Running in Circles

Questioning what this means/why they do this.

When I go downstairs (the dogs go downstairs first) Lincoln and Charlie start running in circles. Is this some neurotic thing... or are they just impatient I'm much slower going down the stairs then they. Once I get down the stairs they run to the door to be let out to potty.

Every dog I've ever known pretty much has done with when excited/waiting for something. It's sometimes associated with certain breeds (pugs, american eskimos, etc.) but I've seen most breeds do it.

They do it when we're heading to the back dog, my old dog did it if he thought he was getting food or someone was coming up the drive, day care dogs did it before meals or when they saw mom or dad, or when they came in before they got into the run. Maybe slightly neurotic but it's not like an OCD behavior I'd worry about, just an excited thing.

A few of our dogs spin when excited, too. As long as it's semi controlled and the dog isn't doing it all the time, I don't have an issue with it.

Schaffer does that when I'm filling his food dish.
I think the behavior is rather similar to a person clicking a pen excessively when they're feeling excited.

When Saxon is super excited and just needs to get it out he chases his tail. He eventually sits down so he can catch it in his teeth and then he does the flea bites on his tail. He's a dork. I do sometimes interrupt the behavior, though, because I don't want it to become a compulsion. My aunt's dog, a Bull Terrier, chases her tail so often that it has become a compulsion. Her feet are swollen and cracked from all of the spinning.

Yeah, not spinning... just trotting around in a circle. I'll video tape it.
I wanted to teach them spin, but worried if it's something neurotic I don't want it to fall to a "I'm excited so I'll spin" mode.

Like zoomies? How big and how fast are the circles?

Mia spins when she's excited. Summer does counter-clockwise circles. When she's excited mainly, or before and after she goes potty. Summer loves lapping the couch and I can almost always rile her up into going in circles around the couch. In agility when the instructor is talking to me, she will do laps around us the entire time.

Summer is slightly neurotic though. But not in a bad, crazy way. She just is a little bit odd and obsessive.

In the mornings when it is time to go out and feed my horse, all I have to say is "Let's go feed the horsey" and Remmy spins in circles all the way to the back door. It is the only time he does it and my sister's dog, Mikey does it too when he gets excited. I have never made it a command like I did with Susie. She will spin when I ask her too and it started out the same way, heading out the door in the morning.

http://youtu.be/83XbfUSjtIY

Here is what Remmy does.

Zander bunny hops all the way up and down the hallway when I'm slow in the morning. Yelling the entire time. Fun way to wake up.

I've seen other dogs zoomie, spin, teeth chatter, or go in circles. It's an excitement thing, I think.

Mine just try to kill me by running up and down the stairs catching my knees.

They do somewhat like Backup does with a toy, now that I think about it.... just trotting in big circles.

I wanted to teach them Spin, but then how they go in circles had me thinking maybe that's not the best plan. I wouldn't want them to be the type of dogs that get excited and then spin..

Backup will offer a spin but his, and Arnold's, default is to step back. Arnold and Sloan also know right and left spins but they're not spinners.

Mine will race to the bottom then race up and back down bouncing up and down and slam dancing with each other.

I suppose if it bothers you I would stop and go back up until I saw a behavior I liked. Sometimes I do this with their racing but I lose patience and then sometimes I just slam a knee into a shoulder and pin them to the wall while saying, "oops, were you in the way? My bad!" This, however, doesn't work. lol

My eskie was a spinner (it wasn't like OCD or damaging, or anything, but it was compulsive whenever he got excited) and putting a command to it didn't make it any worse.

Like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxxHFJms4rE

Malinois are supposed to circle, it's in their breed standard. But she has different circles for different emotions. This is her, "OMG make it stop!" circle.

I love how she barks at just when he says "shout" the first time! That's something I've never heard before about Malinois! Very interesting!

Lincoln and Charlie: " Hurry up mum. It's coming...it's coming! You wouldn't want us to do it on the carpet do you?" :rofl1: