Lexi-Taj Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Howdy all, I am new to the forums and am looking for advice regarding my 4yo Labrador Kelpie cross. Taj is a beautiful dog, who is quite obedient. Sit, Stay, drop, roll-over, wipes feet (before coming inside), goes to bed, and eats on command. However he is fetch obsessed, whenever we go into the yard or to the park its fetch, fetch, fetch...... He will obey for a minute then back to fetch, dropping balls/sticks/anything onto laps and feet until someone throws the item for him. Ignoring him does not work (we ignored the behaviour for 4 hours and he still kept going). It is constant, and is at the point where we cant have people over for BBQ as he wont leave people alone. Inside he is completely different, quiet, doesn't even care about fetch at all. Sits on his mat, enjoys pats and lets neighbours 3 yo climb all over him. Our yard is big, plenty of run space, and also comes in the evening on a 6.5k run (everyday or second day at the least). I think its a re-training thing, can anyone offer advice on what i can do or try training/re-training behaviour wise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Hi, and welcome. Just as a first thought, it sounds as though Taj might enjoy Flyball. Don't know if there is a club near you that offers Flyball training, but it might be worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexi-Taj Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Hi, and welcome. Just as a first thought, it sounds as though Taj might enjoy Flyball. Don't know if there is a club near you that offers Flyball training, but it might be worth a try. thanks for the welcome! Taj would love flyball, but we live out of town so getting him there is tricky. I dont mind playing fetch with him for 30mins or so, but he wont stop after that time! he just keeps wanting to play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 We have a ball/fetch obsessed dog too, if she's being a pest we just put away all her balls/toys so she can't torture people with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Do you use the ball as a reward so that she has to do something to earn a game of fetch? Also, make sure you only play fetch on your terms - you start the game and finish it (I use "finished"). I know it can be annoying but having a motivated dog that loves to play with you is a really good thing when it comes to training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I have a pug who is obsessed with tug, she loves the fetch part but moreso the game of wrestling/tugging it from her first. If you hide all her toys she will bring some random item she finds and nudge you on leg, which is her "I want to play" signal. Yesterday, it was this: I find distracting her is the only thing that works, either by re-directing her to play with our other dog, or giving her a kong or treat that takes a long time, but otherwise she doesn't have an off-switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 haha another one! I was in the same boat as you - a dog whose motivation to play used to drive me nuts, but I have come to realise it's actually a really great quality for a dog to have. The motivation to play fetch and tug is highly valued by anyone training working dogs - if you control his most valued activity, the dog is putty in your hands - he'll do anything you ask of him to get you to play. Trainers of customs dogs, police dogs, guide dogs (no surprise a lab has this drive) and all manner of other working/competition dogs are all looking for dogs with a high drive for playing with toys, because these dogs are so motivated by the promise of a game as a reward for performing their work, that they will work as hard as they can, for as long as they can. I'd recommend having a look at some of Michael Ellis' youtube videos, he may give you some ideas on how to utilise your dog's drive to work for you rather than just annoy you. The level of drive your dog has can be a wonderful thing. Here's one of his longer lectures that covers his entire philosophy of dog training, it's 70 minutes long, so it's pretty comprehensive, there are also numerous shorter clips, all well worth watching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe0-oqqoXvw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal House Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I had this problem, and a couple of others, some got a behaviourist out for one session who showed me how to deal with this, worked really well for us. You can redirect their drive, and work it to your advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexi-Taj Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 We have a ball/fetch obsessed dog too, if she's being a pest we just put away all her balls/toys so she can't torture people with them. We put the ball away, he finds a stick. We put the stick away, he finds a peg. We put the peg away, he finds some grass or a rock or a bit of paper.... It just keeps going :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexi-Taj Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Do you use the ball as a reward so that she has to do something to earn a game of fetch? Also, make sure you only play fetch on your terms - you start the game and finish it (I use "finished"). I know it can be annoying but having a motivated dog that loves to play with you is a really good thing when it comes to training. I have started to use the ball as a reward, if he sits outside and lets me brush him we play fetch, but it doesn't last long. I have tried the 'finished' technique, ill say "no more" put the ball/stick away..... then he goes to get something else..... another ball, stick, peg, rock, blade of grass... He truly is obsessed, and its not good when we have other people come over, or go to the park or some one else's house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 We have a ball/fetch obsessed dog too, if she's being a pest we just put away all her balls/toys so she can't torture people with them. We put the ball away, he finds a stick. We put the stick away, he finds a peg. We put the peg away, he finds some grass or a rock or a bit of paper.... It just keeps going :) :laugh: Ours stops at sticks :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Rumour~ Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 We have a ball/fetch obsessed dog too, if she's being a pest we just put away all her balls/toys so she can't torture people with them. We put the ball away, he finds a stick. We put the stick away, he finds a peg. We put the peg away, he finds some grass or a rock or a bit of paper.... It just keeps going :) :laugh: Ours stops at sticks :laugh: Best I've had is a couple of our other dog's hair, before that it was a piece of grass :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 We have a ball/fetch obsessed dog too, if she's being a pest we just put away all her balls/toys so she can't torture people with them. We put the ball away, he finds a stick. We put the stick away, he finds a peg. We put the peg away, he finds some grass or a rock or a bit of paper.... It just keeps going :) :laugh: Ours stops at sticks :laugh: Best I've had is a couple of our other dog's hair, before that it was a piece of grass :laugh: ahh they're funny... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 We put the ball away, he finds a stick. We put the stick away, he finds a peg. We put the peg away, he finds some grass or a rock or a bit of paper.... It just keeps going :) That happens here too :laugh: I am amazed at some of the things she comes back with - seed pods, cuttlefish, lemons, or anything vaguely round! I have started to use the ball as a reward, if he sits outside and lets me brush him we play fetch, but it doesn't last long. I have tried the 'finished' technique, ill say "no more" put the ball/stick away..... then he goes to get something else..... another ball, stick, peg, rock, blade of grass... He truly is obsessed, and its not good when we have other people come over, or go to the park or some one else's house With our ball-obsessed girl we started teaching "have a rest" in an environment with nothing else around (she isn't a stick-dog so this was ovals for us), and before she'd had her morning poop. I'll give a treat in exchange for the ball (had to work up to that) and she will go off and do her business then we extended the time before the ball came out again. I still can't get it to work as well if someone else is around because she manages to hypnotise people into throwing the ball for her and she knows it! So she has learnt that just because I say have a rest she still has a chance with everyone else :/ If it gets really annoying when someone's over, I just send her to her mat or crate. Environment plays a big part with us too - If we are somewhere with a strong history of ball-throwing activity like the beach, it will be a short time before she starts looking for her ball again. But at the oval where we normally only go to jog (with a bit of ball at the end) she is happy to just run around and sniff. I use the warm weather to my advantage too - she will want to go lie down in the shade before too long so letting her do that reinforces the advantages of putting the ball away. All this took ages tho! And just growing up a bit might have helped :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 :laugh: try having your retrieve crazy dog on crate rest post-surgery. I was getting 5mm twigs as possible fetch items anytime we went out for a supervised toilet break . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toshman Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Do you use the ball as a reward so that she has to do something to earn a game of fetch? Also, make sure you only play fetch on your terms - you start the game and finish it (I use "finished"). I know it can be annoying but having a motivated dog that loves to play with you is a really good thing when it comes to training. I have started to use the ball as a reward, if he sits outside and lets me brush him we play fetch, but it doesn't last long. I have tried the 'finished' technique, ill say "no more" put the ball/stick away..... then he goes to get something else..... another ball, stick, peg, rock, blade of grass... He truly is obsessed, and its not good when we have other people come over, or go to the park or some one else's house I know this is not a how to fix the problem answer, but could you at least manage it so it's not unpleasant to have guests around by putting him in a pen or crate at those times when he really is being a nuisance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 :laugh: try having your retrieve crazy dog on crate rest post-surgery. I was getting 5mm twigs as possible fetch items anytime we went out for a supervised toilet break . :laugh: Poor girl, but you have to admire her optimism! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 :laugh: true TheLBD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I own the same cross, Darcy my Lab Kelpie x is 7 yo :D Darcy will retrieve anything for as long as you're willing to throw it. Thankfully she's not obsessed with it like your boy, but Darcy has other "jobs" to do though. I would 1) teach him an alternate behaviour outside so he's not annoying you and and your guests. He can go to his bed inside, he can do it outside but it will take some work and some really good rewards. Heaps of work before you next have guests, and don't let him practise his old behaviours because they are very self-rewarding. 2) You've got some good exercise work in there (retrieving and a good run every day or so) but no work for his brain. A short 5 to 10 minute training session can help tire his brain out so he's not so obsessed about his ball. Teach him some good tricks, once again good rewards so that he learns that there are other things in life. The LBDs point about location is a good one, maybe save the behaviour for certain locations. My BC x Kelpie can be a bit ball obsessed but we only do it at the beach, so I don't get bugged for it anywhere else. She's figured out that the ball thrower is the key, if I don't have that then no balls get thrown and she leaves me alone. She's also figured out that if it's in my left hand, it won't get used either but it's game on if it's in my right. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) Sonny is obsessed with fetch/scent work. Size certainly doesn't matter to him LOL Sticks, twigs, blades of grass etc. He just fixates on whatever he wants you to throw until you throw it. I have just taught him to 'finish' & I don't throw anything if I don't want to play a fetch game or want to end a game I thank him for the game & that signals the end. It has worked a treat so far but you do have to be consistant with it & be aware that they will persist to try & play at times, just ignore this behaviour. You do have to be rigilant as the slightest sign of 'game on' you will be have to start the finish lesson from the beginning. As others have said having a driven/ focused dog is really good as long as you positively direct it. You can certainly use it to your advantage & have a very motivated happy pooche :) Edited January 3, 2013 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now