LED Lights

[Wendy and Myla]

This is a first for us!  Myla is three years old and we have camped in our motorhome with her since we first got her!  Last year we camped over 60 nights with her.  Last week we went for a walk around the campground before bedtime and we passed a motorhome that had a string of LED lights along their awning that actually changed colors.  We had never seen one before and DH and were commenting on it when all of a sudden we noticed that Myla was actually pulling me on the leash!  When I corrected her she totally ignored me and she was actually running.  When I stopped her, she was literally standing there shaking!!!  We weren't sure what was up, we were looking in the bush to see if there was a bear or something.  I could not get her to calm down and she just wanted to get out of there.  We got her to an open field (still thinking it was something in the bush) and she kept running, pooping while she ran (unheard of).  We finally got her to our motorhome and she would not go underneath our awning (which has never been a problem).  That's when we realized it must have been the led lights!  We got her inside and calmed her down but even the next morning, as soon as she was outside, she kept looking up at our awning!  We never went by that campsite again - we sort of wanted to see if that was actually her problem, but didn't want to risk scaring her again.  Has anyone else noticed that their doodle hated LED lights???

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

I saw this on Live Science - "Unlike humans, many animals see in ultraviolet, and a study now suggests that cats, dogs and other mammals can, too. Knowing these animals see things invisible to humans could shed some light on the animals' behavior, the researchers say."  I know for a fact that Beau does not see the same way as Charlie does.  I really believe Charlie seems the tv pretty much the same way we do and he loves to watch tv.  Beau has an issue with bright light outside after it is dark.  I think he makes him see things that we cannot see.  He will bark, and run back to get into the house, or will just lay on the step by the patio door.  During the day, he is fine in the yard.  So I think there may be something to what your doodle is seeing in the lights.  I will be interested to hear if any other doodles are experience being frightened by the light or what it makes them see.  I actually took Beau in to an eye specialist because I thought he was having trouble seeing in the dark because of his fear.  She said his eyes were healthy, but he is obviously seeing something we are not that frightens him.  He is 3 now, you would think he would be used to the small landscaping lights in the side yard.

[Wendy and Myla]

That's really interesting!  Myla doesn't seem to be bothered by our landscaping lights, or people's lanterns in campgrounds but we've been thinking about our LED flashlights and we're not sure if she's actually seen them except from behind. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Wow there was something about those lights that really frightened her.  They sometimes have fears that it's difficult for us to understand.  My Murphy is terrified of anyone playing the piano.  I've tried to desensitize him, but nothing works...so we stopped playing our piano unless he's out for a walk.  I would simply avoid those lights in the future if you can.  They sure are complex but amazing creatures.

[Wendy and Myla]

We will definitely try to avoid lights like that - though it would be hard in a campground.  We would have to walk without her first to make sure there aren't any!  I sure hope it doesn't become popular!!!!

[Becka]

I wonder if they emit some kind of buzz at a frequency inaudible to humans? Sadie doesn't like certain noises that I can barely hear.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Some kind of hum that we can't hear but she can. 

Im guessing that hooking up the lights to the awning of a motorhome wasn't exactly done according to code, lol, so it's very possible that there's some kind of high frequency buzzing or humming noise she heard. 

LED lights are used in all kinds of dog leashes and collars for night visibility, which would be a big problem if it's common for dogs to be bothered by them. 

[Wendy and Myla]

I didn't think of the sound!  That's an interesting thought.

[Richard Crowe]

Dogs can be spooked by something and remain spooked for a long while thereafter.

We were walking on one of our downtown streets and a store had a display of inflated Mylar balloons which were moving in the breeze. That totally spooked Holly and she would not approach the balloons.  Then for several months thereafter, Holly refused to walk past that store, even when there were no balloons outside.

We were visiting Judy's sister in Texas and Holly loved to play with my sister-in-law's golden retriever in their large back yard. However, on New Yeas Eve, the neighbors in the back yard across the fence from Judy's sister set off fireworks which totally spooked Holly.  She would not enter the back yard for the rest of the week we were visiting. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

I agree that there could have been some kind of sound that she associates the lights with. Whether the sound was actually coming from the lights or something else, she thinks it was the lights. Annabelle was also spooked by our next door neighbors fireworks over the 4th. They were probably the next best thing to pro ones. They were big and booming and were coming right over our back yard. I took Annabelle out to do her business while they were being shot off and she wouldn't go potty. She tried to run away, good thing I had her on the leash or I might not have found her in the dark.  We just came right back in the house. The next morning she would not go out in the backyard, I had to take her out the front. It took her 3 or 4 days before she was her old self again. I don't want to put her through that next year so we will go out before the fireworks and call it good. They just moved in back in May, so this was a first.

[Bonnie and Kona]

We have LED lights in our kitchen. The doodles don't care. My daughter who has migraines hates them. I hope you figure it out. I think Becca's idea that she may have heard a sound seems plausible as they were hanging free, so to speak, instead of inside a can in the ceiling of the kitchen. I don't know.  They are exceptionally bright.