Tennis ball that is.

When we're in the house, it's a struggle to keep his slobbery tennis ball out of our faces, off the keyboard, out of our dinner, out of the toilet. He's a year old Lab so very playful and we love him to bits.

At the park is a whole other story. We throw the ball, he races as fast as his legs will carry him. He skids through the mud and tail frantically waving in a cloud of ears and saliva he bounds back all excited and then... nothing. If we bend down, he runs back a few metres, if we stand up, he comes back, sits just a few inches away looking up at us.

I know what he wants to play but when the ball is that slimy, it's very hard to win so for the last few weeks, I've just refused to play that game. I started just standing still and ignoring him until he drops it. To start with, it worked. I reinforced it with the command 'drop', praised him and continued playing fetch. Recently he's taking longer and longer. Today I stood in the rain motionless for 10 minutes before he finally gave up and dropped it but he just sits there.

I'm anxious to get him as tired as possible. With winter setting in, we're getting less time out between rain storms so the more exercise he gets in those hour long bursts, the better.

With a ball to play with, he doesn't respond to treats or food at all even when hungry, he doesn't respond in the right way to another ball (he will chase a second then choose one to bring back leaving the other wherever it landed) and I've no idea how Cesar 'claims' a ball which a dog is holding. Sometimes if I get a chance to grab the ball, I can stare him into letting go but getting that chance is not easy.

Any ideas?

Sounds to me as if you have a dog there who would like very much to work! When the forces take on dogs for training a big bonus is if a dog is obsessed by a particular toy.

Are you doing anything with him?
DT

He's definitely eager and quick to learn most things, all we're doing is trying to calm down certain behaviours (barking at strangers in the dark) and training for entertaining tricks and safety 'tricks'.

I don't know if he'll be reliable enough for work, fetch can be troublesome when he gets overexcited and shoots off in the wrong direction making me walk almost all the way to the target before he grabs it and pretends he did all the work. Most of the time he can pick up the scent but sometimes he just never gets near enough and needs a helping hand.

But he's definitely obsessed with tennis balls. He'll chase anything we throw but the tennis ball is definitely a favourite, we're getting through one every couple of days.

Try taking more than one ball? But din't throw the second one until he drops the first. he will soon realise that another ball gets thrown.

Also work on the command at home. Although he gives the ball to you all the time at home, you should still give the command

x

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I've tried the first one. He only drops the first ball when he's making the grab for the second. Unfortunately he gets a bit over excited and this usually results in some painful fingers so I had to stop doing it. I'm fast, but he's faster.

Reinforcing it at home is a good idea actually, it's so obvious I never thought about it. When we're not playing and he drops the ball on the laptop, in the bath etc. we're not only not rewarding him for doing so, but sometimes even telling him 'no'. Not that it makes a difference indoors but it might be something he's taking outside.

Sometimes he tries playing in the car, and then it gets confiscated to the glove box before it rolls under the brake pedal. Again this could be reinforcing the opposite message.

Yes confiscting the ball might give him the idea that it gets taken off him if he drops it.

Also (personaly) I would NOT be allowing my dogs to play in the car AT ALL, the car is somewhere they Need to be calm at all times to avoid distracting while driving. So one thing I would definitely do is not alow him to have the ball in the car, then it won't get taken off him.


I taught my dog ''take it'' and ''give'' quite easily.

Take it I just siad the words as I let her close her mouth over the ball. 'Give', I would take the ball back off her.
I then built that up to 'drop' (anywhere) and 'give' (in my hand only) so she could be all the way accross the field but to fetch the ball she had to come back to my hand.

I then practices all over the place, in friends houses, in the garden, in a field, on the lead, off the lead etc so she learned to 'give' anyhwere.

x

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Hello
We were having the same problem with Bailey but have finally found what makes him tick!! If I turn my back to him he drops the ball after about 60 seconds and retreats so I can pick it up! If I face him he will hang on to it much much longer. Maybe worth a try............
Also when it is game over and I want the ball back for good I 'swap' it for a treat - he seems to be learning the word swap and (very slowly) realised that he couldn't eat the treat without dropping the ball. I have to grab the ball and put it away before he gets the treat though otherwise he is just too quick!
Good luck!!

I taught "drop" by showing my dog a treat. he's very treat orientated so I just showed him a treat, and he dropped the ball and he got the treat. works well and you can add a command, like "drop".

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hi, even if he seems not interested in a second bal you just make sure you always have 2 or even 3 and keep firing,
it will not happen overnight, but I kinda achieved good results with an impossible one on Sunday this way. Not even my dog and the owner thought it impossible.

I would throw the ball and when she gets to it and starts running around I call u to her and show the second ball, the minute she starts coming over I throw the second, if she ignored the second ball then walk I would away and let her follow me alittle and start over; after a while she started walking back to me with the ball show the second ball, ask her to drop and as soon as she drops, even for a second I would verbally praise as good drop well done really excited and throw the ball in my hand without attempting to get to her ball first. Soon she learnt that second ball woudnt be thrown till she dropped. Second phase is to actually pick-up the ball with your left hand while she has her eyes locked on the ball on your right, try not to look at the ball on the ground or the dog will refocus the attention. If at this stage, she would not let me pick up I just walk away and start again. It will work though,but get your timing right with full praise when she drops.

AH I forgot. I claim things, but wouldnt pull from their mouth as it can wind the dog up. My dog drops anything, luckily, it wasnt always so! Puppy theeth are sharp!

I step on things I want to have, ideally, when the dog is not focused on them, try a distraction first and then step on the ball till they give up. Treat and praise when he does. You must not let them have what is under your foot, give them something else if you have to in exchange.