[PW] word for dog chasing its tail

[Bye, Dan J]

The veterinary literature,a quick search of google scholar reveals,  appears to refer to it most commonly just as "dog chasing it's own tail", or else as "self pursuit", but mainly as an aspect of obsessive compulsive disorder:  "stereotypic whirling", or "ritualistic stereotypic motor behaviour".  I don't see any particular word being used as an "official" label for the condition, though I can imagine that any number of words might be used in jest.

Dan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org 
> [mailto:project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org] On 
> Behalf Of John P. Dyson
> Sent: 22 May 2008 19:05
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: Re: [PW] word for dog chasing its tail
> 
> Quoting UmbraScit at aol.com:
> 
> >
> > Memory told me that it was tergiversate; the dictionary 
> doesn't seem 
> > to agree. Does someone know the word that means "a dog 
> chasing its own tail"?
> 
> 
> 
>                              The Circumvolvin' Blues
> 
> My dog Shepehs don't circulate like other doggies do; He 
> won't go out and meet new pals and sniff strange pee and poo.
> The only hinder parts he knows are at his nether end, But his 
> nose is short and what he seeks is always 'round the bend.
> 
> Oooooooooooh,
> 
> Shepehs makes crop circles in the neighbors' yard and mine, 
> He'd make a furry yo-yo if I had a mile of twine.
> I love my dizzy canine, he's a metapher fer hope:
> He teaches me to persevere, to dog it and to cope.
> His energy's unflaggin', his waggin' is unbound, He shows me 
> that what goes around will always come around.
> He shows me that what goes around will always come around.
> 
> 
> John Dyson
> 
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