Laser pointer syndrome (LPS) is an OCD-like behavior in dogs that causes them to compulsively chase lights, reflections, and shadows. This is also known as Shadow and Light Chasing.
There is no cure for this.
There is only working through their anxiety and compusion to chase reflections and shadows. There is no over night fix. This takes time to work through.
It's extremely hard to combat this. It takes months upon months and even longer to help the dog work through this.
This isn't amusing for them to chasing lights and shadows. It's heartbreaking.
Do not play with flashlights or laser pointers with your dogs. It doesn't matter if you end it at their food. They still haven't "caught" their prey and therefore causes them to get extremely frustrated and can end up having this as an outcome. Just don't do it.
Here is Ravioli and his owners! They adopted him back in August through a wonderful shelter and instead of giving up, they fought for Ravioli and that makes them VIPs in my eyes. I will say they did not cause this for Ravioli! When they adopted him, they had no idea this was an issue till a couple months after he came home with them.
I worked with the incredible Ravioli and his owners through his syndrome and he has come such a long way. Is he fixed? No, he still has a long way to go, but he is doing such an amazing job! He still makes mistakes, but he has improved so much. His owners are absolutely the BEST for reaching out and wanting to work through this issue.
The past 2 months have been tedious and exhausting with Strengthening his Impulse control and working through his anxiety, but all of them have come a long way and I couldn't be more proud!
Here is a perfect exercise to practice recall!
Throwing a treat and recalling them back with a "here" command. I use Coppers name as well as the command because he is apart of a 2 dog household, so this helps him know when he is being talked to and not his pack mate.
This is a fun exercise for them! Not to mention when it's hot out like today, it's hard to give them proper exercise during the day. I'm giving him proper exercise when it's a lot cooler out and it's only 10 minutes at a time. Perfect!
You can use training treats, their kibble, anything really! In this case, I'm using baby carrots that are stored in the fridge so it's a nice cold crunchy snack to have and low in calories.
Litermate Syndrome in dogs. 🐕🐾
While working with a dog I'm trying to break out of he's shell, I had the cutest audience watching me work. How can you not want to love on these babies! They are available for adoption!
You are your dogs advocate.
Instances where we are unknowingly rewarding these behaviors
Kid Etiquette when it comes to dogs. 🐾
What is reactivity?
Reactivity in dogs is when a dog reacts to a trigger in a more intense way than expected. Some examples of reactivity in dogs include: Seeing other dogs, Hearing loud noises, Seeing large moving vehicles, Being around certain people, and Being on a leash.
