An Observation of Dogs Chasing Their Tails

Yeah, because YouTube provides a great sampling of the typical person. /s

Did they also review all the videos at YouTube where dogs weren't chasing their own tails, to make a comparison?

This is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time.

Not only is there very little science in this, the observer used the passive media experience that he implied contributed to the behavior.

While I agree that dogs can and do experience psychological problems, including anxiety and OCD behaviors, I have to wonder what effect the dogs' owners have on this tail-chasing behavior. Are more of these tail-chasing dogs filmed indoors with televisions because couch-potato electronics-loving owners are more likely to film this behavior than active outdoors-loving humans? If you argue that the tail-chasing is because the dogs are confined indoors and understimulated, how do you know that dogs who are confined outdoors and understimulated aren't doing the same thing? In the latter case, there's less likelihood that a human with a video camera would be around to observe and film the behavior. I also wonder who is doing the observing, the paper writer or a certified veterinary behavioral specialist? And can you really diagnose any individual's psychological state based on a 2 minute YouTube video, regardless of species?

In any event, one interesting quirk of tail chasing is that any given dog will tend to circle in one direction only. It's pretty rare to find a dog circling in both directions.

While I agree that dogs can and do experience psychological problems, including anxiety and OCD behaviors, I have to wonder what effect the dogs' owners have on this tail-chasing behavior. Are more of these tail-chasing dogs filmed indoors with televisions because couch-potato electronics-loving owners are more likely to film this behavior than active outdoors-loving humans? If you argue that the tail-chasing is because the dogs are confined indoors and understimulated, how do you know that dogs who are confined outdoors and understimulated aren't doing the same thing? In the latter case, there's less likelihood that a human with a video camera would be around to observe and film the behavior.

In any event, one interesting quirk of tail chasing is that any given dog will tend to circle in one direction only. It's pretty rare to find a dog circling in both directions.