Does Your Sheltie Spin?

[RikyR]

I recently noticed that Zulu will spin when barking. It only happens when he is at the gate barking at someone or something that has invaded his domain. It is always one spin, one bark, left to right. Sometimes he will bark then spin, and sometimes he will spin and bark on the way around. Never multiple spins, and never anywhere else except at the gate. Cody, our first Sheltie never spun. He would run in a tight circle, usually at supper time. I know it is a Sheltie thing, but am curious how common it is.

 

[tesslynn]

Never had spinners, just zoomie experts

 

[Daisy1015]

Once in awhile i will catch a spin but nothing regular or repetitive and just a single one. It is always when tealy excited about something. It is a breed tendency to donsome spins when excited just not neurotically. Come to think of it all the 8 shelties owned by myself or my family in my life time were similar to my dog in spins, noone neurotic about it.

 

[Cara Sandler]

Spirit spins and ALL the shelties I see in this area doing agility spin as well

 

[Bailey's Mom]

Katy has always spun before dinner and it started before we got her. She also spins prior to pooping.

Bailey was always confused by the spinning.

 

[ClantyreSheltie]

Only for dinner.

To me, spinning is an OCD behavior that tells me the dog is over-threshold or anxious. I don't teach them to spin in either direction like obedience/agility people love to teach. Why encourage that kind of behavior?

 

[Cindy]

Gavin is not a spinner. But then he is relatively laid back. He prefers sitting, as he knows it gets him all sorts of good things like treats, pats, and praise

 

[Cara Sandler]

Only for dinner.

To me, spinning is an OCD behavior that tells me the dog is over-threshold or anxious. I don't teach them to spin in either direction like obedience/agility people love to teach. Why encourage that kind of behavior?

Spinning is a natural behavior in herding dogs. There's spinning, and then there's obsessive spinning. I don't think a spin every here and there is necessarily pathological. I think spinning excessively could indicate a problem though.

 

[mimiretz]

Oberon used to spin before getting his nighttime treats. We call it "dancing" and have taught him to do it only on command. He'll sometimes spin when he's extra-excited, like when the doorbell rings and we don't get there fast enough in his opinion, but then he realizes he doesn't get a treat if he does it on his own, so he stops.

 

[SheepOfBlue]

Yep and stay clear when Sca does as he does airborne spins