Question:

Hello, I have a four year old german shepard that is obessed with balls. We adopted him and from the day we got him he loves to play with toys but balls are his favorite. I have heard that working dogs need something to do contribute to the “Pack”, however it seems that no matter how often I play fetch with him he is never satisfied. He never really just is a “dog.” So my question is, is this normal healthy behavior? I know this may sound weird but he actually acts depressed if he is not playing with the ball. He will place the ball right by his nose when he lays down and stares at me until something happens..it drives me nuts and if I put the ball up he lays there, heavy sighs and stares at me until he gets his ball back…help! Other then that he is a great dog, very obedient, responds to commands, very rarely barks.

ANSWER:

The most important thing to remember here is that dogs do what works. If something pays well, they try again later. If it doesn’t, they eventually stop.

What you have done is trained a very successful “lie down and stare at me” behavior, also known as “Down Stay.” It’s pretty cool, actually, but the problem is that it’s not when you ask for it, he’s just doing it on his own, so it’s annoying.

I find that most ball-obsessed dogs are actually kind of glad that the ball is gone, if they truly believe it’s gone. My own dog, Peanut, relaxes entirely when I say “all gone” and put the ball away. If he doesn’t believe me, though, say I leave the ball on the table and say it’s “all gone,” he just keeps staring back and forth between the ball and me like I’m an idiot for not noticing the slobbery green ball on the table.

So what to do? I’d teach “All Gone” and “Down Stay” as opposite cues.

• When you say it’s gone, you have to mean it. Don’t cave in.

• Say “All gone” and put it in a cupboard.

• Get a book or whatever it takes to ignore the dog. Do NOT bring out the ball if he asks you for it in any way.

• When you do want to fetch, when he’s not begging for the ball, say, “Where’s your ball?” and go to the cupboard to get it.

• During fetch, you can say, “Down” and then “Stay” and wait a bit. When you see him relax at all or give you nice eye contact, release by saying “Free,” waiting 1 second, and then tossing the ball. If he moves during his stay, go back to number 2 – say” All Gone” and put the ball away.

Alternate between those two tasks, always saying “All Gone” at the end of a session and then ignoring him. I also use a hand signal, as dogs understand those more quickly. My hand signal is showing that my hands are empty – holding out one or both hands and rotating them.

The beauty of the “All Gone” hand signal or verbal cue is that you can use it to say that the dog can’t get anything from you. I use it when I’m done petting, when Peanut wants up on the bed and I don’t want to let him, during meals, or after the squirrel he’s chasing is gone.

On a different note, the kind of exercise that may be best for your ball-obsessed guy might be a long, fun walk, rather than obsessive-compulsive fetching, which gets him all revved up.

Only good things,

Grisha

Grisha Stewart, MA, CPDT, CTP

Voted as Seattle’s Top Dog Trainer by the readers of CityDog Magazine, Grisha Stewart is the owner and founder of Ahimsa Dog Training in Seattle, WA. Grisha is a Certified Training Partner from the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior, a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and since 2002, an active member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She attends several training and behavior workshops each year and is a certified Pet First Aid attendant and evaluator for the Canine Good Citizen program.

For more information on Grisha and Ahimsa Dog Training in the Seattle, Washington area, visit www.ahimsadogtraining.com.