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Apparently my blog is contributing more to society than I realized.
I do love how WordPress has the ability to show me how people are finding my site … although I’ve learned sometimes it’s better not to know. ...
Archive for the 'ball obsession' Category
I know we all have a lot we could say for this one. There are so many things we could change about our dogs if we really wanted, and yet, part of owning a dog is tolerating the fact that they are dogs and they do dog things. There are many, many things about our dogs we choose to accept or can’t control. What are some behaviors you tolerate from your dog?
The list goes on and on for me. I’ve been working ...
It’s rewarding for me to work with dogs because they’ve taught me that with time and patience, dogs and owners can overcome almost anything. It’s just up to the owner to make changes. After all, most problems are the human’s fault to begin with.
So many retrievers are obsessed with tennis balls, so many border collies and other breeds are fixated on Frisbees, squirrels, cats. Some of these dog ...
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For those of you who are sick of hearing about this crazy retriever and his ball, our challenge is almost over. Ace (not pictured) is far from cured of his obsession, but at least we are making progress in the right direction.
I took ...
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Ace and I visited family last weekend, and he had the chance to play some fetch in my grandpa’s backyard (the “family” even posed for this group shot). At first I thought he would be too obsessed to be allowed to play ...
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Since I’ve been doing most of my work with Ace (not pictured) outside, I decided to try working with him indoors. We basically did some of the same exercises we’ve tried before, I just want him to know he is expected to fo ...
I needed a little inspiration today, so I found a clip from a Dog Whisperer episode where a dog has an obsession with rocks. This dog’s rock obsession is very similar to Ace’s ball obsession.
Anyway, Ace and I are making slight progress. I’m not sure if anyone else would notice the difference, but I am starting to see some change so that makes it worth it to me. For example, Ace will play with a ba ...
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 tenni ...
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I am continuing to work on breaking Ace’s tennis ball obsession. One small step he’s made is he has the command “leave it” down really well. He will at least leave a ball on the ground and follow me when I tell ...
Some people have made it clear that I am nuts for trying to stop a Labrador from being obsessed with a ball or that what I am doing is wrong. But I think it’s because people misunderstand my goals. My dog is part lab, and that means he will always, always love playing fetch and retrieving. Chasing, finding and bringing things back is driven into him, and I would never take that away. Retrieving is a quality man ...
