Laser pointers

[ACE boy]

Anyone alse using a laser pointer to have fun with thier Rottie (works great for cats as well).

Ace just loves to chase the little red dot all over the place, and always wonders where it goes when his body gets in the way and why he cant pick it up. Quite a fun game of chase for him.

And before you ask, yes I am cognizant about where it (the dot) is in relation to his eyes to prevent any fitire issues. The majority of the time I never let him get close enough to the dot for this to be an issue, I just turn it off before it comes close to his head.

[Squeaky2004]

I used to have one that I used with my cat (way before we got our dog). But it got broken :( She loved it though and we made sure it was never near her face. I'd love to get another one thanks for reminding me about them! lol

[ACE boy]

I just did a search on the above subject. Learned some interesting things, I will add.

I will keep it in moderation, such as only as a treat. And before someone asks, he does not chase sunbeams or light reflections (yet) but I will keep an eye on that as well.

I do have to admit it is quite entertaining, for both he and I.

[Patty1231]

Mine likes the flashlight too, I discovered by accident. I don't play with him with it because it could be trouble if I actually need to use it. My cats used to love the laser pointer until it broke. I read somewhere that you should be careful with dogs cause it can stress them out.

[fbkeays]

I used to work for a laser company. My cube was next to our Laser Safety
Officer<G>. Be very careful of the surfaces you point the laser beam on. Lasers can reflect off of smooth and shiny surfaces. It doesn't have to be a mirror, a smooth latex painted surface can reflect laser light. A computer or TV screen can reflect laser light too.
Remember in, humans the eye lense will magnify the power of the laser beam by 100,000 times. I am assuming that would be the same for animals too.

[Shaw_2112]

The batteries run out too quickly, no fun.

[Burnsway]

I use mine to teach names of objects only but I even stopped doing that. Some dogs can get very obsessed with them. I usually suggest people find another more valuable toy or pass time........ ;)

[Brooke&Ryan]

We've never used one with Julius after everything that I've read on the boards. He would rather be outside engaging in a game of chasing the Jolly Ball or taking a long walk with us.

I can understand how frustrating it must be for the dogs never to be able to "catch" that little red dot. So I don't engage in it.....

Originally Posted by waschull

Hey all! We talked about this before, I was one of the ones who had a bad experience after "training" my dog to play with "light creatures" (as we called them). Sunny became so obesessed by light creatures she completed oriented her life toward finding them. For example, when company came over she would lay at their feet staring at the floor wagging wildly because she had seen reflections from the watch crystals of company before (my husband and I had already given up our watches). We could not take a CD out of it's case without her flying into the room searching frantically for "light creatures" caused by the reflections.

The whole thing started as a fun game but she became completely obsessed and continued to search for light creatures until her death, even though we had not purposely "played" llight creatures with her for years.

Originally Posted by rbrent

We are very sorry that we started with the laser light. we had only used it a couple of times. it's been about six months now that we haven't used the laser because it just drove Harley crazy. to this day he just keeps looking around for a shadow or light for him to chase. He'll jump on the walls when a car goes by to get the reflective light. even while riding in the truck he'll catch a light reflection and go after it. or shadows of anything on the carpet. Our experince with this is not very good. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT to start this form of play with your pet. my .02 cents worth.

After reading some of these threads we decided against it. I feel that a game of playing with a ball or a hike is much more productive.

To each his own though.... :)

:)
Brooke

[Chantal]

I could kill my husband for starting to play with that laser pointer.. ever since he did that, my younngest has become obsessed with shadows. why shadows? I don't know. But it started at the same time. she'll scratch at the hardwood when ever she sees a shadow... it's driving me nuts!!

[Luvs]

We made the mistake of playing with Keil with the flashlight. He goes bonkers trying to catch the light. We had to quit when he started chasing shadows on the hardwood floor. We don't even get the flashlight out around him now he is so obsessed with it.

[damp]

Originally Posted by Brooke&Ryan

He would rather be outside engaging in a game of chasing the Jolly Ball or taking a long walk with us.
I can understand how frustrating it must be for the dogs never to be able to "catch" that little red dot.

I feel that a game of playing with a ball or a hike is much more productive.
Brooke

I agree 110 %!!!

I have never understood the purpose of a laser pointer/flash light as dog toy.

[Lorrie]

Originally Posted by Burnsway

I use mine to teach names of objects only but I even stopped doing that. Some dogs can get very obsessed with them. I usually suggest people find another more valuable toy or pass time........ ;)

Oh YA!!! Boone is neurotic about the laser light .. I have stopped using it at all as he will spend the entire time we are out at nite staring at the ground!! I find it somewhat disturbing! :(

[HerculesMomma]

I found out by accident that Hercules likes chasing the flashlight, but I don't play with him and it anymore after reading some articles on here. Hercules almost knocked me over one time trying to get a reflection that flashed across the ceiling (this was his treat box so you KNOW he had to of been distracted!). He goes bonkers though with the flash light - barking and chasing it around like a cat would.

Not to mention, Hercules has had some issues with reflections in the mirror (barking and growling at himself and me!) and he even woke me up at 3:00 in the morning one night because he saw a reflection of himself in the window

So I know he has issues already and I didn't want to encourage those issues. My one cousins dog was such a horrible shadow chaser that she was literally obsessed with them. The only thing that finally worked to help cure her dog of this problem was when she got a second dog (and even then the shadow chasing hasn't stopped completely). I certainly don't need that kind of a problem with a big dog! :D

[Squeaky2004]

Thanks for the info, maybe thats why my cat will chase any light she sees going across the floor or on the walls. hmmmmm just never occurred to me before. Thanks though! :D