Tennis balls, squeaky balls, footballs, any balls… some dogs just feel like there’s never enough! They’re fun to chase, cheap and can be found pretty much anywhere!
So what’s the problem?
Well, actually… quite a lot!
The odd bit of fetch will do no harm. But if your dog is becoming obsessed with the ball, that’s when there might be a problem.
You’ll know your dog is obsessed, rather than just excited if…
They can’t concentrate on any training
They aren’t interested in other toys, or maybe even treats
They are expecting their ball thrown regularly and if they don’t get it, they may cause other problems, such as barking or attention seeking.
Or they are expecting their ball thrown on their regular walk and if they don’t get it, they can’t just go off and sniff, and instead, they keep asking.
What’s the problem?
Repetitive ball chasing leads to excess adrenaline in the brain. This leads to frantic and frustrated behaviours which is not only annoying for you, but also bad for your dog’s long term health.
Excessive ball chasing shifts your dog’s weight distribution to their front legs. This is more likely to lead to early arthritis and long term damage.
The unpredictable movements such as twisting, jumping, skidding, and landing causes microtrauma to the joints and muscles, quickly leading to long term damage. Going from high speed to sudden stopping is thought to be the most dangerous part of ball chasing and causes shoulder injuries.
Some dogs will continue to chase the ball despite being in pain.
What can you do?
Limit access to the balls. Learn to say no to your dog (it’s for their own good!) and redirect them onto something else, like another game or enrichment activity.
Have a warm up and cool down. The warm up should gentle exercise and stretch the muscles, and the cool down is for that, as well as letting their brain calm down too.
Only throw the ball on soft ground that isn’t wet to reduce slipping and skidding. Don’t throw it too high to avoid jumping, or too far.
Increase training in the game. Instead of just throwing it, taking it from your dog’s mouth and repeating, teach your dog to drop it. Or, if they already know to drop it, teach them to put it in your hand. Get their mind working between those ball throws.
Have a finish time - and mean it! 10-15 minutes of fetch is more than enough for even the most active of dogs. Once the ball goes away, that’s it. Don’t give in! Redirect your dog onto something else.
Introduce alternative games, such as chasing a frisbee, bubbles, scent games, agility, and brain games! This will help your dog to understand that there is plenty of fun games and activities, and that they can bond with you in other ways!
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