# This is going to sound crazy...



## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

...but bear with me.

Twice now, while I've been playing with the laser pointer with my dogs, and Lila has dropped everything and peed on the floor. This is new behaviour since Xmas. Over the holidays, the dogs were at daycare as they couldn't travel home with me (airline restrictions/my aversion to having dogs in the cargo hold). Before Xmas, we played with the LP occasionally, and Lila had never peed during the game. She doesn't seem overly excited during the game, and today she had only been inside about 1.5 hours since her last bathroom break.

Background: Lila is 7 months old, and does not otherwise have accidents in the house.

Any thoughts? Could the LP *seriously* be causing her to pee?

(NB: I'm aware of the potential for obsessiveness about the LP, and am careful to moderate the time and frequency with which we do this and to observe their behaviour for signs of obsession).


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

well if she doesnt seem overly excited to you how DOES she seem becuase really the only reasons i can imagine her urinateing due to it is
over excitment
or
fear

there are not many other reasons for her to urinate other then if someone taught her that laser pointer= pee

if its not either of those reasons i would deff keep an eye on her as perhapes she is in the beginings of a UTI or somthing like that causeing her to urinate in the house.
good luck


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

The laaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzer is a very intense toy for some dogs. Dogs that are laaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzer focused can get obsessive compulsive about it. Arousal levels are sometimes so high that dogs don't have control over things like urination (which is a high signal of stress or arousal in some dogs). This sounds like what might be happening with your pup. 

Would you describe her as being obsessive with it? 

Are her eye completely dilated like flying saucers? 

Whats her other body language and behavior like?


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## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

It might also have nothing to do with the laser. 7 months for boxers is right about that stubborn "teenage" phase where they seem to "forget" everything they've learned. Daisy went through a period during this time where she would just drop whatever she was doing (usually playing) and go pee on the floor right in front of me. Previous to that she was fully potty trained and letting me know every time she needed to go out, it was a very frustrating period of time and I see that you have 2 of them so I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. Dodger never went through having any accidents in the house during his stubborn phase, but Daisy did - aarrgghh!! I'm glad that's over and done with :biggrin: 

I hope you get it figured out soon :smile:


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> The laaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzer is a very intense toy for some dogs. Dogs that are laaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzer focused can get obsessive compulsive about it. Arousal levels are sometimes so high that dogs don't have control over things like urination (which is a high signal of stress or arousal in some dogs). This sounds like what might be happening with your pup.
> 
> Would you describe her as being obsessive with it?
> 
> ...



I wouldn't describe her as being obsessive about it. She's usually pretty interested in chasing the dot, but has never had any issues with ending the game when I put it away (and, being mindful of the intensity of the game, I usually keep it to very short sessions - about 1 minute). In fact, today she didn't seem all that interested in it, and was slow to join in with Malcolm. She didn't have her hackles raised during play (which is typical for both my pups in high-arousal play situations). 

There was nothing unusual about her body language during the game. Afterward, she was ducking her head, but I interpreted it as appeasement behaviour related to my interrupting the urinating (I clapped to get her attention - nothing "harsh"). She is a very "soft" dog and very sensitive to any correction. 

The arousal/stress explanation makes sense to me - I think I'll nix the laser pointer for the time being. She seemed to enjoy it in the past, but something has obviously changed for her, and I have no interest in stressing her out unnecessarily.

Thanks for the input, guys!


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