How do you break a dog's ball obsession?

If your dog is never seen without their ball in their mouth, and likes to constantly drop it at your feet to be thrown, it might help to put some limits on their time with a ball and play with it on your terms, not theirs. Try keeping their favourite balls in a box and bringing them out once or twice a day for a play session. If you want to address your dog's ball obsession, then reducing the time they spend practising and reinforcing their ball addiction will help a lot. Have a ‘finish’ time – and mean it. After your dog has enjoyed playing with their ball for a period of time you’re happy with, tell them with your choice of command that the game is over and then put the ball away. Lowering your dog’s arousal level by switching to an alternative ball game such as ‘find it’, tug or rolling the ball along the ground gently to help bring your dog’s obsession levels down a notch so they can give the ball up. Teach your dog to drop the ball, when playtime is over, work on teaching your dog to ‘give’ back their ball. Introduce alternative games to fetch, balls can be great fun, but their use as a training aid for learning new skills and behaviours is limited. Our Powerball range is excellent for encouraging ball obsessed dogs to enjoy playing tug. If a ball is your dog’s number one motivator, but you want to use it in a more constructive way, our fauxtastic powerball bungee is a game changer.

Teach Rules of play The first way to tackle the issue of your dog being obsessed with balls is simply teaching your dog some play rules. The play rules we teach all of our dogs at awoken k9 are simply that you bring the toy back and that you let go of the ball when told to. Build Your Dogs Impulse Around Balls If your dog is obsessed with balls its safe to say that you have to build your dog’s impulse around balls. The way you can start building your dogs impulse around balls is by simply asking your dog to lay down and not touch the balls when he does this correctly use what your dog wants which is the balls and play with him, rewarding his efforts. Teach Your Dog When The Game Is Over when you understand that “My Dog Is Obsessed With Balls” one simple way to tackle the issue is to teach your dog when the game is over. You can teach this by simply say “all Done” taking the ball and trading him for a treat when you want to leave. If you do this enough your dog will soon come to understand that when you say “all done” the activity is over.

The toy should always come from you and you invite the dog to play with it, not the other way around. To give you an example, Darcy was always going to grab his ball and would drop it in front of people’s feet or in their lap and push it at them to play when they came to visit. Now the toys go away in a box and I bring them out when it suits me and offer the game. When we’re done I say ‘finish’ in a firm voice and calmly put it away. He now knows that the game is done and settles down nicely so I reward that calm behaviour as soon as it is displayed. You make the toy come to life and then make it go very still, and as soon as they let go say “give” so they begin to understand that cue. Make eye contact and wait for, or encourage, eye contact before you throw the ball or invite tug play and mark with “yes” or “ok” as soon as they look and the reward with the ball or play. Be careful what you reward and do not inadvertently teach unwanted behaviours. Finish – and mean it, when you stop the game always ends with the same cue like or “finish” and PUT THE TOY, BALL OR TUG AWAY.