Sonny Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Hi Our 7 month old Bull Terrier has come on well and we have over come a lot of our initial problems, however, about a week ago she started to chase and hunt shadows. We have in no way encouraged this but it seems to be getting out of control. She just stares at shadows or places that she has seen shadows before and then jumps at them ie the kitchen cupboards. We didn't experience anything like this with our boy so this has come as a bit of a surprise. It is very hard to break her attention from the shadows so we have started to physically move her otherwise she just continues to sit and stare. Any advice would be great as this is becoming a really concern. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 hi... Had a friend whose bully did this...turned out he was deaf. he did lose some of the obsessiveness of it, and lived to be about 15...still madly chasing the shadows of birds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily Howard Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 (edited) I would contact a behaviorist to try and stop this before it becomes out of hand. I don't know alot about bullies but I do know they can have some compulsive behaviors, the worst is the spinning, so sad. It all may end up to be quite harmless but if you're worried seek some professional help. Edited March 21, 2007 by Emily Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 I second seeing a behaviourist. This is the sort of obsessive compulsive behaviour that I would be addressing ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Ditto. See someone fast. In the meantime watch and whenever she does it distract her immediately, put her on lead if you have to. I know vets medicate for this but I would suggest a behaviourist as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peibe Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 I have done some reading on BT and they can have these kinds of problems Dura Mater knows alot about this kind of stuff, maybe send her a PM? and see a behaviourist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shazz05 Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 (edited) Hi Sonny, As you would already know, bullies are not you average run of the mill dog. The behaviour you are describing could be many things, or a combination of things. I would suggest you give the breeder of your dog a call, and let them know about what's going on with you dog. They would possibly be able to give you some advice on what to do here. I have 3 bullies living with me at the moment. shazz05 Edited March 27, 2007 by shazz05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Have you ever encouraged her to chase light reflections/torches? Zoe will chase light reflections off watches or torches if you let her, and sometimes this will transfer to chasing shadows. I don't encourage it, but family members did it when I was living at home and didn't know how serious it could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SALTWOOD Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Many years ago I had to have my mini poodle PTS because of this and associated problems. With her it was a neurological problem and she would chase bird shadows without any care to her own safety. She had other issues as well and in the end I had to make a very tough decision. Some trainers ie Jan Fennell suggest that in some cases it can be because of leadership/stress issues in the dogs environment. Perhaps basic training combined with ensuring the dog is otherwise well adjusted might help. You could try reading Jan Fennells book The Dog Listener. It is worth trying anything you can to try to fix this problem, if it can be fixed, as I know how terrible it can become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shihzoo Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 This may sound like a really dumb question but why is it so bad for dogs to chase shadows, torch beams etc? I have 2 cats that LOVE doing it although have never tried it with my shih tzu. (And won't now!). This thread has got my mind racing with a hundreds of reasons since it started but none of them are useful - please put me out of my misery!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel121 Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 This may sound like a really dumb question but why is it so bad for dogs to chase shadows, torch beams etc? They become obsessed with it to the point of it interfering in their everyday life. They can sometimes stare for hours and bark madly at the shadows for ages, ignoring any effort to distract them. I believe it can be /or become a psychological problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disorder Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I was in a situation a few years ago where my ex boyfriend rescued a female bull terrier. She was around one or two years old but had basically been kept in a small garden shed and had been abused for most her life. I came to absolutely love that dog.But the amount of issues that dog had, she was very obsessive, with absolutely anything and EVERYTHING, marks on the floor and walls including shadows, light switches (she would jump and try and bite them and would do it for hours if you didn't stop her) she would spin around in circles and no matter how hard you tried to calm her down and make her stop she couldn't help herself it was so sad. She couldn't be trusted with certain people or dogs. I put this behavior down to her being abused but have since heard lots of other stories which I guess relate to the type of breed she was. This doesn't really help with your question, but I thought I would share that. I generally just distracted her and kept her calm until she had forgotten what she was obsessing about.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faolmor Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 The thing is, don't make a big deal out of it. If you tell the dog to "stop it," or speak to them, you're reinforcing the behaviour. If you don't want him to do this, simply take him by the collar when he starts, and WITHOUT speaking to him, take him by you to a chair and sit quietly with him until he calms down. Then release him. Repeat if he goes back to it. The more you make of it, the more he will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SALTWOOD Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 (edited) I agree, this is a problem that you can't reprimand the dog for - you must distract and hope it lessens in time. This dog would benefit from a bit more structure in its life and dog obedience classes and daily practice would be the way to go. Try to train it to the stage that it can obsess about something else, like a game of ball or a toy. Edited April 9, 2007 by SALTWOOD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Umm. We have a dog at our shelter that does this, he is also Deaf! So I would go to the vets and get them to check his hearing if I were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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