obsessive puppy

Question
I have an 8month old female toy rat terrier who is obsessed with light reflections and shadows. She barks, shakes, chews and scratches the carpet where the shadow/reflection is... she won't stop for any toy or command. Please help, she's pathetic!

Answer
I don't have much of an answer.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

Beside keeping her busy, obedience training will give her more of your time.  Once done with obedience training, you can move into advanced obedience, agility, and i thing Rat terriers are accepted in ''earthing''.  A richer life should help reduce the problem.