Laser
Pointers as a Toy – Think Again
Scruffy is obsessed with shadows, lights, etc. Your
description of your dog sounds just like Scruffy. She was originally raised
with a little boy who used his laser toy when she was a young pup.
The behavior you both describe is obsessive-compulsive behavior, which in dogs
is referred to as a stereotypy. This is the equivalent of a human with OCD
washing his hands 100 times a day. It is a compulsively repetitive motor
pattern over which the dog has no control. It is also called Canine Compulsive
Disorder (CCD). Other examples of canine stereotypies include spinning (tail
chasing), chewing on paws (Acral lick dermatisis), and appearing to snap at
invisible flies in the air.
There is a chapter in Nicholas Dodman's book, The Dog Who Loved Too Much,
called "Shadow of a Doubt," which tells the story of a dog that has
the same disorder as the two dogs you have described. I have worked, as a
trainer, with three dogs that had stereotypies, but not specifically with a
shadow chaser like your dogs.
Robert is absolutely correct... You should have a veterinarian who has
experience with stereotypies or a good canine behaviorist examine your dog as
soon as you can. Behavioral treatments (training) usually have little effect on
this type of disorder unless they are combined with medication.
Anticonvulsants, mood stabilizing drugs such as Prozac (SSRI's) and/or
tranquilizers are often prescribed to reduce the severity of shadow chasing and
other stereotypies.
There have been a number of reports of shadow chasing stereotypy beginning
after a laser
pointer was used for training or playing with the dog,
as Jane mentioned. Laser
pointers or flashlights should never be used as training
aids with dogs for this reason.
Although a stereotypy like this can increase in severity and can overshadow a
dog's and owner's life, the good news is that what you have described is a
well-known and identified disorder that usually responds to therapy with the
types of drugs I mentioned.
Faye, what you heard is correct: Many specialists in this area,including
Dodman, believe that many stereotypies are the result of small seizures or
convulsions that occur in the brain. This has been verified by doing a
specialized type of EEG on dogs with these disorders. That may be why
anticonvulsant medications seem to help many dogs. This disorder also tends to
occur more in certain breeds, and both Labrador and Golden Retrievers are among
those breeds.
Although the medications, IMO, are almost always necessary to really change the
behavior, there are two things you can do that may have a positive effects.
First, ignore the dog when it does the light/shadow thing. Do not give it any
attention because this may unintentionally reinforce the behavior.
Second, try to provide a varied and stimulating environment for the dog.
Anxiety and boredom may increase the frequency of a stereotypy, so it is
important to exercise the dog well, challenge it mentally with food toys, play,
training, or whatever other activities seem to distract it from its obsessive
behavior.
The stimulation and exercise by itself may make a difference in some dogs
because it is unlikely that all CCD's are caused by convulsions. Zookeepers are
well aware of the development of compulsive behaviors in zoo animals that are
held captive without adequate stimulation or in environments that remain
unchanged for long periods of time. Obsessive spinning has also been seen in
dogs that were kept in small cages 24 hours a day at experimental facilities.
If you search the Internet for phrases such as "canine stereotypy" or
"shadow chasing," or "Canine Compulsive Disorder," you will
find many articles on the subject. This should be thought of as a medical
condition, so again, your first step should be to see a vet or behaviorist. The
earlier the medical intervention, the better the dog's chances of recovering
most fully.
Even the laziest and hardest to please cat or dog will go crazy playing with lasers and can get hours of fun and exercise chasing the laser beam. Lasers are especially useful for exercising indoor cats and dogs. To make sure playing with lasers is safe for your animal friends, there are two very important points to be aware of.
The first point is some lasers are safe for cats and dogs to chase and some are not. To understand which lasers are safe, you need to know that lasers come in different powers and what different power levels are capable off.
The power of lasers is measured in milliwatts or mW for short. A 55mW laser can put holes in plastic, a 75mW laser can cut black tape and burst balloons, a 95mW laser can light matches and a 150mW laser can light cigarettes. Obviously any laser with enough power to burn things can cause serious and permanent eye damage and cannot be chased safely but cats or dogs.
The US Food and Drug Administration states that 5mW the maximum safe power level that will not cause eye injuries in people. 5mW is conservative and the generally accepted safe power level for lasers is 5 to 10mW. There is not a big difference human and Canine/feline eyes in sensitivity to lasers so the safe limit of 10mW can also be used with cats and dogs. So lasers with 10mW or less of power are safe to use cats and dogs. As an added precaution, NEVER point the laser at your cat's/dog's eyes.
The second point of lasers is your cat/dog will be frustrated. It is the hunting instinct in cats and dogs that makes cats and dogs go wild and enjoy playing with lasers so much. The hunting instinct compels cats and dogs to stalk, catch and kill their prey. Chasing a laser beam fulfills their desire to stalk but not catch or kill. If you use the laser by itself, your cat/dog will be well exercised but it will be frustrated by its failure to catch or kill the laser beam. The simple solution to this problem is to finish a session of playing with the laser, let your cat/dog catch and kill a normal toy.