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Permalink Reply by Beth on October 26, 2009 at 9:11pm

Oh, I hate to rain on your parade, but please be careful!

We bought a laser toy for my elderly cat, hoping it would get her moving. No luck, but we tried it on Jack and he went crazy chasing it! What fun! After a few minutes I put it away. I then brought it out again, and after I played with him for a couple minutes, I stopped... and Jack spent several minutes looking around on the floor for the little dot. I did NOT like this behavior, as with any other toy I have used, if I take it from him he relaxes as soon as it's out of sight. I thought it might have something to do with the fact that there is no "it" for him to see being put away; the dot simply disappears into thin air.

So I went online, and found countless people reporting their dogs had developed bizarre shadow and/or light chasing behaviors after playing with laser toys; it's a form of doggy OCD and herding dogs are especially prone to it (Border Collies more so than Corgis, but still....).

http://doglinks.co.nz/problems/barry_place/obsessive_compulsive_beh...

If you google you will find many other examples. And judging by Jack's obsessive searching for the dot after just TWO play sessions, I believe it. Jack can be intense but he has never been obsessive over anything and even with toys he loves (tennis balls, frisbees) he will leave it and focus on me if I give him an obedience command. I can't stress enough how weird he acted, which matches what I've found on line.

Only you know your dog, and it is cute to see how fast they run around, but please read the anecdotes online to see what you might be getting into.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Cong on November 20, 2009 at 4:09pm

My puppy Lizzie did exactly the same thing. She followed the laser dot everywhere, and searched for it for at least half an hour before she cooled off. The information helps

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Permalink Reply by Beth on October 26, 2009 at 9:12pm

I could not find the story online, but to give an example one Border Collie got obsessed with the laser and so its owner retired the toy. The BC then started chasing the reflection of sun off passing cars as the light moved across the wall.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah C. on October 26, 2009 at 9:40pm

I would say just be watchful. If it's working for you, I wouldn't worry about it. Many things outside "disappear" without them seeing it get away, like flies and moths and mosquitos. I think that if he knows it's an outdoor phenomena he won't be too freaked about it.
But like I said, be watchful. you know your dog.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on October 26, 2009 at 10:18pm

There are several theories about the OCD, and likely more than one cause.

There are some cases where it seems the rapid light triggers epilepsy-like seizures which can lead to behavior changes.

There are some who theorize that the issue with a laser is the dog gets the stimulation of the chase, but never gets the reward/release of the capture. Those with this theory say that you can minimize the risk by ending the game with the light beam landing on a reward (a treat, or a ball) that the dog can "capture" and thus release the built-up adrenaline from the chase.

But there are those who say the inherit problem is that it is not really natural for a dog to chase something with no smell or sound. Dogs' primary sense is their nose (cats are much more visual hunters) and to a dog, chasing a light is like chasing a phantom, so they start to see it everywhere.

There are dogs who are just prone to obsessive behavior; we know someone who will no longer give his lab tennis balls because once she sees a ball, she loses interest in everything else. The thing is, if your dog's obsessive behavior is a ball, you can eliminate tennis balls from their life. If they become obsessed with light and shadow, you're in trouble and medication is probably going to be needed.

That said, there are countless people out there who use a laser with no bad effects. Judging by my own dog's behavior I won't use one, but if my dog was not looking for the dot after it disappeared and I decided to continue to play, I think I would end with targeting the dog to a real object to signal the end of the game, and would probably start with a real object as well to start the game, just so they didn't start looking for random objects.

Remember, even moths and flies make a noise and have a smell; they don't just appear and disappear at random as far as the dog is concerned.

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on October 27, 2009 at 5:54am

I think we're alright, Bear has already figured out that the laser is connected to me. He hears the click in my hand and when I turn it off, he looks at me - so I know he makes the connection between me and the laser.

Thanks for the info though, definitely stuff I'll watch out for.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on October 27, 2009 at 12:00am

I'm going to try that right now...I have a hard time getting Livvy in! Thanks and I let you know if it works for her( (all my others just came in and she's out chasing something and throwing it) so this should be a good test!

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on October 27, 2009 at 12:08am

Ok the batteries are dead and after reading beths post maybe I'll think about it some more!

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Permalink Reply by Ross on October 28, 2009 at 1:53pm

I used my cat's laser pointer on Atlas for about a week or so, he loved it. Then I started noticed he began to get a little to obsessed. I'd let him out of his crate, and he'd just stare at the floor or the wall and whimper in excitement. Sure enough, like Beth, I did some googling and turned up countless stories of dogs getting overly obsessed with laser pointers. So I stopped using it immediately (Atlas has enough quirks as it is). He got over it, as I really only used the thing for about a week.
This isn't to say that your dog will develop issues with the laser pointer, but be careful, and watch to make sure your pup doesn't get too obsessed.

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Permalink Reply by Kyle, Megan and Loki on November 20, 2009 at 5:33pm

how long do you have your dog out at a time? Are you bringing him right back inside after he uses the bathroom? These could have an effect on how long it 'takes' him to poop, if he wants more walk time and you bring him in immediately after going, he will try not to go for as long as possible.

I know Loki likes (pretty much demands) 3 walks, or intensive exercise sessions a day (bout 30 min a walk, a couple kilometers, or 20-30 minutes of playing fetch in a big field) Then of course there is still all the mandatory inside play time, they are just energy balls. Loki is of working bloodline, so you may get off with slightly less if show line.

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