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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.
Apryl DeLanceys last blog post..Tales From The Inbox - September 13, 2008
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!