poodle and ball obession

[nicole08/77]

my poodle has a ball obsession that is not normal she can play catch the ball 24-7 per day. help! it is driving everyone crazy in this house!! her mommy

[drchasuble]

How old is she and what does she do if you take the ball away from her?

I have a year old Jack Russell who adores her toys and I try to have a good long play with her every evening. I then remove the toys and give her something like a hide chewstick or rag toy (even a carrot or half an apple!) that she can concentrate on without being dispruptive.

[doglady]

I had to blood my tennis ball obsessed dog to get him less keen on them. I borrowed all the tennis balls I could find, and evry evening I shut him in the kitchen with about 200 tennis balls. He got so sick of the sight of them after a couple of weeks that he gives them back no problem now.

Good luck!!

[doglady]

Sorry. that should have been flood, not blood!!

[maggie01]

We have the same problem with stones. My eldest one will constantly go out into the garden and bring in a stone, even though there is probably about half a dozen already there. She has lots of toys but still prefers the stones. I worry about her teeth but it is an obsession which we haven't been able to stop and she is 7yrs old now. We should have kept them from day one and we would probably have enough to build a small wall by now.

[nicole08/77]

Maggie is 4 yrs old. and I do put the ball away through the day but she just stares at it. Then when I do stand to move about the house she starts all over again crying and wanting to go outside and play ball and yes we do play ball and everyone eles that comes here.

[eileenb]

Thanks everyone
It seems our loopy border collie isn't the only dog obsessed by balls and stones.

[drgnrdr]

Just a quick note...make sure the balls are the ones made for dogs...reg. tennis balls have a diff. rubber and abrasive felt on them, after the dog keeps chompping on them it rubs against their teeth and wears them down. Many dogs over time have gotten stubs for teeth, just an FYI.
To change an obsessive behavior of any kind, teach substitute behaviors the dog can use to cope with whatever feelings are prompting the inappropriate behavior. You do this over and over and over until the dog forms habits of switching to the alternative behaviors without your reminders. You avoid creating new problems by doing the switches in a positive manner, so the dog doesn�t develop any fear or other hang-ups about the training or about the new behaviors.
It�s essential to teach multiple alternative behaviors. You don�t want to teach a dog just one new behavior to substitute for the obsession, or you could wind up with a new obsession! Variety is very important.
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