My 8-month-old dog chews his privates and circles. What's wrong?

It sounds like he may be humping you. Dogs do his as a sign of dominance and not always as a sexual thing. This could be just a personality change as he has gotten older or an anxiety thing of anything has hanged in the house (different people, different pets, different schedules, construction in or around the house, etc). If it continues, you could try a calming collar like adaptil. Also, you can tell him “no” and walk away when he does it to help him understand this isn’t ok. I hope this helps!

Dogs can develop obsessive compulsive behavior just like humans can and this may be the issue with Rex. Less common would be a neurological abnormality or pain in the leg. OCD is a complex behavior and there is not one simple treatment. I recommend to read books about behavior disorders in dogs as that will give you more insight. I also recommend to make an appointment with your veterinarian who will check Rex over for any pain or neurological disorders. To aid with the behavior, the doctor may prescribe medication but it is unlikely to help in its own. These dogs need daily hard exercise, a job to do and then diversion when they start to exhibit the behavior. A trainer may be the best person to contact after the vet to teach you diversion techniques. i hope you find this helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Chestnut could have inflammation or some kind of irritant in his prepuce (the skin that covers the penis) that is causing discomfort. He could also have a urinary issue or allergies. I'd recommend preventing him from licking as much as possible if the skin appears red - you may need to purchase an e-collar for him to wear when he's unsupervised. Your vet can examine the area and might recommend checking a urine sample.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may not be urgent though he should be evaluated by a veterinarian in the near future to check on this if he is not improving. He may be licking secondary to allergies for example. In the meantime, you can use an e-collar to prevent further licking and self-trauma. Your veterinarian may prescribe antibiotics. Good luck and have a great day!

I'm afraid we would need quite a bit more information to be able to answer this question - circling can be normal behavior during play; a displacement behavior seen with excitement, overarousal, or frustration; a compulsive behavior; or due to a neurologic problem such as a brain tumor. Feel free to post another question with more details about his behavior (including when it tends to happen, whether Fozzie is aware of doing it or not, and whether he can be redirected to something else when he is circling), or request a one-on-one consultation with one of us if you prefer - we would be happy to try and help.

Hello, sorry to hear about Jaxx. This can be associated with abnormal sensation at his tail either due to an old injury or something such as flea bites. This may also be associated with abnormalities of her anus, such as impacted anal glands or an anal gland abscess. More rarely, this may be associated with a main neurologic disease such as a seizure. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Dogs can definitely do this as part of normal grooming behavior, or maybe a bit excessively sometimes. It's also possible that something is irritating him down there. This could be something like an infection, allergies, or impacted anal sacs. It's a good idea to have a vet check him for any medical problems leading to the excessive licking. It's definitely possible that there is a reason for this, which can be corrected. I hope that helps.