compulsive spinning

Question
QUESTION: I need serious help with a dog rescued from a shelter who spins viciously. She spins focused on her tail, growls, snarls, and bares her teeth while spinning. Her eyes are opened wide, sort of bugged out.  I have been unable to discern the exact cause that starts the spin.  I am unable to get her to stop, but when she does she is very defensive. I own several other dogs whom the spinning excites and upsets. I do not know if this is a medical problem, but have recently taken video to submit to vet for analysis.  Thank you.

ANSWER: (NOTE: Caps are used for emphasis and in no way intended as anything negative to the questioner.)

CONGRATULATIONS on being part of the SOLUTION: now to your problem:

Dogs from shelters are severely stressed from the experience (as you well know.)  This sort of "spinning" behavior CAN be a learned response to stress and boredom.  It can ALSO be a sign of low level seizure activity (VERY difficult to diagnose, even with expensive tests.)  If the dog has some sort of neurological damage or deficit, it's possible that on cursory examination (base line neurological testing) she'll come up with a problem.  The fact that she's defensive on interruption is an indication of possible neurological involvement OR it may be that this acquired behavior is associated with something SO negative (to the dog from a prior experience) that her defense mechanism is engaged.  From your description, I'll bet it's neurological (all sorts of things can cause this neurological damage, including distemper at an earlier age.)

Your BEST BET to assist this dog, until your veterinarian has had an opportunity to assess her, is to keep her on house tab (leash with handle cut off).  If you're able to determine onset, INTERRUPT with clap of hands, whistle, "hoo hoo hoo", anything unusual that isn't frightening but will get her attention, THEN pick up the tab and lead her in a circle left, then circle right, then ask for any behavior (easiest is "sit") and reward it, then simply hold onto the leash for a few minutes.  Leash restraint often assists a dog from this sort of compulsory behavior even if it's low level seizure.  Because this behavior seems so severe (worse than most tail checking behavior), have a plant sprayer hooked into the waist of your pants with a solution of 90% water and 10% white vinegar.  IF, when you pick up the house tab, the dog goes for you (in attack mode) use the solution in an attempt to dissuade her behavior (for YOUR safety, not to be used for any negative behaviors FOR THOSE CASUAL READERS who may be reading this response.)  If the spray bottle interrupts/deflects the response, attempt to remain calm and simply remove the dog to a confined space (like the kitchen or, if she's crate trained, to her crate) for a food reward.  It's extremely unusual for a dog engaged in this sort of behavior to demonstrate persistent aggression once the behavior has been interrupted.  If that does occur, the dog may require medication and is not, in my opinion, able to be placed in an adoptive home.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The dog was red-lined in the shelter as a fear biter, and rightly so...she is. We only recently got a collar on her and the leash has not been attempted yet mostly due to hot weather and the confines it brings with several dogs in the house. She has been in my home since 11-08, obviously un-adoptable.  We accept that and are willing to keep her.  Originally, she was in deplorable physical condition. As she gained her physical health back, the spinning began. IMO, she has spent some time as a feral dog, but that is speculation on my part.
She does NOT respond to food reward, nor does she respond to sound interruption during a "fit".  We have tried. Fear on the negative side, and toys and the resolve to love again on the positive side motivate this one.  I have a video of it if you would like to see.

Answer
Fear biting explains the aggression upon interruption (or attempt at interruption); this is a generalized response, apparently.  If this is a side effect of neurological damage or some sort of behavior residual to the stress of habituating to various environments (first kill shelter, then household life), there's no harm in trying a low level seizure medication or even a cognition enhancing medication, if your veterinarian is up to the task (some don't really want to experiment in this way and of course litigation is the reason, you can't blame them.)  I would stay away from SSRIs or any medication with even the SLIGHTEST risk of increased anxiety (many drugs can cause this and the dog can't TELL us).  If your rescue budget allows, you might try a veterinary behaviorist:

http://www.veterinarybehaviorists.org/

The dog may have been feral for a while but certainly not as a neonate or puppy or you wouldn't be able to even get near her.  Most dogs who are highly stressed and/or fearful will NOT bait (accept treats), especially during stress events and sometimes (if the fear is experiential and not inherited or learned from other dogs) not even directly from a human (at first.)  You can TRY to establish a bridge event: while dog is calm, use a device (child's tricycle horn, squeaky toy with unique sound, etc.) and toss high value treat (cheese or hot dog bits) casually from a distance.  If the dog takes the bait, repeat sound while she's eating treats.  Randomly throughout the day (may take a long time to set this response or it could occur quickly) repeat this.  You'll know the dog has a conditioned response to the sound you've chosen when she gives obvious body signals to it (acknowledges the sound), then you can attempt to divert her tail checking/spinning using that sound.

I'd love to see the video but unless it's uploaded and you can put in a link, there's no way to do that.