Question:

I have recently adopted a rescue dog. He is perfect in almost every way for our family. He is mature, obedient and wants to please. I work full time and he stays home during the day and sleeps, patiently waiting for us to return. I exercise him daily with at least one half hour walk and try to supplement with at least 5 days of intensive ball-playing because this is his passion.

Here is my question: His obsession with the ball is so great that whenever he sees anyone “new,” he has to bug and bug and bug them to play ball with him. This is so annoying and I do not know how to break him of this habit. For example, someone comes to the house. Rather than greeting the guest, he will either find a ball or keep jumping up and down and scratching at the place that he knows we keep the ball. No one can pet him, talk to him or see his normal, mellow self. He is distracted, hyper and will not give up on finding a ball to deposit in the guest’s lap. If there is more than one guest, he goes from person to person, begging for them to play catch. Sometimes at the park, he will take the ball to total strangers and engage them in a game of catch. The person will innocently oblige him by throwing the ball, then he will refuse to return it to me and insist on bringing it back to them. I appreciate that he is outgoing and friendly, but his manner is very off putting to most guests and I am not sure how to break this annoying behavior. It gets to the point where I do not like to have people over or I feel I have to isolate him because he is being such a pest. In the past our dogs have always been a part of our family and are included in as many activities as possible.

BTW, this annoying ball behavior even extends to us when we arrive home and he will keep it up as long as we allow it and it always takes a very stern “no ball!” to stop him, usually accompanied by clapping hands, which he does not like. I have to do this many times until he finally gives up. Under circumstances where the ball is not involved, he is usually very calm natured and obedient. When there is a ball involved, he becomes hyper and does not seem to be able to listen or hear.

ANSWER:

The key to fixing this behavior is by starting to focus on what you would rather see, instead of what is already annoying you. As dog owners it is a common trap to fall into where we focus on the negative. Our words are different but often follow the same ideas, “I just wish this dog would stop doing this!”

I sympathize with you. A dog with an obsessive compulsion can be quite annoying for sure. But instead of focusing on the behavior you dislike, what would you rather see? What would things look like when people came over and your dog didn’t start hassling them?

Too often a dog owner will say they just want a dog to stop. Dogs aren’t always very creative, though, so asking them to stop is futile. “So you want me to stop doing this with the ball? Well, what should I do?”

I like to look to obedience as my means of controlling an obsessive compulsion. For example, when people enter your home, your dog can’t annoy them if he is lying down in his bed and staying like you told him, it would be impossible. At the park, your dog can’t annoy anyone else if he comes when called.

What you really have is not a problem with ball obsession. What you have is a problem with obedience. What I recommend is going back to the fundamentals of leash training. When your guests come over use leash training to teach your dog to do what you would rather have him do. I used lying down and staying as one example but there are myriad commands that you can have your dog perform that would make being a nuisance impossible.

As you continue to reinforce obedience commands with the leash you will gradually wean your dog off the leash and have a dog that listens to voice commands even in the face of distraction.

Ty Brown is an expert dog trainer, author, and speaker who specializes in obedience training, behavior modification, protection dog training, and narcotics dogs. To learn more about Ty and the dog training services he offers, visit www.dogbehavioronline.com