shadow watching

Question
Hi, my boyfriend and I have 3 dogs 2 of them are boxer pit bull mixes and 1 is a full pitbull.  Our pitbull Vito who is 7 months old has developed a strange habit of watching shadows and lights. It has only started 2 days ago, he did not sleep last night becasue he was fixated on the ceiling and now he is glued to the wall starring at our shadows.  We have tried to redirect his attention and sooth him but nothing is working. He just stares and shakes. Usually when we leave the room he follows us everywhere around the house and now he just stays and stares, he has also become extremely inactive with the other dogs becasue he is to busy staring at shadows!! we dont know what to do please help us thank you

Answer
Hi Clarissa,
Some pups, especially those of the working breeds, which Pits are, like to chase shadows.  In some dogs, however, it can become obsessive to the point where they do it constantly or actually bite at the shadows, or cause injury to themselves.  Some owners tolerate this behavior, and aren't bothered by it, but it sounds as if it concerns you, so let me share with you the best ways to dissuade him from doing it.  First, this is an adolescent working dog - they have incredible amounts of energy that must be burned off in constructive ways, otherwise they can make up their own "jobs".  It could be that's what has happened here.  Or, it could be from stress - another dog in the family bullying the pup, a recent household change, or perhaps a move.  It can even be caused by a physical, vision, or neurological problem.  So, you can first consult with your local veterinarian to rule those things out.  If there's no physical problem, try to manage the environment better, or even increase his activity level, perhaps with games of fetch, frisbee, or other games that get him running or concentrating on the game (many Pits do agility training and quite good at it).  If he hasn't been to a good positive reinforcement training class yet, take him now before he gets any older.  Some schools will not take a Pit after he reaches maturity for liability reasons, since some of them become dog aggressive and they tend to be characteristically less likely to warn before acting.  If you can't get him into class, try some clicker training (www.clickerlessons.com).  Pits are smart, and they readily work to get rewarded.  Then, if you catch him chasing shadows, you can say "leave it" "come" and begin to work on something else.  As I said before, some dogs do become obsessive with this stuff and it can become a stereotypical behavior, so if that is the case, there are medications that can help, but you need a veterinarian to prescribe them (climipramine is the most common).  You can find a behaviorist at the Animal Behavior Society web site should it go that far.  Good luck.  I hope that with a bit of attention to training and some additional exercise, that your dog will find something more entertaining than the shadows on the wall to pay attention to.  If you need any clarification on this issue, here's a site you may want to check out: