Adolescent dog demand barks and chases tail

We adopted a dog 8 weeks ago. She is 9 months old. I think this is definitely like an adolescent overstimulation or "tired but wired" kind of problem. She'll be playing with her toys nicely but after a bit they are no longer doing it for her, so she'll come find one of us. I think she is trying to exhibit some restraint in her communication, so she does like this quiet sort of demand bark. It's more like an air snap. We have been dutifully ignoring it, so now when it doesn't get our attention she just starts chasing her tail. Sometimes she finds us and goes straight to the tail chasing.

I'm between a rock and a hard place, because I don't want tail chasing to become a compulsive behavior. But I also don't want to be constantly "on call" when she is overstimulated/bored. The last few times I have been redirecting her to her toys when she is chasing her tail. Sometimes she'll go back to chewing them, but a lot of the time that will only last like a minute and she'll go back to the tail chasing. Sometimes she'll even go back after her tail while still laying down with her bone.

The tail chasing has really only been a thing for like the last 3 days. So I want to get ahead of a problem. I don't know if this behavior will wear itself out with further brain development. She gets enough exercise. I think she just has moments where she either wants novel/better toys or else is actually needing to just chill out and is having a hard time shifting gears.

submitted by /u/PsychicSageElana
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