Why is ball chasing bad for dogs?

Ball throwing has a very high impact on the joints. In younger dogs, this is a worry. Puppies are growing and concussions on growing joints can be a concern. This high-impact activity can also adversely affect senior dogs with arthritic joints and those dogs who are overweight are more likely to get injured due to the excess weight. Dogs will keep going and some breeds can overexert themselves as they become so enthusiastic about fetching the ball but are exhausted. Damage to ligaments – If you are ball throwing in the woods or on hilly terrain, watch out for obstacles, your dog may be so focused on the ball that they don’t see hazards such as ditches, low fences, and uneven ground. This can lead to more injuries or strains, especially on the cruciate ligaments, which are those in the knee. The body’s movement that goes through this process of chasing, jumping, or turning awkwardly is not great exercise. Studies show canine arthritis can be prevented with less trauma to the joints, and repetitive actions such as ball throwing.

Ball chasing is often reward-based, so a high drive dog will continue to perform over and over (even if they're in physical pain). While repetitively chasing the ball, the brain releases adrenalin for a prolonged period of time. Too much adrenalin causes heart damage, insomnia, and a jittery, nervous feeling. Meanwhile, cortisol is released which causes frantic behaviors and frustration. Repetitive ball chasing causes micro-trauma to muscle and cartilage which leads to long-term damage. When dogs pick up a ball and hold it in their mouth, the ball forces dogs to redistribute their weight to put more pressure on their front legs. This puts more stress on the joints in the front legs. The movements necessary to stop running often result in shoulder injuries.

At first it’s all fun and games, but the impact that a ball obsession can have on a dog’s body does not bode well for them as they move into old age so, as hard as it is, the kindest thing you can do is keep jarring ball chasing to a minimum. It can also become increasingly frustrating if your dog continually ignores you when they are in this ‘zone’ and hard to understand why your usually obedient dog has suddenly gone deaf to your please to ‘stop’. When a dog is in this prey drive it is actually experiencing a drug-like induced high as their body releases endorphins that make them feel good, which as we all know can be addictive and therefore explains why they keep wanting to do it despite us trying to ignore them, hide the ball or stick, shouting at them to stop and so on. If this kind of play is done correctly it will not only help exercise your dog, build stamina and strength but it will also help your dog to learn to focus and engage with you even when it is in prey drive. It is all about it being on your terms, not theirs and it is also important that if your dog is pulling up sore, or is starting to age, that you shift to games that are more gentle on their joints like tug-o-war or treat treasure hunt to help avoid osteoarthritis and other joint pain.

Dogs carry around 60% of their weight through their forelimbs, and 40% of their weight through their hind limbs, and the front limbs actually are not attached by bone to the skeleton, which is what enables dogs to take longer strides with their front legs and thereby move more efficiently. The front limbs are attached to the skeleton by a group of muscles, and these muscles also support that 60% of the dog’s body weight. With our dogs, if we throw a ball, especially with those far to widely available ball chuckers, where we ask the dog to repeatedly run from a standstill to a fast run, sharply stop and often skid, jump or twist in order to get the ball, and then run fast back again, there are huge forces placed through that dog’s skeleton and muscles. Dogs’ muscles and skeletons are simply not designed for these kind of movements…it is not natural for a dog to brake, twist, jump and skid to a halt. This constant micro trauma that is placed on the muscles and joints can cause longer term damage and can also cause the dog to compensate for these injuries in the way that they move or stand, to take pressure off the painful area, thereby causing additional problems. On top of the damage that can easily be caused by these repetitive movements involved in chasing a ball, generally when a dog is engaging in ball chasing, they have not had the opportunity to fully “warm up” their muscles. No warm up and no cooldown = increased likelihood of damage. Can increase pain If you have a dog who already has arthritis, or has elbow or hip dysplasia for example, having them chasing a ball can mean that the joint disease will progress faster than it would without those activities. Dogs will still chase a ball even when they are in pain – dogs tolerate a huge amount of pain, and if a ball is thrown more often than not, adrenaline will kick in which will, temporarily, override the pain they feel. But once that adrenaline has gone, the pain will be back and most likely will be worse.

Not only can the activity be dangerous for the dog’s limbs, especially the ligaments in the toes, wrists and knees, but if the ball is bouncing off in unpredictable directions we are also risking injuries to other parts of the body. Moreover, the majority of ball-throwing enthusiasts are not properly warming up their dog before the activity or cooling them down afterwards, and this, in addition to imposing excessive stress on body structures due to repetitive movements, certainly increases the potential risk of injury or the development of chronic issues in the long term. Repetitive ball throwing also increases the dog's arousal state and adrenaline level, which can actually take up to a couple of more hours before it drops again, and dogs often demand and need more and more of it as time goes by. For a dog to be calm and cool at home, there is no need to overtire them physically; in fact, this can be counter-productive.