11/10/2025
This is Hulk. He was adopted about a year ago, weighing only half what a healthy weight would be. Big thanks to his new forever family for nursing him back to help and giving him a life any dog would dream of.
We were called out to help with some odd behavior on walks. The family initially thought that he was simply untrained, but our evaluation revealed something else entirely.
Hulk is obsessed with chasing light and shadows. So much so that sometimes his family just could NOT get his attention.
While we'll never know for certain, these obsessive behaviors are often the result of a dog being teased with a laser pointer, and it can be a serious detriment to their mental health and quality of life.
Please don't ever tease, play with, or attempt to exercise a dog with a laser pointer. It revs up their part of their brain meant to chase and grab, but there's never any satisfaction in it because they'll never catch that little red dot. These dogs can develop obsession or fear over lights, shadows, and things that blink like dishwashers, video game consoles, and ovens.
Some dogs can recover, and others require serious veterinary intervention, including medications.
Hulk is a great candidate for flirt pole play, though, so we are incorporating exercise and games where he CAN catch the toy. We'll reevaluate as needed and refer him for vet treatment if necessary.
This is why in person, in home training can be so powerful. We saw firsthand how he reacted to the shadows in his backyard and could identify almost immediately what was going on and set him on a better, healthier path.
