My boy prances in circle in his kennel alot and I've even noticed him walk around some patio furniture. Now I don't mean he walks around once, he continues to circle things for like 10 minutes.

Is this normal?

He doesn't do it all them time and i tried to see if he is doing it out of boardom but he'll do it even after we train/play.

Can't herd a chair, or 'nothing' in a kennel. Sounds like neurotic behavior to me. Have you seen animals in a zoo? They frequently act out the behaviors you are describing.

Malinois and GSD's are not necessarily dogs that a 'normal' amount of training/exercise is enough. What makes them do so well in activities that take place all day long (herding, police work, bomb dogs, scent work, Seeing Eye, etc.) means that just cause we did some training and gave them some exercise does NOT mean it was ENOUGH mental and physical stimulation for that specific dog. It does seem like a 'boredom' reaction to me.

I would up the exercise myself. Long off leash hikes and runs in the woods. Meeting up with friends that have good dogs so everyone goes out. Keep the kennel time to a minimum (that's gotta be boring if the dog isn't tired out and just wants to sleep) by having him in the home more, or taking him for more rides, or increasing the socialization trips, etc. Mental AND physical things help my girls. Just going to the store, having the dogs looking out the windows and watching the new things in the world passing by is MUCH more stimulating than being left home in a known place where nothing new usually happens.

He'll circle things out side tho even when there are lots to play with. He'll stop what he's doing, go up to the patio table and circle it non stop for at least 10 minutes.
I know alot of poeple here are against it but i do bring him to a dog park some times and he gets along with every dog there, he plays and tires the other dogs out. I have 1.5 acres now and he's out in the yard alot so he's not cooped up in the kennel all day.
You do made an interesting point tho. My boy is a thinker and now I don't think i am giving him enough mental exercise as in training to focus, training with distractions, etc.
I will watch Bernards focus/drive/grip tape again and start a routine again.

On a side note I was training for competition daily at home but I had to stop due to lack of funds for weekly class. I looked around think maybe by joining a club we could all get together and help train each others dogs but it's not free either. Dont get me wrong we all need to make a living but I was looking for poeple like me. This is why I am not training him for competition any more. I am only doing obedience with him and now i will be proofing him in obedience so hopefully that will stimulate him mentally.

Think if you can work on really tiring him out and continue with the training you can, you will see some good results. I don't have any dog parks in my area, but I do have tons of friends (met many in dog classes!) with great dogs. We actually make 'play' dates, or arrange to go to areas where the dogs can run off leash while the humans hike along to get everyone tired.

It's great to be able to meet NEW dogs, NEW people and go to NEW places to have the exercise. That way all the new sights, sounds, and smells help with the mental issues, while the running around helps tire them out. I know my dogs do NOT exercise when in my yard, they mostly lay around and want back in the house. I have to load them in the car and drive somewhere and walk with them to wear them out.

Are there any agility, or flyball, or frisbee clubs in your area? May be worth it to join if there are. May be more reasonably priced than some other groups.

http://www.leerburg.com/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000116

I remembered this thread about "spinners". We have one high prey drive, thin nerved GSD who spins like a top in the van, and another even higher drive gsd bitch with very sound nerves who rarely spins (but is a bat out of hell out of the crate!).

Admittedly, the bitch who rarely spins is also the one who gets more (lots) more work, but she is also capable of concentrating longer and planning more steps out than the spinner.

I think it's just the difference in them. Your dog may just spin. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

The way Edgar described his dog's behavior didn't sound like spinning (I've seen alot of Border Collies and some Golden Retrievers who spin) but more like pacing in a larger circle.

But I may have mis-understood.

I know that my friends with the Golden AND certainly with the Border Collies do use tons of exercise to help modify the spinning behavior. And while the exercise helps alot, the dogs will still tend to spin when bored, or stressed, or just 'cause.

Either way, I don't think it's a 'herding' behavior.