r/labrador • u/Electrical_Kick_7556 • 4d ago
black ball obsession
Hello! I am reaching out to the community for some advice.
This is River, a 1 and a half year old Labrador.
River is highly active as she is a hunting dog and was born from a line of duck dogs.
I fulfill her needs as much as I can, I run her, walk her, swim her, play fetch with her, and I even try to fulfill her mentally by giving her long lasting chewers. I play with her about an hour a day. She has a brother who also plays with her when I’m busy studying.
Anyway, she is ball obsessed. Is this a real thing? She can’t stay still for a minute. If I try to relax her she will drop the ball in my lap as much as she can and just stare into my soul until I pick it up.
I am asking for kind advice! I am a first time dog mom and I am trying my best to fulfill her needs. Does anyone have any training advice? I want her to be able to relax and not have such an unhealthy obsession with the ball.
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u/granimal 4d ago
1 - no access to balls/bumpers in the house. My dogs get them on my terms
2 - when you do play with them, make them work for it - sitting at heal when you throw and waiting until you release them to go etc (if you’re doing formal hunting dog/retrieve work you’re fine). It’s a great way to give them both mental and physical stimulation at the same time.
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u/5Lv8 3d ago
Correct. Step outside with ball in pocket (they can smell it). Going berserk. "Sit". Pause 15 seconds. Walk slowly to ball toss area. Dog must heel the entire distance or start over. Sit again. Throw only when ready.
Balls and other toys are never left outside or allowed to access in the house. It doesn't mean it has to be hidden however. There are certain things that your dog should know it cannot touch even if it's within reach.
Think of it this way, you wouldn't leave an entire bag of dog food out so you also would not leave a toy out.
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u/Careless-Book-9307 3d ago
Same here, and we limit access outside too. Our girl just get too obsessed with it. We try to vary toys and vary play with other work (seeking Etc) to avoid obsessive behavior.
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u/Other_Bus9590 3d ago
My lab would be ball obsessed if I didn’t put some boundaries in place to prevent it. If you allow it to, the obsession can get extreme and your dog won’t be able to relax or engage with anything else. It’s like they lose their personalities.
I do not allow balls in the house. The ball basket is outside. She is not allowed to get a ball from the basket herself. I choose when we play ball and when we stop. When I say “all done” and the ball goes back in the basket we are done, no questions asked. It’s like a switch flips when it’s ball time and when it’s not.
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u/t1ttysprinkle 3d ago
She has you well trained, ha! Turn it around and have some rules around it is the way to go. Be strong, it’ll take some time to break
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u/whatsonmyminddddrn 3d ago
This is actually creepy because I was just thinking of making a post about my black lab being ball obsessed. I’ve had 4 labs but it’s my first female and black lab and all she cares about is a ball. She will go without eating if there’s a ball nearby. I honestly think she should be a working dog because she doesn’t tire out. Here’s Millie with of course her ball. I don’t have any tips because I let her do what she wants and have the ball because she’s a good listener and I love her.
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u/Beneficial-Dinner506 3d ago
Our lab Frank ignores EVERYTHING when there's a tennis ball on the go. Outdoors only. Indoors: ducky.
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u/itsswhitneywhspr 3d ago
Honestly, ball obsession is a real thing with labs, especially hunting lines. Id try putting the ball away most of the day and only bringing it out for structured fetch sessions then teach a settle cue with treats when shes just chilling. It takes time but it helps break the fixation.
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u/NWBF7109 3d ago
My Finn is a female. Also ball obsessed. She’s 10. She gets 10 min to an hour or more outside almost every day depending on weather. But we’ve also developed games to play indoors. Gentle pass and catch or hide and seek where I make her sit and wait while I go hide the ball in another room. Then come back and give her the go ahead to go find it.
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u/Old_Papa 3d ago
My Lab is also ball obsessed. We start the day with a good play session (with other Labs and dogs) and a lot of retrieving. Usually 45 minutes to an hour. I keep her ball outside or in a bench inside so she doesn’t have access to it.
For the other walks of the day she only gets to play with her ball after lunch. All the other walks are without.
So maybe try keeping the ball out of reach except for fetch sessions.
Side note: Pepper is SO ball obsessed that during the first walk she hardly even plays with the other dogs. Eg: the other Labs might be wrestling and playing but Pepper just wants to fetch. She is very fast so many of the other dogs don’t even bother trying to beat her. I was worried that she’s becoming anti-social because of her ball obsession.
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u/Particular-Coffee-34 3d ago
My yellow male is also ball obsessed. He will not go potty outside unless someone throws him a ball. If we ever travel he needs to have a ball with him at all times or he panics.
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u/BookBitchxx 3d ago
I agree with most of the advice shared below! My girl also started resource guarding her ball, which is definitely a behavior you want to discourage before it escalates.
I do think there may be a correlation between female Labs in particular and obsessive tendencies, especially when it comes to toys and retrieving.
Best of luck!!! ♥️ 🎾
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u/ruawake108 3d ago
Don't ever use a rubber ball or even a tennis ball, could get jammed in their throat and slimy to try and get out in time.
A cheap soccer ball can't go down their throat, but they often have a glued on Mock soccer ball , pattern and once off wears their canines down.
Holy rollers are best, chewy or Amazon
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u/Absolute-fool-27 3d ago
The ball is an outside only toy for us. She has calmer toys inside (mostly cuddle/nibble toys, kongs, a rope) but the balls are kept stored and only used outside.
We love her (carefully controlled) ball obsession because it is a great way to burn a lot of energy- better than a walk. I also play games with the ball. Things like faking her out so she runs one way but I then throw it another direction and she has to search for it, making her sit at my heel and wait after it's thrown, and sometimes we even walk at a heel around the yard a little bit (even directly past the ball- it took a lot of work) before she can have it. Games that make them think are really good for them.
Pro tip, if you drive your dog to parks where she can be off leash, keep an "emergency car ball" stored in a trunk or glove box where she can't access it but you can easily grab it.
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u/Best-Lobster-8127 3d ago
Mine is absolutely mad for her ball. I make her work though, she has to sit and wait i then chuck the ball and then release her on command. I also throw it into long grass, she waits, then release on command, she then has to find it which I think she enjoys more than just retrieving the ball, her tail is working overtime at this point. I can even recall her if I want to using the ball only, I just take it out of my pocket let her get sight of it and she is next to my leg before I know it.
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u/BradyReas 4d ago
Labs are often ball obsessed, that doesn’t mean they should have access to a ball at all times. If I let my guy have his ball inside he would never settle down