Is your dog obsessed by balls? Do you spend hours in a park with a plastic ball thrower, heaving a tennis ball skywards for your pooch to charge at, full pelt? Many owners do.
Ball-throwing makes ‘dog exercise’ easy
Ball throwing is a human action often used as an easy way to ‘exercise’ a dog. Well here’s some news that may surprise you. Wandering down to a local park or field and lunging a ball for 30-minutes is not good exercise for a dog. If you want to do the best for your dog’s health – as most owners do – the only place to throw that plastic ball ‘toy’ – is in the bin.
You’re probably unaware how much damage you could be doing to your beloved dog’s physical and mental health, so for their sake, please read on. I’ve spoken to vets, veterinary physiotherapists and hydrotherapists and they all say the same thing….
Mid-air leaps and twists aren’t for dogs
Dogs aren’t designed to race, jump, twist and charge in this way. They are not acrobats, monkeys or gymnasts. The impact of this ‘exercise’ on their joints and spine is huge. (To say nothing of no warm up or cool down). If ball throwing and chasing is done repeatedly, day after day, there’s a very real risk of your dog damaging its cruciate ligaments or spine. (Vets say ball throwers are one of the main causes of cruciate ligament damage in dogs). In addition, the pressure this energetic racing, twisting and jumping puts on a dog’s bones and joints could well herald early onset arthritis, to say nothing of strains and sprains.
Constant ball-chasing is unnatural
Consider how dogs behave when left to their own devices. They may run about and play initially, or race around in glee, but they will also regularly stop, catch their breath, sniff about, poke their noses into a hole or hedgerow then trot or walk. They are not constantly on the go. This ‘constant run and fetch’ isn’t their natural state. It puts them into a very alien mindset.
Ball throwing can become obsessive
On a physiological level, repeated ball-throwing affects the amount of adrenalin that floods your dog’s system. Chasing backward and forwards increases their arousal levels and elevates their adrenalin and cortisol. In the wild these hormones are only released in fight or flight moments when chasing or escaping prey. Ball throwing raises those hormones and if done daily it never gets time to leave your dog’s system. This leads to obsessive behavour.
Prolonged adrenalin can create anxious dogs
Raising your dog’s adrenalin levels every day can lead to your dog becoming permanently ‘on edge’. He or she may become unable to settle or relax. Does this sound familiar? If so, your dog is probably an adrenalin-junkie, He’she is always on full alert, waiting for action and its ‘injection’ of ball play. This is an unhealthy mental state for a dog and will prevent it from resting and digesting – a vital part of a dog’s day and ensuring a balanced and healthy state of mind. Most dogs (unless working breeds) can and should sleep for a large part of the day.
Safe ball play works their brain
Rather than creating an adrenalin-addicted dog you can work your dog’s brain instead. Ask him/her to sit and wait while you throw or roll the ball. Once it’s safely slowed down and stopped bouncing, only then should your dog run to retrieve it. The sitting, waiting and watching requires impulse control, an excellent mental work out, while the retrieving run to a stopped ball is much safer.
The wait, hide, find game
Alternatively you can hide the ball somewhere (they have to sit and wait while it’s done which is excellent training and brain work for them). Get a partner or friend to help if your dog isn’t used to sitting and waiting. Once the ball is hidden you send them off to find it. Many dogs love this game as it works their brain and they use their amazing scenting skills as well as them bounding to get it. Around 15 – 20 minutes of this will really tire a dog, so don’t overdo it. Maybe try this a few times a week, but not every day.
Barking for the ball
Ditching the ball thrower may put your dog at sixes and sevens initially. If you’ve used a thrower daily for a long time it’ll be a habit that your dog is used to as part of its daily routine. If your dog barks for the ball to be thrown that’s a sign of an unhealthy obsession. It’s your role as the human to change their behaviour by changing yours.
Learning to be a dog again
When you ditch the ball thrower your dog will need to learn to behave like a dog again. He/she may be waiting for ball play to commence, perhaps even barking at you for it, but you need to be the stronger one here. Remember it’s for the good of their health. Ignore their barking and just continue your walk – and encourage them to do the same. The barking for the ball is the obsession and need for adrenalin, give them a few days to detox and wean themselves off it.
Benefits of ditching the ball thrower
- Much-reduced risk of cruciate ligament damage
- Less impact on their joints – helping prevent early onset arthritis
- Reducing risk of sprains and strains
- A more relaxed dog
- A dog that is mentally-tired