Shadow Chasing

[moonman5]

Hi All,

Have not been on the forum for a while, (to much fun with my Bc "Red")

Anyway Red has started doing something odd? he has become obsessed with watching shadows or light reflected from mirrors/glass windows etc,

I was in the garden and noticed him staring at the ground, it was the reflection of my watch face reflecting a small circular light patch on the floor. he followed it intently, and even after I went back indoors he stood there looking for it.

Its become obsesive now, this evening he sat in the garden watching the reflection of a garden ornament for at least two hours? I did call him in,but he just kept on going back out and looking for it?

How can I get him out of this habbit, it,s not good, he actually got distracted when we were at Agility training the other night, from the ray of light coming thro a skylight?

Any ideas Help Please!

[only-borders]

Try an, ah ah, in a normal tone to get the dogs attention. If the dog does look at you say yes. If the dog goes back to looking at the shadow then remove the dog from the area, by a lead, and redirect it's attention on to something more fun, like play, training or a walk.

When the dog goes back to this behavior repeat the above. Do not let the dog stand in the garden for two hours watching the ornament. Take the ornament down.

[braindead]

To me, it sounds like a bored border collie. What kind of mental stimulation does he get?

[moonman5]

(08-22-2011 04:22 PM)only-borders Wrote:  Try an, ah ah, in a normal tone to get the dogs attention. If the dog does look at you say yes. If the dog goes back to looking at the shadow then remove the dog from the area, by a lead, and redirect it's attention on to something more fun, like play, training or a walk.

When the dog goes back to this behavior repeat the above. Do not let the dog stand in the garden for two hours watching the ornament. Take the ornament down.

Hi Only Borders,
Yes this is very much the way I am going about it, and there are signs he is taking notice, It will just take time, and the ornament was removed by my wife as soon as we realised it was that he was watching,

Thanks for your help.

[moonman5]

(08-22-2011 05:21 PM)braindead Wrote:  To me, it sounds like a bored border collie. What kind of mental stimulation does he get?

Definatly a wrong conclusion, Red is certainly not bored, He is my life and gets all the attention and mental stimulation he needs,

Three walks a day: (sometimes out for 2-3 hours)

Hunting: Red is a brilliant hunting dog, and we spend hours looking for Rabbits/Pheasants, etc, he really puts a lot of effort in, his concentration is admirable,

At least half our of training a day, (general obedience and other)

He likes play fighting with me, there is not a day goes by when he comes up to me with that "Sod" look in his eyes just to have a playfight.

Agillity every Thursday evening.


To list a few,..... This is not a bored Collie, he is just growing up and finding new things on the way (Some not good) i.e, shadow chasing, but he will get over it I hope with some effort from me,

Thanks for your input.

[collies rule]

My Millie shadow watches, and like Red has plenty of exercise and stimulation and training. She is not a bored dog at all. I’ve been told it’s a sort of compulsive behaviour.
We distract her when she does it, and loads of praise as soon as she focuses on me. She’s got better, but will still sit and stare if allowed to.

(08-23-2011 02:14 PM)moonman5 Wrote:  

(08-22-2011 05:21 PM)braindead Wrote:  To me, it sounds like a bored border collie. What kind of mental stimulation does he get?

Definatly a wrong conclusion, Red is certainly not bored, He is my life and gets all the attention and mental stimulation he needs,

Three walks a day: (sometimes out for 2-3 hours)

Hunting: Red is a brilliant hunting dog, and we spend hours looking for Rabbits/Pheasants, etc, he really puts a lot of effort in, his concentration is admirable,

At least half our of training a day, (general obedience and other)

He likes play fighting with me, there is not a day goes by when he comes up to me with that "Sod" look in his eyes just to have a playfight.

Agillity every Thursday evening.


To list a few,..... This is not a bored Collie, he is just growing up and finding new things on the way (Some not good) i.e, shadow chasing, but he will get over it I hope with some effort from me,

Thanks for your input.

[wolfmom]

shadow/ light chasing is a dog form of ocd. you should consult a trainer/ behaviorist before this escalates. it has nothing to do with his activity level or how well taken of he is. just like people some dogs need a little professional help sometimes. good luck.

[youngK9]

Athena used to chase her shadow on the fence when I would let her out at night. I just did what Linda said and now she totally ignores it now. Good luck!

[misskris]

there's a good episode of "It's me or the dog" (V. stillwell) that deals with this dog, I forget what kind of dog, I think an airedale (sp?) who had OCD for shadows and light being reflected from his dog tag. She distracted him every time he locked in on the shadow/light and taught the off command. I'm sure it took the owners a while, but they were eventually able to train the behavior out of the dog. Might want to try to look up the episode, sounds EXACTLY like what you are dealing with! good luck!
kris

[moonman5]

Hi all who answered my post,

Just to say thanks for your help,

As for the shadow chasing, I think I am getting on top of it, we have noticed that Red seems to be taking less interest in shadows/reflections,

I have found that if I catch him at the first moment of him looking at a shadow/reflection and saying No! firmly and distracting him with anything to hand, he ignores it and off we go!

It is not fully resolved but we are getting there,

Now just this weekend we got another problem, walking across a field there was quite a lot of smoke from the stubble burning the farmers were diong, Red went balistic, pulling on his lead, ripping lumps of turf out of the ground where he was pulling so hard to get away from the smoke, he totally lost it, and I have to say, I had little to no control over him..............Bc,s so sensitive, so fragile, Oh well here we go again!