and will stop in time. The same goes for dogs that bark to get attention, ignore them and it will stop eventually.

‘Spinning’ and compulsive licking are both signs of neurological issues. Spinning is like tail chasing but if you look, the prize is not the catching of the tail, it is instead a mindless behavior that the dogs does in times of boredom, stress or to attract attention. They do it much like humans that chew their nails when stressed or anxious – a behavior that often the person does not even realize they are doing. Compulsive licking is another similar behavior but with worse consequences as a lick granuloma can develop and become infected. If your dog is exhibiting these behaviors, talk to your vet and meet with an animal behaviorist for advice.

All dogs have their crazy moments and most of the time they are just a matter of the dog wanting to release a little anxiety or energy. Let them enjoy themselves and in some cases, encouraging the behavior is fine but watch that you are not making the situation worse. There is play ‘crazies’ and ‘crazies’ to discourage – learn to recognize the difference and you will both be happier!