[talia1]

Joey has an uncontrollable desire to catch the light at the end of the torch. He forgets about everything else and chases after it, when he finally reaches it he bites at it and pushes his nose against it. We discovered this when the power went off last night and he went nuts for this light at the end of the torch.

This morning we woke up and he was sitting attent looking at the red flashing light of the alarm controll in our room.

Has anybody else come across this?

 

[Meg]

We have a laser pointer that Gauge will go crazy trying to catch. He tries to smother it with his paws..

 

[zoesmom]

some people do not recommend it

google "dogs and laser pointers"

here's one:
http://poochmaster.blogspot.com/2006/04/never-play-with-laser-pointer.html

 

[blacklabelias]

I wouldn't do it for fear of the dog becoming obsessed with it.

 

[imported_Top Of The Hill]

Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) has a situation dealing with an extreme situation of this on one of his shows. I can't remember the exact situation, but the dog he was dealing with spent all it's time chasing any spot of light. I think it might have started as a game, but not sure. It definitely became terribly obsessive and a real problem.

 

[imported_Belles mom]

I did the laser thing with Kodi and Hoss when they were pups and I sure wish I had not. Kodi is totally possessed with flickering lights and shadows. She will watch for them hours after they have disappeared. I am now trying to undo all that obsession with Kodi as it will come back to haunt me in competition.

 

[vgariffo]

I had two german shepherds who did that. FIrst one liked to chase the light, second one was on the verge of obsession (she had a lot of problems). I would sometimes play "tinkerbell" (which was what we would call the light) with her, but it became clear that she was getting nutty about it and we stopped. It was kind funny, tho' If the dog is otherwise steady and doesnt' get nuts over it, it might be o.k.

 

[talia1]

Thanks for all the replies, we will stop playing with the light before Joey has to go to doggy therapy :crazy:

 

[Meg]

No nutty dog here

He actually gets bored with it and gives me the "Mom I know you're making this happen" look.

 

[justine]

No nutty dog here

He actually gets bored with it and gives me the "Mom I know you're making this happen" look.

LOL. Abbey couldn't care less about the lasers/flashlights/etc. My parents' dog goes crazy for about 10 seconds, then she realizes that someone is holding it and goes after the actual laser/flashlight. :laugh:

 

[Rushpuppy]

A cousin has a Rottie that was introduced to the laser pointer at Thanksgiving. In less than 3-4 minutes he became obsessive and would go to the spot where he last saw it and paw at the carpet. Then when they came back for a visit, he made a bee line to that same spot and started pawing at it. No laser pointer for him, ever again. We all felt so bad that what started out innocently became an obsession. Hopefully by the next time he visits he will have forgotten it, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[TobysTrix]

Toby will chase after any - and I mean ANY - light source. Reflection off a watch, laser pointer, flashlight (torch). To the point that if I pull out the flashlight for any reason, he'll get excited before it even gets turned on. But I don't think he actually takes it that seriously, meaning that I really believe that he knows it's something he can't actually ever catch and it's only a game. But as far as he's concerned, it's a FUN game! We play occasionally with him since he likes it so much, but not so often that he'll go all OCD on us about it (no digging at the carpet). He's just a goof.

Chamois, on the other hand, couldn't care less about any of it. She just rolls her eyes as her big brother goes nuts and dances around after phantasms. :laugh: