Anxiety from reflections.

[Vijo]

Our little Acorn has been having a lot of anxiety over reflections lately.  There's even one room I have to keep him out of because he goes out of his mind barking, rapid heartbeat, etc; that one has a skylight that he doesn't like at night.  Another has glossy wallpaper that bothers him.  And forget about a reflection on the ceiling off a watch or kitchen silverware - he goes crazy.  

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  We've been keeping certain lights on/off to minimize the reflections and it helps somewhat but once he sees one, he keeps looking up at the ceiling to see others and works himself into a frenzy.  He's only 10 months old and I don't want this to become habit.

Edited January 22, 2014 by Vijo

[Idaho Cairns]

Ditto the above--the puppy must come to both know AND adjust to its environment.  The best the owner can do is to demand that the puppy be quiet--if you are calm and still, making no big deal out of the pup's unnecessary fears, this should pass.

[Vijo]

We try to distract him, but he's very tenacious; it's like we don't exist when he's barking at the skylight, or a reflection/shadow.  Even his favorite treats (people food!) are mostly ignored, sometimes he takes them with an immediate return to the thing that's got his attention.   We've taken to removing him/avoiding the areas, but to my way of thinking that's avoiding the problem and he'll always be anxious in those spots; unless of course he grows out of it like you indicate.  As to your question, it's not his reflection in a mirror that he's afraid of, he's OK with mirrors.  It's glares or nebulous type reflections and quick moving shadows that freak him out.   

 

Thank you both for the advice.

[Idaho Cairns]

In my experience ignoring human commands is a common Cairn trait and one of the obstacles a Cairn owner needs clear in order to have a reasonable living situation.  I have seen this kind of focused obsessive behavior in our dogs from time to time--moving vertical blinds, any overhead fluttering sights/sounds, blowing plastic bags, etc. comes to mind in our Sammi's case--they frighten/spook her.  We just ask her to be calm and over the years the fear has subsided considerably. 

Making Cairns listen is a chore, they seem to march to their own drums especially as puppies--one of the challenges of owning one is getting and keeping verbal control of these little hardheads.  I would recommend staying with simple commands like "no" or "calma" (my multiple syllable soother) until the puppy makes the connection between the you and the idea that the reflection is benign.  Working with this can be rewarding for both you and the pup--just one more "problem" you humans can solve for the dog.

[Sam I Am]

Jock all his life would go crazy at shadows on the wall, reflections from shiny things, or flashlights . When he was about 5yrs of age we took him to our vet for a check up. The vet turned the lights off and then turned on the equipment, which has a small light on it, that checks the health of the eyes. Well....when she turned on the little light it first hit the wall....so did jock! In one bound he leapt off the couch and hit the wall. He wasn't hurt thank goodness and the vet was shocked.

No amount of training ever cured him of that habit.

Jock was a bit of a difficult boy...I loved him dearly but he was a tough Cairn to deal with. Rosie the honorary Scairn, is the total opposite . These terriers are all the same yet all different...if that makes any sense.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Terrier lover

[arseovrteakettl]

I wonder what would happen if you played with the reflections, like with a laser pointer, and tried to bring them down to him so he could sniff them. It always amazes me how quickly dogs lose interest in laser pointers once they can sniff the light and see that it is not interesting. Or even if you could lift him to the skylight or other reflection he is excited by.

Edited January 23, 2014 by arseovrteakettl

[bradl]

For dogs who are obsessive about light (and I've known a few), I would *never* use a laser pointer, personally.  

[pkcrossley]

i think my dog redmon went through something like this when a puppy. he eventually got over it. but it was very intense at the time. many dogs, including cairns, have a sort of obsessive compulsive reaction. this is why you must NEVER play with a laser pointer. you can produce obsessions and tics in your dog that will take a very very long time to correct. lifting him toward the things he is obsessing on is probably an alright idea. just give it time.

Edited January 23, 2014 by pkcrossley

[kjwarnold]

Kirby is the same way. Flashlights, reflections off shiny things, aluminum foil, the sunshine reflecting onto something, he goes for it panting, chasing and pouncing. It gets annoying and you feel bad for him, but we can't seem to get him to stop. We can make him sit and stay, but he still pants and would go right back at it when released. We just try to keep the lights and reflections at a minimum. I would definitely recommend avoiding a laser light.

He's still pretty young at only 10 months old, so just keep working on your obedience. Hopefully learning to listen to you and growing older will help and he'll grow out of it. FYI, Kirby is 5 and he still does it.

[Hillscreek]

Angus was very excited by his reflection in windows at night when he was younger. I don't normally pull the blinds down but I did and that quieted him. He grew out of it. Once in a while he'll bark at the movement of the reflection but it's just a couple of chuffs really. And I taught him leave it. You could try a blind over the skylight and covering what other areas you can. 

I agree with not using a laser. A tease possibly leading to obsession.

[arseovrteakettl]

Good to know, about the laser pointer.

I was thinking that lifting them to the shiny stuff would allow them to know them by smell, which they say is the main way pups learn about the world, and if they are far off they could be barking because they can't find out what they are. But if a dog can be close to the source, as with foil, and still carries on about them, knowing what they are, then something else is going on.

Very interesting, these little guys.

So they don't seem to be playing with the reflectons?

Haha just remembered my dog Annie who was terrified one day that the picnic table her leash was tied to was chasing her around.

Edited January 23, 2014 by arseovrteakettl

[pkcrossley]

yes, lifting up to the irritant might speed desensitization. i'm not sure why they don't just play with the reflection. i have seen a lot of terriers and other little dogs have a peculiar reaction to reflections. they are curious till they put their foot on it and discover nothing is there --then they are terrified. i think that because they are smart the cognitive dissonance is very disorienting for them. you see it, but you don't smell it or feel it. some whine in frustration, and some develop a truly crippling obsession (i think they are desperate to prove there is really something there, if only they could catch it). normal reflections should eventually just get assimilated or draw the occasional annoyed gruff or whine. but minimizing the presence of teasing lights generally can only help. 

[Vijo]

First off I want to thank everybody for the discussion and the ideas.  I read about the fact mentioned above that dogs seeing something but not smelling it could be unnerving to them, so I brought him up to the shadowy reflections on the ceiling that he was going crazy about and he actually calms down, but as soon as he's back on the floor he gets upset again. 

 

The same reflections are at floor level and he either ignores them or once he can go up to it and "touch" them he's OK with them - it's solely ones on the ceiling or in places that he can't reach by himself that he goes crazy about. I'm going to keep up with the training and the "No" and "Enough" commands until hopefully he gets it. 

 

Here's my little guy all attentive and sleeping on my chair.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Vijo

[arseovrteakettl]

He's sooooooo cute!

[Hillscreek]

Adorable Acorn!

[Vijo]

Thank you for the compliments.  I love that little guy; he's the dog I never had as a boy.

[pkcrossley]

absolutely adorable dog. no wonder you don't want him upset.

[hheldorfer]

Precious little guy!

[arseovrteakettl]

maybe the dogs who are obsessed by reflections and shadows are actually living in haunted houses

[Gerry]

Ted use to bark at his reflection in the fridge ,I just ignored him he grew out of it by 7 or 8 months.

Climbing in the dishwasher was another story . I finally had enough of it and spent about a hour one day saying no and gently pushing him away from the dishwasher or blocking him with my body. Was a battle of wills but I finally won!

[Vijo]

Going to take Acorn to the vet tomorrow to see what she says.  It's still the same; even tried some "calming" supplements from Vet's Best and another homeopathic remedy to no effect. 

[Hillscreek]

Behavior changes often take months. Give him time.

[Islander]

I agree...when Gus was a pup, he used to totally freak out if it was windy outside. I thought I'd have to cover all windows and slider. He grew out of it....mind you he is still a nut bar if a plastic bag blows by, but....

[Sam I Am]

One doesn't want to squelch the very nature of a Cairn also. I have to agree that this is pretty normal and as they tend to grow out of some of their quirkiness .

[Bryn]

Otto did this when we first got him a lot, and will still bark occassionally if he catches his refelction in something he isn't used to.  The first time he did it was at night when he was sitting in front of our sliding glass door.  We just went over to him and pet him and told him it was okay in a calm soothing voice, gave him a few treats when he would take a break from barking to let him know that's what we wanted him to do until he was more interested in the treats than the reflection and then shut the blinds.  I think it was good that we gave him a few treats because then he associates the reflection with good feelings instead of something scary plus we waited until he took a tiny break so he knows thats what he's being rewarded for.  When he'd start barking again we would gently correct him by saying "uh uh".  I've heard if you yell when they bark then they just think you're joining in on the barking with them.  We do this anytime he acts frightened of something.  The other thing we do is let him investigate things a little bit before removing him from the situation (if it's safe to do so like a parked bike or something).  Usually, once he gets close enough to figure it out, he's fine.  Sounds like you've tried that too. Hope your little guy figures it out!