Our 6 month old Border Collie keeps trying to bite shadows. She chases them
if they move, trying to bite them. I know it sounds daft, but she does!!
As I'm sat here typing, part of my shadow from the room's light is moving on
the wall at the side us and Poppy is rubbing her snout against the wall
trying to bite the shadow. She's leaving a trail of saliva on the wall as
she yaps at it. We're getting wet patches on the carpets where she does the
same thing with shadows that are on the ground. She yaps a strange high
pitched whiney yap/bark as she does this.

Is it anything to be worried about? Will she grow out of it? (She's been
doing this for about 2 months now)

We never tell her off over this. We give her a frowny look and say "Pack it
in, nutter, it's only a shadow". She stops when we say that to her but two
minutes later she's at it again. It's happening 4 or 5 times a day on
average.

Any thoughts?

On Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:36:44 +0100, "Jay Kaner"
wrote:

Our 6 month old Border Collie keeps trying to bite shadows.

That's a pretty common behavior for BCs (shadow-chasing). She's trying
to "herd" the shadows. But you should discourage it.

Is it anything to be worried about?

Probably not, but you should try to discourage it by distracting her
from it and giving her other things to do, whenever it starts. You
don't want it to become a habit. And whatever you do, don't use a
laser light to play with your dog! That would only make matters worse.

Will she grow out of it? (She's been
doing this for about 2 months now)

Probably, but a lot of it will depend on *your* actions, and not
allowing this behavior to become a habit.

We never tell her off over this. We give her a frowny look and say "Pack it
in, nutter, it's only a shadow". She stops when we say that to her but two
minutes later she's at it again. It's happening 4 or 5 times a day on
average.

Give her more things to do during the day to exercise her mind, e.g.
OBEDIENCE training, puzzle toys, agility games, etc. But continue to
interrupt this behavior whenever you see it; distract her by giving
her something else to do. More exercise may help too.

PS: If you do all of the above and don't see improvement, or it stops
for a while but then starts up again, I think you should contact a
behaviorist, especially someone who is familiar with BCs.

Good luck!

--
Dogman

"Jay Kaner" said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Is it anything to be worried about? Will she grow out of it?

Yes, you should be worried about it, it will get worse if
unchecked and she will not grow out of it. I disagree with
Dogman on this one.

I've seen a few dogs (call "Shadowchasers") which chase light
patterns and are often initially encouraged because it's cute.
It's something easily obsessed on, often by Border Collies
lacking from mental stimulation.

The best solution: Don't let her do that. It's that simple.
Plus, more exercise and mental games. Herding work and agility
are good outlets.

--
--Matt.

On 10/17/2010 5:36 PM, Jay Kaner wrote:
Our 6 month old Border Collie keeps trying to bite shadows. She chases
them if they move, trying to bite them. I know it sounds daft, but she
does!! As I'm sat here typing, part of my shadow from the room's light
is moving on the wall at the side us and Poppy is rubbing her snout
against the wall trying to bite the shadow. She's leaving a trail of
saliva on the wall as she yaps at it. We're getting wet patches on the
carpets where she does the same thing with shadows that are on the
ground. She yaps a strange high pitched whiney yap/bark as she does this.

Is it anything to be worried about? Will she grow out of it? (She's been
doing this for about 2 months now)

We never tell her off over this. We give her a frowny look and say "Pack
it in, nutter, it's only a shadow". She stops when we say that to her
but two minutes later she's at it again. It's happening 4 or 5 times a
day on average.

Any thoughts?

http://shapingchaos.wordpress.com/20...es-vaccinosis/

Char

Dogman said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Well, the only thing we seem to disagree on is the extent
to which he should already be worrying about this, eh?

It seems so. I expect that you've seen many more incidences of
shadowchasing than I have, but the last one I saw was
heartbreaking. BC, relatively hyper and keen on objects (aka
"normal") returned to class after a 6 week absence with a major
fixation on light and shadows. The dog would no longer focus on
anything but.

My impression was that the handler had been playing with a laser
pointer, but because of reticence from the handler and a
language barrier, I don't know what happened during that 6
weeks.

The only advice I could convey was Bob's "Don't let him do
that."

--
--Matt.

On 19 Oct 2010 16:33:03 GMT, Matt wrote:

Dogman said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Well, the only thing we seem to disagree on is the extent
to which he should already be worrying about this, eh?

It seems so. I expect that you've seen many more incidences of
shadowchasing than I have, but the last one I saw was
heartbreaking. BC, relatively hyper and keen on objects (aka
"normal") returned to class after a 6 week absence with a major
fixation on light and shadows. The dog would no longer focus on
anything but.

Yes, once it's become truly obsessive, it can be heartbreaking to
observe. I've only seen a few such dogs that far gone, and from what I
can recall, there was a laser involved in each case. As I understand
it, the herding and terrier breeds are supposed to be the most
susceptible to it, but I've frequently observed this behavior in
retrievers and bird dogs too, and also in mutts. So it may have more
to do with genetics, or prey drive, than breed.

On the other hand, by not allowing it to gain a foothold in the first
place, or immediately putting the brakes on allowing it to continue,
if done soon enough, one can usually be assured that it won't become a
major problem.

My impression was that the handler had been playing with a laser
pointer, but because of reticence from the handler and a
language barrier, I don't know what happened during that 6
weeks.

Yep. Dog owners use a laser light at their dog's peril (in my
opinion). Yes, most dogs probably won't become obsessive about a
laser, and they do appear to enjoy it. But there are far better ways
to exercise and/or play with your dog that are pretty much risk-free,
so why even chance it? Among my many mottos, e.g., "if it ain't broke,
don't fix it," is "don't break it in the first place."

The only advice I could convey was Bob's "Don't let him do
that."

Absolutely.

--
Dogman

"Dogman" wrote in message
...
On 19 Oct 2010 16:33:03 GMT, Matt wrote:

Dogman said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Well, the only thing we seem to disagree on is the extent
to which he should already be worrying about this, eh?

It seems so. I expect that you've seen many more incidences of
shadowchasing than I have, but the last one I saw was
heartbreaking. BC, relatively hyper and keen on objects (aka
"normal") returned to class after a 6 week absence with a major
fixation on light and shadows. The dog would no longer focus on
anything but.

Yes, once it's become truly obsessive, it can be heartbreaking to
observe. I've only seen a few such dogs that far gone, and from what I
can recall, there was a laser involved in each case. As I understand
it, the herding and terrier breeds are supposed to be the most
susceptible to it, but I've frequently observed this behavior in
retrievers and bird dogs too, and also in mutts. So it may have more
to do with genetics, or prey drive, than breed.

On the other hand, by not allowing it to gain a foothold in the first
place, or immediately putting the brakes on allowing it to continue,
if done soon enough, one can usually be assured that it won't become a
major problem.

My impression was that the handler had been playing with a laser
pointer, but because of reticence from the handler and a
language barrier, I don't know what happened during that 6
weeks.

Yep. Dog owners use a laser light at their dog's peril (in my
opinion). Yes, most dogs probably won't become obsessive about a
laser, and they do appear to enjoy it. But there are far better ways
to exercise and/or play with your dog that are pretty much risk-free,
so why even chance it? Among my many mottos, e.g., "if it ain't broke,
don't fix it," is "don't break it in the first place."

The only advice I could convey was Bob's "Don't let him do
that."

Absolutely.

--
Dogman

Yeah. I thought the laser light was a godsend, at first. So easy to
exercise Kiba, and he LOVED it!! It was so cute. Until I realized he loved
it TOO much. If I picked up a nail clipper, or other similar small object,
his nose went down, looking for the light. He shook with anticipation, tail
clocking madly from side to side, nose down, look up, nose down, look up,
"Where is it, where is it, let's see it now, now, NOW!" Once I realized I
was creating a monster of a problem, I cut him off. Cold turkey. He will
still look for it on occasion (after over a year!), especially if I'm using
my infrared thermometer to check the temp. in the oven, but he recovered.
At the time, he was starting to follow shadows and reflections on the walls,
too. I am forever grateful that I recognized what a problem it was becoming
before it was uncurable.

It's too bad, really. We had such fun with the light. He had a preferred
course to run in our very large living room, a figure eight around the big
coffee table, with occasional side trips down the hall. I would put
obstacles in the path for him to jump over on his way around. He would
probably run until he dropped if I let him. (Never did, of course!!) But I
would truly hate to see this become an all-encompassing obsession. Raising
a good dog can be difficult enough without making them neurotic, too!