Star Posted March 29, 2010 Report Share Posted March 29, 2010 Well, it was a fine day today and for the first time since Star has been with us, the pilots from the neighborhood next door were out flying their small planes around. Star was completely entertained--chasing each plane as it went overhead and actually leaping in the air after them! It was pretty funny stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pansmom Posted March 29, 2010 Report Share Posted March 29, 2010 Well, it was a fine day today and for the first time since Star has been with us, the pilots from the neighborhood next door were out flying their small planes around. Star was completely entertained--chasing each plane as it went overhead and actually leaping in the air after them! It was pretty funny stuff! What a great image. Also love the title of this thread. Made me smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 29, 2010 Report Share Posted March 29, 2010 Funny, yes. A good thing to allow and encourage, no - at least not in my opinion. It is too easy for some dogs to become obsessed with certain things - shadows, birds, flies, planes. I would discourage this behavior - get him involved in another activity (fetch, obedience, whatever he likes), take him elsewhere, in the house, crated, go to the park, use a verbal correction when he watches or responds to the planes. Too many things that are amusing to see initially can become bad habits or obsessions. Please work to avoid this behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted March 29, 2010 Report Share Posted March 29, 2010 Yes Sue. BC's have a major propensity to creating habits out of a one time deal. You watch, when this happens again, same behaviour... Funny, yes. A good thing to allow and encourage, no - at least not in my opinion. It is too easy for some dogs to become obsessed with certain things - shadows, birds, flies, planes. I would discourage this behavior - get him involved in another activity (fetch, obedience, whatever he likes), take him elsewhere, in the house, crated, go to the park, use a verbal correction when he watches or responds to the planes. Too many things that are amusing to see initially can become bad habits or obsessions. Please work to avoid this behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted March 29, 2010 Report Share Posted March 29, 2010 I agree with discouraging anything that is too quirky, even the funny stuff. The specter of possible OCD behaviors haunts me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Posted April 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 I agree with discouraging anything that is too quirky, even the funny stuff. The specter of possible OCD behaviors haunts me. My first thought, frankly, with this response and the others was, "Geez, can't a girl have any fun?". But I observed Star doing something today that made this click. This has been the first time we've been in the pool. I just left the gate open and Star came in to explore. She pretty quickly focused on the leaves floating in the pool and started to try to snap them up out of the water. Cute, funny, she even barked at them if they were too far from the edge. More cuteness and funniness. Then, she kept doing it, and doing it, and doing it. After about 15 minutes, it occurred to me this couldn't be good, and she showed no sign of stopping so I got up to go play ball with her. Reflecting, I think she would have run around that pool snapping and barking at leaves for hours, if I would have let her. So, I now get what you all mean. We'll have to find a little distraction for her when we're swimming--like throwing her toys from in the pool so she'll fetch and maybe she'll forget about the leaves. Though she does love to play with leaves.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 I'm sorry that you felt that we'd all jumped on you - it wasn't meant that way, and I'm very grateful you were open-minded enough to see (in the pool situation) just what we were talking about and realize that it's a valid point. Kudos to you for taking the advice and using it! These are not your average dogs (and I'm not knocking other types of dogs with that comment) and it is so easy for some to form problematic habits. Also, most of us speak from sad experience and not from a position of "superiority". The variety of obsessive behaviors that some of these dogs can develope is wide-ranging, and some can lead to ill-health or even death (snapping at water/salt water to the extent of becoming sick, for instance). I'm very pleased that the advice was helpful and, most of all, that you recognized a behavior and applied the advice for the benefit of your dog - that's the sort of thing that makes posting advice and suggestions here worthwhile! Very best wishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Posted April 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 I didn't think anyone had "jumped" on me, so no hard feelings here at all. And also let me just say that this board is proving so very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejano Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 My first thought, frankly, with this response and the others was, "Geez, can't a girl have any fun?". But I observed Star doing something today that made this click. This has been the first time we've been in the pool. I just left the gate open and Star came in to explore. She pretty quickly focused on the leaves floating in the pool and started to try to snap them up out of the water. Cute, funny, she even barked at them if they were too far from the edge. More cuteness and funniness. Then, she kept doing it, and doing it, and doing it. After about 15 minutes, it occurred to me this couldn't be good, and she showed no sign of stopping so I got up to go play ball with her. Reflecting, I think she would have run around that pool snapping and barking at leaves for hours, if I would have let her. So, I now get what you all mean. We'll have to find a little distraction for her when we're swimming--like throwing her toys from in the pool so she'll fetch and maybe she'll forget about the leaves. Though she does love to play with leaves.... It's a safety issue too....if they start chasing something across the sky, they could end up in the next county if they don't have a good recall. RObin and Brodie started in on birds last summer and it took quite awhile to get them out of it...Robin actually scaled a 6 foot fence in pursuit of a crow....the only way I got him back was that he remembered the pond. As soon as he hit the water, I knew he'd stay there until I puffed up to drag him out...they still go after them now and again, but they halt when I shout, or blow my whistle. One can lead to another, as you observe. Scotty has a wheel fixation, but he would go after planes, clouds, he'd even chase the rolls of thunder if we weren't quick enough to get him inside. You'll have to lead her away from the compulsive behavior until she has a solid recall, "leave it" or "that will do." I 'm finding I need to retrain Robin this spring to get him to leave off the cannonballs into the pond. With his fixation on feathered things and his love of water, he's got a bright future as a goose dog, I"m sure. Liz Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 Same problem with Jin and birds. I don't let him chase birds at all. As for small planes Jin liked to chase them until one day a guy dive bombed him and crashed next to Jin scarring him so now he stays away from RC aircraft. Ever since I learned about BCs being OCD I've always been careful about what they're up to. Unfortunatley I had forgotten when I got Jin and he's ball OCD. It's OK though because I work him with up to 5 balls for field work. I wold like to get that kind of focus on me from him when were out doing other things however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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