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Only wants to play ball…
Hello DD professionals!
I just started my career as a dog trainer and I’m currently working with shelter dogs a lot. One of them got adopted (yay!) – Dewey, male ~2-3 years old.
I’ve never met a dog like him before. The only one thing he wants to do is to play with ball. Time to time he can take treats but he doesn’t follow the lure. he is also grabby with treats. He likes people but usually likes to be on his own. It took me 6 months for him to feel comfortable around me and not hiding toys. He used to take a toy and run away. Right now he can come up to me and Drop the toy and I throw another one. It is the progress but I don’t know how to use toys successfully in basic obedience training or leash manners. As soon as he sees the ball he is out! do i need to hide all the toys before training session? Or do I use them as a reward ????
He got adopted recently and his new owner reached out to me for help with training. The main problem I have is to how can I use the ball/toys to teach him basic manners without loosing my hand ???? or any other suggestions you have! Thank you!!!
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12 Replies
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@AlinaKhuzhina
First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your start of your dog training career and you shooter work! That’s awesome about Dewey bonding with you and you learning what makes him tick!
Toy training can be fun, but it definitely is harder. I think you’re on the right track with presenting another toy once he brings you one.
In my own experience (4 years as a R+ trainer), I usually can find some kind of food treat for most dogs. I have had a few with a very high play drive though, and it’s fun to get a group of the exact SAME toy when working with these dogs.
Examples of obedience training in play:
*Asking dog for a Sit or Down before you throw the toy/ball. On their retrieval and return to you, present another of the same toy and say the word “Drop”. Usually the dog sees that same toy in your hand and automatically drops the one in their mouth. If not, try putting it close to their nose and they will likely drop.
*With a flirt pole, ask for a behavior and when they complete it, make the toy move for them around on the ground. Let them chase and catch it. Then, ask for a Drop. When they do, make the toy move again! It takes some finagling and trust to develop, but always give them the toy as the reward.
I’m sure others will have great ideas! Just wanted to get those to you ASAP. You’re already off to a great start, I think! Kudos on getting the referral to a dog you already know! Woohoo!
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Thank you so much!!! I’ll try it!:)
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Hi Alina,
Congratulations on your successes and relationships!!
I highly recommend playing the game “It’sYerChoice”
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Thank you so much! I will try it too!!!
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Love Susan Garrett!!
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Me too!!!
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What a cool video!! ????????
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Hi @AlinaKhuzhina – this is a great question – I’m sure you are not alone with having this experience. Those highly excited, ball-crazy dogs can be super difficult. How wonderful that you thought to use another toy to begin. And congratulations on your first client! woot!
Take a look in Digging Dogs for the SEED posts as you consider a plan for this pup. Coming out of the shelter, and transitioning into a home will require a lot of decompression time and some thought for meeting all of his needs.
Sometimes dogs become “ball addicts” simply because that’s how they learned to get dopamine. It’s important to teach them how to chillax, in order to be successful in a home. And to do that, the SEED program is one way to organize all of the things.
Take a look and be sure to come back here with any questions, or post questions directly on the SEED posts. Good luck!!
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Omg! Thank you so much!!! It feels so great to know that I’m not alone ???? thank you for your help!!! I definitely will post an update!
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So glad you are here! And we’re with you, every step! ????
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Hi Alina! How’s everything going?
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Hi @AlinaKhuzhina , I missed this original post from last month and am just reading now. Wanted to mention that you can build value into food/treats. But careful selection of treats can help, too — for example, fresh proteins may pique his interest, and scheduling the training sessions before meals may help a bit too. If the dog is used to fetching outside, I’d introduce simple training sessions — with treats — inside at first.
Years ago, I had a BC who was normally very food and tug-motivated. However, in the presence of sheep, these ‘rewards’ were meaningless to him. So I began working with him at a great distance from the sheep. If he swallowed the steak I offered, the real reward was inching closer to the sheep. (At first, he was hilarious — he’d take the steak and then spit it out as soon as my back was turned!) Same with tug — play a bit of tug to get closer to the sheep. Because the treats and the tug toy were consistently paired with the truly valuable reward of getting closer to the sheep, they slowly and steadily became infused with greater value. Before long, Finn was very willing to work in the presence of the sheep for treats and tug.So, in your case, you could require Dewey to eat a treat before you tossed the toy. When he’s taking the food readily, you can begin folding in simple obedience skills. Ex: ask him to sit, reward with treat, then toss toy. Gradually, you’ll eliminate the toy-toss for some of the training reps.
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