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We have a 14 month old black lab mix. My son used to play with the pup with a flashlight, getting him to chase the beam, etc. A few months ago I noticed that this play wasn't going well and he was starting to lose his little doggy mind over the flashlight beam. Funny as it was, it was starting to seem like torture for him.
Now he goes nuts whenever he sees lights playing over the walls in the house (pretty much every morning, thank you southern exposure), and in the yard (in late afternoon as he goes out back and plays with the kids, thank you northwestern exposure).
The running around and jumping against the walls (and occasionally biting them) like a maniac is bad enough but the barking... oh, the barking.
Is there anyway to cure this canine neurosis or am I doomed?
Oh boy, sounds like the flashlight beams are etched in his mind - too much of any good thing isnt a good thing in the long run - I have to agree w/ Katie1, distract him, take him for a walk, give him some commands (sit, down, stay), keep them short and make sure to reward him w/ a tasty treat (end on a happy note) - can you take him outside for a quick jog or a change of scenery (granted, it wont be practical if this happens a few times a day) - maybe upping his exercise might help as he's a young dog in his prime (ie, play ball w/ him - but not to the point where it's addictive or can result in bad habits) - no clue if he's neutered but if he's not, it might help too. Good luck
We had the same issue with one of my dogs. Her obsession with herding light reflections and shadows was affecting her quality of life so we became equally obsessed with fixing the problem! Stop encouraging the light chasing (quit playing with the flashlight) and use the cue "no lights" when he is fixating on the walls, then give him lots and lots of other things to focus on. This simple approach has worked remarkably well with our dog. Be determined to prevent and interrupt his light fixation immediately, every single time it occurs and always offer something better to do. Block the light he's chasing if you can. Get creative. Bring him somewhere else where there is no light to chase. Do whatever it takes. The more he rehearses this light chasing behavior, the more ingrained the obsession becomes. We have to break the habit by preventing it from being practiced. Stay 100% consistent - this is not a quick fix, it will take a while. Never let anyone encourage his light chasing - sometimes friends or certain family members find it entertaining, but in order to extinguish this compulsion you really need to fully commit to stopping it. Intermittent reinforcement (i.e. occasionally letting him chase light) is extremely powerful for dogs so do what you can to prevent that from happening.
at this point you've forms a bit of a doggy ocd behavior the good news is hes young.
1: excersize excersize excersize....a tireddog is a happy dog, a happy, tired dog isn't going to have the energy to obsess over things.
2: teach the "leave it" command. get a pocket full of high value treats (boiled chicken or liver works well for this) and a long leash, when there a flashing light tell him "leave it" and gently pull him towards you, when he get to you he gets a treat, reward intermittently while his attention is on YOU too... your not dragging him your not yankinghim, the leash is just to encourage him to come to you in the beginning, eventually youll wean him off the leash and then off the treats, the leave it command also works well for lots of things
3: distract, hes chasing the light because its gotten him something rewarding in the past (be it attention/respince from the humans or simply entertainment in himself, so now your going to have to re-direct him to something MORE rewarding than the reward he gets from the obsession...find a toy he loves or a special treat and when he starts to fixate on the light, replace that focus onto something else (a game of fetch, treats, a toy ect)
Yes, we have long since stopped the flashlight business. Problem is the morning, I'm busy getting 3 kids and myself ready for school and work, I think I am going to gate off the stairs because that's when he does (and where he does) most of the chasing. I'm worried that he will tumble down the stairs one day too. Luckily the sun is coming up earlier so that's helping - he can't see the car headlights going by for as long anymore!
He is familiar with "leave it".
Problem is I go to work and I do most of the training - DH works from home but still....has to work and not train the dog all day. But if we can put a dent in it I'll be happy.
Although he's a pup he is pretty smart and well behaved overall. He is neutered.
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