Ace and I have avoided the dog park for the past few weeks because he sees it as a yard full of tennis balls and typically becomes totally fixated on a ball within seconds from arriving. When he’s off leash at the dog park, it’s harder to control him and prevent him from fixating on a ball. Instead, I’ve been working with him at other parks and at home so he can learn to control himself around tennis balls, to make eye contact and to “leave it” when I tell him.
Last week, I decided to take Ace to the dog park for two short trips. I wanted to visit the dog park when no one else was around so I could really focus on Ace and correct him every time he tried to pick up a ball. To “correct” him, I usually snap my fingers or say “hey!” and then move into his space so he backs away from the ball on his own and looks at me instead. For now, I don’t allow Ace to even touch a tennis ball at the dog park because that is where he becomes the most fixated. He totally zones out at the dog park, focusing on nothing but a ball.
At home, it works to ignore Ace or turn my back to him when he brings me a ball, but at the park this won’t work because he will stand there fixated on a ball even if no one is willing to throw it. However, most of the time there is some random person totally impressed by Ace’s retrieving “skills” who wants to throw the ball over and over for him. “Wow! How did you get him to do this?” is a common reaction. “He’s trained so well!” Um, yeah … real well.
So, during our first return trip to the dog park there were about five dogs there. Although I’d hoped the park would be empty, I decided to give it a try anyway, just to see how our progress was going. Ace did not attempt to pick up a ball, which is a huge step for him. When the other dogs smelled him, he acknowledged them and didn’t run around like an idiot looking for a ball right away. Most of all, he did not become fixated. After ten minutes of success, we left. I wanted to leave with things going well so Ace could experience a normal trip to the dog park.
For our second trip to the same dog park, it was just Ace and I. We stayed for a short amount of time this trip as well. Ace did not become fixated on a ball that day either. He ran to a few tennis balls but then looked at me and did not pick them up or become fixated. He walked around smelling the grass instead. I did tell him to “leave it” a few times. Again, we left after about ten minutes.
At home, I still keep Ace’s toys out. The only time he becomes fixated is right away in the morning when he has the most energy. It works to ignore him, look the other way or leave the room when he obsessively wants me to throw something.
(This is day 15 of my 30-day challenge to break my dog’s ball obsession. This is not a challenge to break his obsession within 30 days, but to make working on this issue with him a habit for me. Click here to read about my dog’s fixation. Click here to read my other 30-day challenge posts.)
(Ace not pictured, image from flickr.com)
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September 15th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Yeah – it is quite funny that some believe you have to train a dog to play fetch. I sort of believe you either have a “fetch dog” or you don’t. Congratulations on working toward your goal with Ace’s obsession.
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September 16th, 2008 at 7:27 am
I sure didn’t train my dog to play fetch, anyway. I just encouraged it.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Wow Lindsay! That’s huge progress! To hear that Ace is starting to interact with the other dogs in environments that he already had established patterns of getting fixated on the tennis balls instead, is really great. I’m really impressed!
May 1st, 2009 at 11:45 am
this is a great stratage but is really hard for me to do because my dog can over power me she is very stron and trust me i am not a small guy.my dog “sugar” is so fixated all the time and it doesnt matter what the object. Could be garbage, a piece of her ripped toy, a pine cone even something as crazy as a blade of grass. this is also very hard because if she knows i am going to take her toy away i cant get it out of her mouth way to strong. and i dont agree with your opening statement about how ace got that way. because i have owned my dog sence four weeks old and i run and hike with her constantly on a daily bases. please any help HELP!! she is going to kill herself over it and i can tell she is not happy. busta4rl@aol.com (801)910-9116
May 5th, 2009 at 6:57 am
I do believe that dogs develop these kinds of issues from a lack of exercise and a lack of rules. Ace was without both these things for a year. He is also a submissive dog and tennis balls were one thing he was able to control.
How much obedience work has Sugar had? Does she heel reliably or does she pull you? Does she stay no matter what? Come when called? All of these things are ways you can show your leadership and teach her to respond better to you. Exercise is very important, but so is training. If you have already mastered these things, then you can start incorporating objects she is likely to obsess over and create small challenges for her where she has to ignore them.
Strategically place the object in her path when you are practicing heeling, for example. Please it beside her and encourage her to look at you instead. Place it next to her and then get her to come when called and leave the object. Teach her the “leave it” and “drop” commands.
You will have to start very small and slowly increase the challenges, making sure she is able to be successful.
You could also introduce new activities and challenges into her life. Have her wear a dog backpack or take her to agility to help get rid of some extra physical and mental energy. Also work on getting her to calm down by working on having her lie down and stay for up to a half-hour. Most dogs know how to get riled up, but they don’t know how to calm down.
Good luck!!
September 14th, 2009 at 8:26 am
This was a good read for me. With my dog, she gets fixated in chasing other dogs at the park, particularly if it’s a lab or a weimer. that is playing fetch. She is part German Shepherd and Hound, high-energy, low/loud bark, and barks a LOT (sometimes non-stop) when she focuses on chasing a dog. To me it seems like she is displaying “herding” behaviors because she only does this to get dogs to run at the park. However, once she focuses on chasing, herding, and barking at one dog, she will not listen to “come” and will give me the run-around (literally) if I try to grab her and get her under control.
She is never aggressive in terms of attacking, biting, or growling. Just very persistent and noisy, but all the while playful. I don’t mind the barking because she never turns it into anything bad or aggressive, but I have come across several people that are quite annoyed by it. One thing I have heard is that they are worried their dog will snap at mine if she doesn’t stop barking. I am opposed to bark collars and continuous negative reinforcement. Has anyone else had a problem like this, and how did you fix it?
September 14th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Honestly that behavior would drive me crazy, and it is possible another dog could misinterpret her behavior and attack. Barking is a hard habit to break, though.
Teach your dog to be calm around other dogs. When she becomes too excited and barks, leash her up and maker her lie down until she is calm. Use her favorite food as motivation. As a reward for being calm, she gets to go play some more. It would be easier if you did this with small groups at first with just one other dog and then try this at the dog park.
If she is barking and excited before you even enter the park, simply turn and walk the other way. Teach her that she can’t even go into the park unless she is calm. It helps to go for a good long walk before going to the dog park. Don’t use the park as her only exercise.
Good luck!