Fixation

[Huckmummy]

Hi,

I'm hoping to get some advice about my dog. He is a recent addition to the family, having been picked up from the local rescue home a couple of months ago.

He's about two years old and a beautiful, loving and very friendly german shepherd-staffie cross (as far as we can tell!). Our only problem is that he is completely fixated on the ball when we play fetch. When we throw the ball he will fetch, return to heel and lie down beautifully but then it's near impossible to get him to release the ball. He just looks at us! We've tried everything from coaxing (completely ignored) to bribery (not interested in food when the ball is around) to yelling (again, ignored).

Please help - he's such a great dog that it seems a shame to not be able to play ball together!

[divadexie]

Have you worked on the 'leave'/'drop' command with something that is not a ball?
If you can get him to drop every time- not forgetting to praise and reward for doing so- then start doing it with the ball. But- when he drops, produce another ball from behind your back and throw it, using the ball as the reward.

[glaiza]

I agree with what diva said, it's often helpful to have a second ball handy. What you can do is this - when your dog refuses to drop the ball, start playing with the second ball. Act like you're having such a great time with the ball, toss it in the air or something like that. When your dog starts to pay attention to the second ball, he will most likely forget about the first one. As soon as you get your dog's attention - get him to focus on the second ball and then throw it. Retrieve the first ball as soon as your dog goes off on the chase for the second one.