I have a 5yr old rescue boxer-golden retriever mix. Her names Myrtle and she’s never really learnt how to play. Before we rescued her, her previous owners shot as her and was used to hunt down cats (which we question given the fact we have 4 cats that she doesn’t mind, besides getting super curious at first meeting).

Anyway, she had a problem of treating her toys as puppies since her pups were taken away very early. She seemed fine with it but she was only 2 when we got her and she very rarely played at all, like she didn’t know how to. So, i bought a laser pointer but it was originally for our other cat we have, she didn’t seem amused but Myrtle loved it. She does little hops around it, dives into it, and slams her paws down on it. I had no idea you weren’t supposed to use a laser pointer with dogs until recently.

I was wondering, with Myrtle specifically, does it matter? I mean, of course it does, but she doesn’t show symptoms of it. I very rarely use said laser pointer with her, only maybe once every month or two months if I remember. She gets bored with it after about 30 minutes of it, and she doesn’t seem obsessive over it. Although, she does know the sound of the jingle it makes and she perks up, and after I decide we’re done playing (before she gets bored) she stares at me for about 5 minutes before she’s completely back to normal, and doesn’t even miss it.

My main question is: can I still play with her using the laser toy if I keep it to at least once a month or two like normal? Or should I stop it completely?

(P.S. she has other ways to play now, she loves to be chased and play hide and seek lol)

Laser Pointer Syndrome???