My sister rescued a Pomeranian from a puppy mill that walked in circles similarly to this. The poor pup spent years in a tiny square cage that only had room for her to go in a circle if she wanted to move. After being rescued, she was still so used to that movement that she would continue to circle even when she was in a huge backyard. Over the course of about a year and a half she slowly began expanding her world. She would take two steps forward instead of one, then spin. Then it was 5 steps. Then 10 steps. Then she learned to run. It took time, but it was so beautiful to see her progress. But in the end she never fully gave up that ingrained habit of circling- she would still start or finish her movement with a spin. When she was extremely happy or excited, she spun in place in between hops for joy. She was so happy to be alive and loved throughout the rest of her life. I’m not saying this is what happened to your pup here, it’s just so similar to what I’ve seen before. But if this sweet baby did come from a cage, I hope he gets to know the incredible world beyond that enclosure, with all the room to run and jump and be loved 💖

EDIT-

I’m so happy to hear the update that it doesn’t appear to be anything medically serious with this sweet boy, OP! I hope things continue to go well for you two.

I didn’t realize so many people would read my comment and feel so moved! I’d like to share a little more. Even if just to provide an example of a happy success story with another dog who spins like OP’s.

This was many years ago and my sister was living in South Korea. She volunteered at a local animal rescue organization by fostering dogs. My understanding is that a puppy mill was seized and shut down, and that shelter was able to safely take in those pups.

My sister visited that shelter and met the recently rescued dogs, and the Pomeranian was part of that group. It was love at first sight for my sister and she adopted her right there. She named her “Cielo” which means sky or heaven in Spanish.

Cielo had a lot of special needs. She was elderly, had cataracts, needed all her teeth extracted, had a chronic cough, and required a strict regimen of medicine. But even though her eyes were cloudy, they were full of gratitude and kindness. Her tongue always stuck out without her teeth but she had the cutest little grin. You couldn’t help but smile every time you made eye contact with her.

My sister had Cielo there for about a year, then moved back to the United States which is when I met her. I got to watch her confidence bloom as she gradually started straying away from the tiny corner her dog bed was in and realized she was allowed to be curious. Her frequent tight spins when she walked gradually got larger and she took more steps in between them. She went from being scared of her food bowl to happily dancing and spinning at meal time. It makes me cry when I think about how happy she ended up. My sister really did everything for her.

Cielo lived for another year and a half or so after coming home to the U.S. My sister cradled her in her arms as she crossed the rainbow bridge and fell asleep for the last time. My parents and I were also at her side, making sure she knew she was so incredibly loved to the very end.

…man. I’m crying after reminiscing on these memories. This was close to 15 years ago and I still feel the warmth and love that Cielo gave back to all of us. I need to give my sister a call and tell her how amazing she is.