Obsessive Behavior- Light and shadows

[steph90]

The first time I saw my DS mix display this behavior was when my roommate was playing with his laser pointer and my dog Kodi started shaking, making jerky movements, ignoring everyone in the room, even foaming a little. He displayed this behavior for awhile even after the laser was put away. Since then, I notice him doing the same obsessive behaviors with shadows, blinking lights (computer, electronics), flashlights, etc. I thought it was odd at first and kind of blew it off, but it is getting worse and is starting to really worry me. Does anyone have experience with this problem? I am going to do some research but I would love to hear from anyone who's dog has overcome this. Also just want to mention that he gets daily walks and weekly doggy park dates. Im going to add another walk in the mornings, but no matter how pooped Kodi is he always finds energy to be neurotic over shadows.

[leih merigian]

You might want to use the search function as this topic has been covered a few times and you can see the prior threads. (search for "laser lights" something like that...)

Some dogs can get very OCD about this stuff and it can be difficult to manage once you've developed an issue with it.

good luck!

(BTW, you might want to search about "dog parks" too, as many of us hate them around here )

[steph90]

Thanks! I'll do that. The dog park I take him to is actually just a couple secluded acres with a pond and some trails that a lot of locals take their dogs to. Its not your typical fenced in, hectic dog park. Just a nice open place for him to run free. Places like that are hard to come by in Miami.

[centrop67]

Is it the park on US1/~168street?

I used to take my Lab and my GSD mix there, but Radar plays a little too rough with other dogs. The other owners don't seem to like me. I don't take him there anymore. Instead, I walk him on the levees south of the landfill. I try to get him all the way out to the bay on weekends so he can swim.

[steph90]

I used to go there, but there are some real dummies who congregate at that place. It just gets so crowded and Im amazed how many people bring scared/aggressive dogs. Plus Kodi would always end up filthy so I could only take him right before it was bath time. I take him to a spot across from fairchild now. I think it's part of the fairchild property. It's just a lot of open, scenic land where the dogs have a lot more space. The people seem to be a lot nicer too. If you haven't been there I recommend giving it a visit.

[Sarahk]

I have the same issue with my Vizsla, he has OCD with lights/shadows/lasers. All the trainers I've tried to work with have all said "Distract him when he does said behavior." Well, my nut head will keep trying to look for it and ignore EVERYONE and everything else. I had another trainer tell me to "overload" him, so I did with a chandelier, which did NOT work! So eventually I decided I needed to make these lights and shadows a more negative response. So when he goes into playing mode with the reflections, I either yell at him or get him on a low level of shock collar... not ideal, but I also want to be able to yell "NO" and have my dog stop chasing something before he runs in the road and gets killed...