# Chasing reflections and sparkles?



## Candace (Mar 8, 2011)

My V is almost 1 and she is obsessed with shadows but much more "in love" with chasing reflections and sparkles (as I call them). I can't get her out of it. I am worried that it might me a bad thing but I am not sure. Can anyone help me about this? Ppl have told me it's boredom, but I keep her very very active. She even does it at day care....( take her 1-2x per week for extra activity) At times, Emma does not listen too well when she is overwhelmed by all the reflections. It's like she doesn't hear me, but snaps out of it and listens. She is a great listener otherwise! As summer approaches, I am happy to see that she is noticing birds and squirrels in the yard. She loves to find them. But any advice about the reflections would be helpful!


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## cooper (Sep 23, 2009)

We have have the same problem. It is a bad thing and if not stopped can get even worse.
Caused by separation anxiety, boredom. I had found many article on the internet under separation anxiety.


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## Candace (Mar 8, 2011)

That's so strange, because she does it with me at home. I'll look into it more...THANKS


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

It's a very visual breed, and I kind of wonder if tracking things they see moving is a little hard wired. I've certainly heard others on this forum describe their dogs doing this obsessively. Rosie does it with moths (and she watches TV) but not so much with reflections or shadows.


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## irvinaca (Aug 8, 2010)

We have the same problem with Luda, who's now 11months. She's crazy for shadows and it's really quite disturbing. It started with her noticing my watch reflecting around the room, which was all funny ha ha for a couple of mins, but from then on she seems to have noticed every other single shadow in the house. She can be utterly transfixed and i'm wondering what to do about it.

I just can't see it as a boredom thing though, i'm at home with her pretty much all the time, she gets a good long run and walk every day in different places, she gets so many different toys etc etc....

I try telling her to go to her bed every time that she starts doing it but it doesn't seem to make much difference. All advice would be much appreciated. We're even thinking another dog might be the answer!


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

I would count your blessings lol. Rosie entertains herself by stealing our pens and knives...But again, I really could envision what you're describing being in the hard wired repertoire for this breed rather than a pathological thing. Though I could also imagine it being tiresome to watch.


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## LuckysMomSamj530 (Jul 14, 2009)

Welcome to average V behavior  Our Lucky spends hours chasing flies, reflections, shadows, etc. We first thought it was due to not enough attention, but after talking to many V owners, we decided it is just part of this "interesting" breed. (& I do mean interesting in the best way ;D )[/color]


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## CFreitas (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks for the information sarahf and LuckysMomSamj530!! We adopted a wonderful lady about 6 months ago and have been dealing with her chasing shadows and reflections and now I know I can relax about it =)


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I, too, think that this ultra-attentiveness might just be a breed characteristic. After all, a Vizsla hunting in the field needs to notice every little movement and smell if he ever hopes to point a bird.

My boy Willie is sometimes fascinated by bugs. I'll see him out in his yard, staring at the ground, and then I know he is studying a bug of some sort. When he goes outside for "last call" at dusk, when I can only see his silhouette, I often see him leaping into the air, trying to catch fireflies. 

They do tend to pay a lot of attention to every tiny detail.


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## satellitebeach (Nov 16, 2010)

Mine does this too. She looks like a nervous wreck if she goes for a car ride at night. She just stares at the ceiling of the car and watches lights


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