Non-motoring > Dog training - dropping ball Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bobby Replies: 37

 Dog training - dropping ball - Bobby
Looking for advice from any dog owners.

My 3 year old lab is relatively well trained. Almost exclusively walks off lead, recall is probably about 90%, will sit, will come to heel, will leave food that I have placed in from of him until I have told to go and eat it (doesn't stop his drool mind you).

We have never really bothered too much about balls as every time he got a tennis ball he has chewed it beyond recognition in minutes. But missus recently got a ball thrower and a plastic based ball that seems much more durable.

So we have a new lease of life with the game of launching the ball and he chases after it. He loves it. He will run, fetch the ball, and come running back to me. But he will then stay close to me . panting (obviously) and chewing the ball in his mouth. But absolutely nothing that I can do will persuade him to drop the ball. Normaly if I shout "leave" he will stop whatever he is doing but not this time. Trying to entice him with a treat when he returns with the ball but he is not interested. Occasionally he will obey my "heel" and "sit" instructions at this point but nothing will get him to drop the ball.

There is obviously ingrained habit here that I am now trying to change. The habit of having a ball in his mouth and just chewing it. I now want him to drop it.

Any advice on how to do this?
 Dog training - dropping ball - bathtub tom
I don't know if you will. He's had three years of chewing balls and that has become his normal.

On the subject of dropping it, I was taught the dog should hand the object to you and not drop it. If it was a winged bird for example, it could escape between dropping it and you collecting it.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Bobby
to be fair he hasn't - anytime he got a ball he chewed it so as a result, he very rarely got a ball.
But yeah, has never had the habits changed
 Dog training - dropping ball - Fullchat
We foster Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

Our current 5 year old black Lab dog is a ball retainer as you describe. Infact on the beach he can accomplish collecting and retaining someone else's ball at the same time. The record is 3.

The last one was a black Lab bitch. She would come back to you but giving up the ball was a struggle. If you pointed and said "What's that?" she would turn her head in the direction and drop the ball.

My friends Cockapoo will return with the ball and throw it a your feet all day long.

I'll watch this thread with interest.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Bobby
Just an addendum - yesterday up the park there was another dog playing - my lab ran, got the ball, ran to the other guy and dropped the ball at his feet! So he does no what to do!

And, also, in the house if he decides he wants to play, he will get a ball out his toybox and bring it over and drop it at your feet.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
My first question is "why are you bothered"? It seems to be more a case of your need rather than your dogs. If he is happy running after a ball then coming back to you and chewing it, whats the problem, he seems happy.

Anyway, the answer is simple, you have more than one ball.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Bobby
If I leave him to chew it, even though it’s plastic, he will eventually destroy it.

He enjoys chasing after the ball and bringing it back.

I’ll try taking a second ball though from previous experience he can carry two balls and a stick in his mouth at the one time!
 Dog training - dropping ball - Duncan
>> If I leave him to chew it, even though it’s plastic, he will eventually destroy
>> it.

Your local tennis club will have loads of used tennis balls which they will give you, or exchange for a modest sum of money.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Bobby
I’m in Lanarkshire. There is no such thing as a “local tennis club”!!!
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
>> I’m in Lanarkshire. There is no such thing as a “local tennis club”!!!

Dunc is so Surrey.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Duncan
>> >> I’m in Lanarkshire. There is no such thing as a “local tennis club”!!!
>>
>> Dunc is so Surrey.
>>

We have a very nice Scottish gentleman tennis player lives near me. Andrew Murray I think is his name.

Why the Scottish gentleman prefers Surrey to Scotland one can only speculate.

Would you like me to ask him if he has any balls?
 Dog training - dropping ball - RichardW
>> I’m in Lanarkshire. There is no such thing as a “local tennis club”!!!


Sure is www.lanarktennisclub.co.uk/

Local to me, but Lanarkshire's a big place, might not be so local to you!
 Dog training - dropping ball - Bobby
Richard, I’m nearer Eurocentral…….
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
>> If I leave him to chew it, even though it’s plastic, he will eventually destroy
>> it.

Right, ok so what we have is a habit you wish to stop for financial reasons - fair enough

Its possession, its his, he wants it, he wants to mangle it to death. In what way do you think taking it off him and throwing it away where he can see it, is going to diminish his possession desire? Its not is it, its going to make it worse, stronger. "I want my ball, I love destroying it, if I give it to this bloke he is going to chuck it away so he's NOT having it"

>> He enjoys chasing after the ball and bringing it back.

You are confusing your wants and desires and needs* to what the dog is doing. Clearly he doesnt enjoy any of those things in these circumstances more than he does chewing the ball. In front of you, "you are not having it, its mine."

So what to do? Carry multiple balls, but do not throw his fave ball. Throw the other ball, and when he comes back with it, offer him his fav ball as a swap, and let him chew it. DO NOT take it off him, trying to do that reinforces the possession. If he really enjoys the chase and return, he will drop the chew ball and chase after the "live" ball if you throw it again. You'll have to train it, and he has to know he will get his fave ball back EVERY time, he wont trust you for a while because you have been tricking him (in his mind) for far too long.

*its a human thing, it dredges up our hunter gatherer cave man inner bit, our dog will run off after prey and bring it back for us/look how well trained our dog is/look at out playful relationship.
Dog dont naturally "play" with humans, you have to teach them to do so.


Soapbox time

Ball launchers/chuck-its. Are Dangerous for the dog. Unless used correctly. How so? well invariably the dog and the ball meet just at the time the ball is bouncing in the air after landing. You have, say, 25 kilos of dog moving at 25 miles an hour suddenly trying to twist, up round and backwards because its invariably over run the ball. It looks spectacular but its Nasty, very nasty.

Does a chukit have a place? yes it does as long as you understand the above, and ensure the dog and ball never meet under those circumstances. Thats done by training yourself to do a long low shallow throw so the ball kicks forwards, or getting the dog to wait and chase on command when you know its going to be safe. I teach mine to be in a down, then run round behind me on command to chase after the ball in its later, safe, stages of movement. Sometimes I launch one ball, and when the dog is running back with it, launch another ball behind me, the same direction the dog is running, so it runs past me after the new ball, - try this with your dog Bobby. Its good natural safe exercise.

Final word of warning, Never Ever let a woman anywhere near a ball launcher. They are physically incapable of doing anything useful with it, bordering on the damn near lethal.






 Dog training - dropping ball - bathtub tom
>> Final word of warning, Never Ever let a woman anywhere near a ball launcher. They
>> are physically incapable of doing anything useful with it, bordering on the damn near lethal.

Sounds like the voice of experience.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Ted

>> Anyway, the answer is simple, you have more than one ball.
>>

........Unlike Herr Hitler !

Ted
 Dog training - dropping ball - Ted

Our little terrier, Millie, half Border terrier/ half Cairn (possibly) and a dash of rat is keen on the old tennis ball.

We play a sort of carpet shinty in the lounge at news time where I bat the ball around on the floor with my walking stick and she chases it round. She always brings it back, but on the first return she puts it into my hand and won't let go. I can lift her up without her teeth coming out and it's all accompanied by much growling....more gargling, really. I let her win it. After that she brings it back and drops it within range of my stick. It's all good exercise for us both !

She gets a good walk in the morning when my young neighbour and his primary school daughter take her to school and back. I sometimes wonder how her stumpy, 6 inch legs cope with it ( the dog's) . She meets other dogs in the park on the way back and they have a run about, off the lead.

Ted
 Dog training - dropping ball - Bobby
Had a strange experience tonight.

My dog off lead, out for night walk. Meet a man walking a golden retriever on an extendable lead. My dog trots past it and then the retriever goes after my dog.

Like something out a cartoon, the extendable lead quickly took up the slack then yanked the guy off his feet. He is lying spreadeagled on the pavement. He gets onto his knees and then launches and catches the lead handle but the retriever then pulls him through the grass adjacent to the pavement.

I check he is ok, he is obviously embarrassed and I just decide to get out the way. Just as I catch up to my dog I hear a loud yelp from the retriever. Not sure what the guy did but the dog didn’t appreciate it!

I like to think I’m a pretty good judge of dogs, the way the retrievers tale was wagging it just wanted to play.

 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
>> Had a strange experience tonight.
>>
>> My dog off lead, out for night walk. Meet a man walking a golden retriever
>> on an extendable lead.

Flexi leads are dangerous, for handler and dog. So dangerous to the point they should be banned.
 Dog training - dropping ball - smokie
Easier solution - ban dogs! :-)
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
Seems to me, dogs all over europe are trying hard to get rid of you
 Dog training - dropping ball - Dog
This is the type of ball my evil Beauceron plays chucky with. He will chew it, but it's very tough!

He drops the ball for us okay because he loves chucky so much (working breed, see)

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kong-Ball-/193511418580?var=&hash=item0

Also, my 2 monsters find these treats irresistible:

www.harringtonspetfood.com/products/dog-training-treats-100g



 Dog training - dropping ball - zippy
Doggy Z refuses to fetch and has never shown any interest in sticks or balls. Admittedly she's on the small side and a tennis ball would be just a bit smaller than her head.

Hide a treat somewhere though, or rustle a plastic packet (potentially containing a treat) and she will miraculously appear, even though she may have been 100 yards away.
 Dog training - dropping ball - martin aston
I walk a neighbour’s rough collie occasionally. He loves chasing a ball but then brings it back and drops it only to snatch it back if you try to pick it up. I have had some success in ignoring him until he really drops it, then doing the “good dog” bit. I think the problem is that he was a re homer at about a year old having lived in a stable yard so play training wasn’t a thing when he was young. Lovely gentle dog though with good recall.

He is unfortunately keen on picking up sticks, again learned before the neighbour took him on. Despite trying to stop this he had a horrendous accident last year (not on my watch) when he ran off with a substantial stick. He fell on it and it went through his throat and out of his neck. It was touch and go and several hundreds of pounds in vet’s fees. So I can vouch for the warnings about not throwing sticks for dogs. He was lucky to survive.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Dog
Sounds like my Pointer - he will look on with disdain from his chair in the sunroom, while my evil Beauceron runs himself ragged playing chucky.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Ted

On a par with Zippy. I can get the biscuit tin out of the kitchen cupboard, put the radio on full and open the tin absolutely silently. Put the lid down on a tea towel to muffle noise and she invariably appears from her sound sleep in the lounge and is looking round the kitchen unit in expectation of ' her ' share of my goodies.

Ted
 Dog training - dropping ball - MD
My Vet and two folk who train Collies say NEVER to us a ball launcher.

My Vet also added to stop throwing balls etc for dogs after the age of about seven.

I'm sure there will be a home counties retort to this so I'm going to sit under the table with my early Bank Hol beer.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
>> My Vet and two folk who train Collies say NEVER to us a ball launcher.
>>
>> My Vet also added to stop throwing balls etc for dogs after the age of
>> about seven.

Your vet also wants to spay bitches at 6 months....Your vet also wants to give your dog lepto 4 vaccine to puppies.

The ball launcher thing was fully explained by me, and the 7 year rule is tosh.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 2 May 22 at 17:14
 Dog training - dropping ball - MD
As predicted.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
Its about the only thing you got right. I notice you couldn't come up with an answer to very valid points.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 4 May 22 at 19:44
 Dog training - dropping ball - MD
You are a very opinionated objectionable man. I presume that I've got the gender correct.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
>> You are a very opinionated objectionable man. I presume that I've got the gender correct.

Did you bother to read my post about correct use of ball launchers? no. Did you stop your dogs chasing after things at 7? no.

Did you decide however to make a statement and have a pop at me at the same time? Yes you did. So who does that make objectionable?

Last edited by: Zero on Wed 4 May 22 at 19:53
 Dog training - dropping ball - zippy
>>Biscuits….

I was sitting in the garden with a cup of tea, reading a book with a custard crème resting on my knee.

Moments later, I noticed the fur ball walking across the patio with a custard crème in its mouth and thought, stupidly for a moment, that Mrs Z had given one to the dog as well!
 Dog training - dropping ball - smokie
Resurrected this thread as I didn't think this deserved one of it's on, but it made me smile.

drive.google.com/file/d/1NvRmpel-DW_29arwDvjIqSzgJ_ZsaGmd/view?usp=share_link


File will be unshared before too long
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
Did the run of temptation at a fun dog show once with my elder dog. She did it perfectly, The judge and I turned our back as she was congratulating me, turned round to find her half way up the course stuffing everything down her throat.

This is a good point to announce, my youngest has qualified for the South East and east anglia obedience team, and we will be competing at crufts 23 in the inter regional obedience competition.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Manatee
>>my youngest has qualified for the South East and east anglia obedience team

Please pass on my congratulations.
 Dog training - dropping ball - Zero
>> >>my youngest has qualified for the South East and east anglia obedience team
>>
>> Please pass on my congratulations.

That will be me. My youngest is my two year old Golden retriever!
 Dog training - dropping ball - Manatee


>>My youngest is my two year old Golden retriever!

That's who I meant. But congratulations to you as well.
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