Help! “My dog is obsessed with balls!” does that sound familiar? if you have a dog that is overly excited when he sees or encounters a ball you’re probably wondering why is your dog obsessed, is it normal? and what you can do about your ball obsessed pup!
How Can You Tell If “My Dog Is Obsessed With Balls?”
Some easy signs to look for are:
Fixation when you pull out a ball
The first sign that your dog may be a bit obsessed with balls is if your dog gets fixated and you are unable to break your dog’s attention from staring at the ball.
Possessiveness
If your dog starts becoming a bit possessive towards the ball, showing behaviors such as avoiding you when he has the ball, growling when you get close, your dog may look at the ball as high value and can become an issue.
Anxiety
If your dog starts displaying signs of anxiety such as whining and vocalizing your dog may little too obsessed with the ball
Why Ball Obsession Can Be An Issue
Having a dog that is obsessed with a ball can become an issue when your dog views the ball as more relevant than you and anything around him.
This state of mind will essentially ensure conflict between your dog and others, many dog fights occur due to competition for high-value resources between dogs.
You also don’t want to make it a habit of being fixated and obsessed with the ball. Many dog behaviors start as voluntary but with enough repetition, the behavior becomes involuntary meaning your dog won’t be able to control how he responds instead it will be “auto-response”
Although having your dog being obsessed with a ball is an issue there are a couple of ways to combat these issues.
How To Handle A Ball Obsessed Dog.
Teach Rules of play
The first way to tackle the issue of your dog being obsessed with balls is simply teaching your dog some play rules.
The play rules we teach all of our dogs at awoken k9 are simply that you bring the toy back and that you let go of the ball when told to.
You don’t want your dog avoiding you, the way we teach our dogs these rules are by simply showing them that following these rules starts the game back up!
Build Your Dogs Impulse Around Balls
If your dog is obsessed with balls its safe to say that you have to build your dog’s impulse around balls.
The way you can start building your dogs impulse around balls is by simply asking your dog to lay down and not touch the balls when he does this correctly use what your dog wants which is the balls and play with him, rewarding his efforts
Teach Your Dog When The Game Is Over
when you understand that “My Dog Is Obsessed With Balls” one simple way to tackle the issue is to teach your dog when the game is over
Many times dogs think that we just want to take the toy away from them and avoid us to prevent that from occurring
To prevent your dog from assuming that every time you call him you want what he has, teach your dog a command that signifies “we are done with this activity”
You can teach this by simply say “all Done” taking the ball and trading him for a treat when you want to leave.
If you do this enough your dog will soon come to understand that when you say “all done” the activity is over.
Outlet
As an owner realizing that “My Dog Is Obsessed With Balls” actually has benefits like using the ball as an outlet for your pup.
Once your dog clearly understands the rules of play a good way to use the balls your dog is obsessed with is as an outlet to tire your pup out!
Playing fetch is a great outlet for your dog because you build your relationship with your dog by playing an interactive game of fetch!
Ball As A Reward
If your dog is obsessed with balls it allows you to use the balls as a reward for your dog performing behaviors you want, like sitting politely!
The name of the game is to use what your dog loves to reward the right behavior and not the bad ones.
For instance, if your dog jumps on you and you give him the ball your dog will soon learn to jump on you every time that he wants to play
Instead, be sure to give your dogs commands that your dog understands and reward him with play once he bedrooms the behaviors
Conclusion
If you realized that “my dog is obsessed with balls” there’s no need to worry, that just lets you know that you have to work on impulse and obedience around the ball using the ball.
You can use the ball itself as a reward and provide your dog with physical and mental stimulation, remember to teach your dog the rules of play which will ensure that your ball obsessed pup has boundaries and rules in play!
To awaken your dog’s true potential contact us here or Give us a call!
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