Are laser pointers unhealthy?

[Doberluv]

Some dogs can handle it. But I've seen a lot of dogs develop OCD type behaviors from the use of them. Plus, I think they're "mean." lol...they can never catch the "thing." It's always just out of reach...seems like it could be frustrating...no satisfaction gained because the grab and kill motor patterns aren't used. I'd rather throw them something or have them chase something on a string that they get to chase, grab, and catch in their mouths...more like prey. This light does not behave the way natural prey does. It's so intense that it's the only stimuli affecting their brain...I believe the other senses are not really working very well when their focused on a laser.

[Snark]

Originally Posted by Doberluv

Some dogs can handle it. But I've seen a lot of dogs develop OCD type behaviors from the use of them. Plus, I think they're "mean." lol...they can never catch the "thing." It's always just out of reach...seems like it could be frustrating. I'd rather throw them something or have them chase something on a string that they get to catch in their mouths...more like prey.

I read somewhere - possibly on a cat board, that a good way to end the game with some cats is to throw down a high value toy (catnip mouse, etc) and bring the light to the toy so the cat pounces something tangible at the end. Guess that could work for dogs, too.

[Doberluv]

Originally Posted by Snark

I read somewhere - possibly on a cat board, that a good way to end the game with some cats is to throw down a high value toy (catnip mouse, etc) and bring the light to the toy so the cat pounces something tangible at the end. Guess that could work for dogs, too.

lol Snark. I was just editing my post when you put your post up. Yes, perhaps that might make it better. I guess whatever floats one's boat. I guess I'm just old fashion and am fine with throwing real things for my dogs.

[sassafras]

I think it depends on the dog. Pip loves to chase the laser pointer (discovered by accident while playing with the cats) but he's never become really obsessive about it. When you put it away, he just goes and does something else.

Squash and Maisy don't even appear to see it, or at least they've never paid any attention to it.

[MicksMom]

Originally Posted by Red.Apricot

...My sister's cat started to go crazy, and can't be around them anymore. He'd sit in the middle of the living room waiting for the dot for hours.

Our cat was to "sophisticated" for that. She'd watch the light for a bit when Caleb was playing with it. When I ran it up to where she was sitting, she'd reach out for the spot. But, as soon as she realized there was nothing to catch, she'd just sit back and watch again.

[BigDogBuford]

Three of my dogs don't even see the red dot. It's weird. lol

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by ihartgonzo

I've heard several people say that laser pointers make dogs go crazy, chase car lights, etc. What do you think?

It certainly does happen that playing chase games with laserlights or flashlights triggers a light/shadow chasing OCD in some dogs. There's not any way to predict which dogs it will have that effect on. Some dogs can play fine with them for years and others after one or two exposures to it are obsessing over light spots coming through the windows or shadows on the ground. So given that, I would never really consider it to be a "safe" toy.

[Laurelin]

My cousin tried it once with Mia. Mia loves chasing toys and especially bugs. It took Mia a couple seconds to realize it wasn't a real bug to catch and she just ignored it. His JRT will go crazy for it but doesn't seem to have any problems with regular lights.

I don't think I'd try it with any of my dogs and Im probably lucky Mia figured it out that fast because she is a dog that will obsess very easily.

[elegy]

Yeah, depends on the dog. But if you find out the hard way that it's not a good idea for your dog, it can be a tough situation.

Luce will chase the laser pointer. It's hilarious (she makes ridiculous pig noises) and she's never been obsessive about it.

I had some lady suggest to me when Steve was very young that I should use a laser pointer to reward him in agility. I was like ARE YOU FREAKING INSANE?? Obsessive dog is obsessive enough as it is.

[CharlieDog]

Enzo doesn't care about it. Indy and Knox don't even see it. Ozzy will look for it for hours after it's put up. He started chasing the flashes off of his tag on the patio. That was the last of the laser pointer when I realized he was chasing "tinkerbells" off of his name tag.

I caught one of my brothers friends running him around in circles on the patio one night after that. I think I scared the hell out of him when I ran out there yelling at him (I'd told them not to do the laser with the dog once already) to figure out WTF he thought he was doing and snatched it from him and chucked it over the fence.

It took him a little while to stop looking for it, but he did. I'm of the opinion that they can be extremely extremely dangerous for certain dogs. I've no doubt that if we didn't know any better Ozzy would be constantly chasing lights and shadows.