Won't Give The Ball Up (again)

Hello folks --- I've had a look back & found one or two threads on the subject, but nothing in them that will help me.

Ruby loves to chase a ball (hers or any other dog's will do). She brings it back & then just teases & will not let go. Iv'e tried all sorts of treats, throwing another ball --- no good. Iv'e even tried the 'hissing can' --- worked once, then she got used to it.

However, if she is allowed to carry the ball home or back to the car, then she will drop it with no problem.

There is no aggression in her attitude, just being stubborn. Any ideas please?

get a bigger ball that she cant fit in her mouth

Nice try, but not really the answer when she pinches another dog's ball & you feel a prat taking forever to get it off her.

Have to try the Leave command again me thinks, or maybe try Drop.

Been there, done that. She will release a soft toy in the house, no problem, but out & about --- no chance.

Have you tried the STINKY FINGER method?

Paul H wrote:Have you tried the STINKY FINGER method?

Do tell me.

How good is your dog's 'Leave' response in general?

Paul H wrote:Have you tried the STINKY FINGER method?

Humour is a nice thing, but when somebody asks a serious question about correcting their dog's behaviour, that sort of humour isn't really appropriate.

Eleanor wrote:How good is your dog's 'Leave' response in general?

Not good to be honest ---- has a bit of selective hearing.

My next move may be to try a water pistol --- she doesn't like getting wet.

When blue is stubborn about dropping something he gets a firm (but not aggressive) tap under the chin whilst holding his collar, It doesnt hurt him it just gets him to give it up. someone recommended it to me who trains gun dogs, I guess its important for them to put stuff down once they've fetched it.

Although that may well work, I don't really like any sort of tapping to get a good drop/leave. The dog should be taught to leave even if you're not within touching distance.

I am watching this thread with interest as I have exactly the same problem with Roxie. She loves to retrieve but trying to get the ball off her is an almost impossible task and it really does take the fun out of it. When we leave the park with both dogs on their leads, she gives up the ball with no problems whatsoever. I think she believes it is a game. Also, when at home, when told to leave she does, no problem, and she won't touch the toy again until she is told to. This all happened when we bought the chuck it ball ultra. She loves the texture of it I think but she just can't quite get it to disintegrate, like a tennis ball

Yes, it's exactly the same with Ruby --- it's just a game to tease me with 'her' ball & yet when the ball is back home or back to the car, she will drop ok.

It's not a major problem, but you do feel a prat if she pinches another dog's ball & won't give it up.

I must say this made me laugh, and reminded me of Moo when I first got her! She was a mare with a ball, exactly like Ruby!

I swapped the ball for a frisbee, now the frisbee is never a garden toy or house toy so it is totally associated with throwing, retrieving and dropping.

It didn't happen over night, she was stubborn to drop it but I never tried to take it out of her mouth, so not associated with tugs.

She soon learnt that if she didn't drop it, then there would be no play.

Its a pet stages Frisbee if you want to try, but you have to be persistent with it. It floats and goes for miles (well not miles lol) and I really would recommend it

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ROSEWOOD-231-Rosewood-Petstages-Flyer/dp/B001FK46KY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1363194558&sr=8-6

Thanks for that Janey --- I'll give it a try.

Shiva never gives me the ball. She only drops it when I walk away from her. So she comes running & then drops it.
I've tried being nice, sweet, funny and even angry... nothing works. LOL

I have to take two chuck it balls out on a walk with me Ledger has slowly learnt to drop the first one before I with throw the one in the fling stick thing he does catch me out every now and then and just pick up the one he dropped again so maybe he is also training me to fetch!

My problem is getting it back off him when we are back home (he decides when he has had enough in the park and stands by the gate) im running out of levels of treats to tease it off him he is too smart for his own good and has learnt to inhale biscuits through the corner of his mouth

Ooooh yes we go down this road many a time....

I had to smile at this today as Betsy wouldn't give her ball up for anything this morning. Treats, another ball, mummy walking off, other dogs etc etc. This was after about a week of no ball.

I know it can be difficult when your dog takes others balls, but have you tried a ball ban? Then trying to intercept before she runs off to other dogs balls by making you the most amazing and exciting person in the park? I limit Betsy's play with it as otherwise she wouldn't play with other dogs. She just gets really obsessed with it. When we don't have the ball I do other things like "find" with massive rewards and a happy mummy and bits of mental training to keep her occupied. I also find that if we go out to a big space with lots of interesting smells and distractions, she's less bothered by it.

Good luck and keep us posted. Staffies and their balls eh. A friend said to me that staffies and balls are like fish and chips- they just go together. So true

Thanks Sam. I don't use the ball every time she is loose, but I always have to keep one in my pocket to distract her from pinching others ---- she can spot one of those ball launchers from miles away.

I'm going to order one of the tough frisbees & see if that makes any difference, otherwise I'm back to square one.

dont know if this will help but tash loves the kong squeaky balls, she manages to get rid of the squeak very quickly, but she loves them. I take 2 balls on a walk, 1 squeeky, 1 not. I squeak the ball and throw the non squeaky one. she comes back, refuses to drop it and i squeak the squeaky one and say do you want this one, she drops it i pick it up and throw the non squeaky one.

It seems to work at the moment,

Thanks for that, I'll give it a try. Don't know if I'm correct but it seems easier to get a pup/young dog to do your bidding than a stubborn older one.

I have the same problem with Shéara, he leaves his toys in the house but refuses to leave it in the park. We take two balls but he's not interested in the second.

Is anyone elses staffie so vocal when chasing other dogs in play? We met a puppy greyhound, Shéara was so infuriated that he couldnt catch her!!

Well, I bought the Orka Flyer frisbee ---- no interest at all, she just wants the ball. I got her interested in it in the house by rolling it around & she loves that, but used outdoors --- no chance.

I bought the Orka Tire at the same time & that looks a good prospect for surviving the teeth for a while.

Don't take the ball when your out! And try not to get her interested in the frisbee indoors. Do you play a lot of tugs with her? Moo was a mare so basically had to stop it. Shame she had know interest in the frisbee atm but it is worth persevering, it didn't happen over night for us Xx

I know you've tried the two ball method but here's how I do it in case this helps. Two balls exactly the same, the need to be exactly the same, so buy two new ones, I use orbee tuff ball with an elastic cord tied through. Put the dog on a ling line, about 15 feet.

Throw one ball, call him back. When he drops one, immediately throw the other. If he plays keep away and wants you to chase him, stand on the line. If he lies down to chew it, stand on the line. If he's lying down, place your hand under his chin, he needs to re-adjust his bite to chew it, which will allow you to catch it. Don't get into a game of tug with him.

If you teach him the rules of the ball are to chase it, bring it back and maybe play tug only, he'll learn to do it. The long line allows you to have control of the environment so he can't self reinforce with his own game.

Given the choice of playing my your rules, and not playing his game, he'll choose your game, every time. it's just about controlling the environment so he can't play his own game.

John

Wow, this sounds so similar to my dog Bean,
He loves his ball, so much so that he isn't interested in anything else- treats, other balls, other toys- When we are out it's his ball that his focus is on at all times. We used to have a situation like yours, where he wouldn't give the ball back at all. I don't think there are any quick fixes to this to be honest, just keep on training and praising. It's taken us a year, and he will quite happily give the ball back with a 'give' command when you take it from his mouth (no pulling, just a hand on the ball to show you want it back). We wanted to teach him that it wasn't a game, as soon as you try to force the ball off them it becomes a game. You may have to wait 5 minutes but always wait until he/she gives you the ball willingly. As soon as he gives it back plenty of praise, 'good boys' etc etc... He is extremely possesive over his ball however so we still have problems retrieving it when there are other dogs around. He thinks we are going to give it to another dog. But we are working on it. I've found the key is being stern and giving them the 'you'd better do as you're told now' look. Depends how receptive the dog is I guess. Only other tip i could give is to get a tough rubber ball as oppose to a squeezy one, that way they can't completely crush it.

He's not being stubborn, he just finds holding (and maybe chewing) his ball more reinforcing than anything else you have on offer. If you don't allow him to do that, then he'll learn not to do it.

The way I view toys is that the ball I throw is mine and I let my dog play with it, the same with the tug toy. They are my toys, so if he doesn't play by the rules, he doesn't play with them at all. He then has his own toys which are his, and I don't play with them, so he learns the difference.

The advice is posted previously will work, I haven't not had success with it yet.

The mistake most people make when training a sequence of events (like a fetch/chase, retrieve and drop) is they start with the fetch then teach the retrieve then the drop.

It's much better to start with the last part of the sequence so start with the drop, once that's learned, the retrieve and then the fetch.

There are two reasons for this. One is that when you're training, you always finish with something the dog knows how to do which boosts confidence and enjoyment in the activity and the second reason is because the dog learns he doesn't get to do the chasing/fetching (usually the most fun bit) until he's done the retrieving and dropping first.

Lol!
BRUCE IS A NIGHTMARE FOR THIS!
He wasnt interested with balls at first but after playing with a neighbours collies ball hes obsessed now!.So much so that when I take him out for walks with friends or family with dogs I dont take it!

I will try some of these suggestion s as my next method is chloroform or maybe the stinky finger! Lol

Hooray --- we have some progress. The ball that Ruby won't release is a solid rubber one. I have now bought a 'Chuck It' ball. She fetches that back ok & it seems that as she can't lock her jaws onto it, she is happy to drop it when told.

Lots of praise & off we go again. She gets the solid one as a treat at the end to carry home ---- but we may 'lose' that one soon. Happy days.

Great News. I can imagine it would of been frustrating. Hopefully this is the break through you have been looking for

Really pleased with the 'Chuck It' ball. I didn't think that a soft ball would stand up to a Staffy.

Now that she doesn't lock onto the ball, she is quite happy to retrieve & drop. Much better.

tonydee wrote:Hello folks --- I've had a look back & found one or two threads on the subject, but nothing in them that will help me.

Ruby loves to chase a ball (hers or any other dog's will do). She brings it back & then just teases & will not let go. Iv'e tried all sorts of treats, throwing another ball --- no good. Iv'e even tried the 'hissing can' --- worked once, then she got used to it.

However, if she is allowed to carry the ball home or back to the car, then she will drop it with no problem.

There is no aggression in her attitude, just being stubborn. Any ideas please?

Exactly what Troy does sometimes, but strangely he may retrieve the ball and drop it when I say no problem, maybe 5 times in a row, then just decides 'you're not having it'.

He thinks its a game and just wants you to tug on it! I'd be interested in knowing how to sort this issue out also.

Well Gee, as I said above, I'm starting to win. It's the solid ball that she locks onto & won't let go. She mouths the 'Chuck It' ball & will drop with a bit of encouragement.

After giving up the soft ball 2 or 3 times she gets the solid one to carry home as a reward.

Lola does the same, I can tell when she is going to get funny about it.
Like you, tried biscuits, another ball, the one I've found is getting a stick works everytime!!