# Dog One/Human Zero



## adas (Nov 22, 2008)

Aloha, and happy new Year to all. Am I loosing or (have I lost my status) if I allow the following:

Rasa just loves chasing tennis balls, but will not let me have it or drop it or leave it. She will drop it then when I approach the ball she beats me to it with a Ha ha ears back, lofty attitude. The only way I can get the ball dropped is if Rasa sees I am loading another ball in the chuck-it and then she drops her ball easily. I lured her with her favorite treat and she dropped the ball and took the treat, as soon as I reached for the ball she spit out the treat and grabbed the ball and ran. She loves chewing the ball and has the whitest teeth on the block, but I lost this game. With the ball and "find-it game" Rasa will bring me the ball on her own and drop it at my desk and give me a nudge, so she knows what is going on. 
So getting back to my point, should I enforce MY rules or let her do it HER way in the ball throwing? Do I loose status by giving in?
Frank


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## thezinger (Nov 6, 2008)

well i dont know if this is the correct way, but this is what i did with my last dog.

she knew she was supposed to bring it back and drop it, but would try to play keep away as a game. so when she would run off with the ball i would walk away like i was done playing and she would spit the ball out of her mouth instantly. then i would throw it again.

it took her a long while to figure it out, but eventually she got it.

basically play my way or not at all.


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## DancingCavy (Feb 19, 2001)

I don't think you lose status by giving in. 

I would probably just end the game if she doesn't want to give the ball back. Just get up and leave. Game over. No fun.









Or, you can try the two ball thing that you've started. Throw one ball and have her bring it back. When she gets back, show her the other ball. She'll probably drop the one she has and then you can launch ball number two. While she's racing off after it, you can pick up ball number one and be ready to start again. Once she starts to get the hang of it, you can start picking up ball number one after she drops it seeing number two before you actually throw number two. Oftentimes, with dogs that don't want to share (I have one) you can trade. If you give me that, I will give you this (usually it's a higher-value item like a treat). If treats don't work, you can try another toy.

I would also caution against tennis balls. I have heard many stories about dog's ruining their teeth by chewing on them. Something about the fuzz they use. I believe Kong makes tennis balls for dogs that are safer than the regular human ones.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

> Originally Posted By: thezingershe knew she was supposed to bring it back and drop it, but would try to play keep away as a game. so when she would run off with the ball i would walk away like i was done playing and she would spit the ball out of her mouth instantly. then i would throw it again.


This is how Morgan played for a few years. She used to have lightning fast retrieve and throw it at my feet. Then Luther died and being the only dog for the first time in her life, there was no one to play the game see who could get Mom to throw it first.

With Otto, I usually have 2 balls becuase he's 7 months old and gets impatient 'Throw it throw it now!'


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## Virginia (Oct 2, 2008)

I was having this problem too. My boy will always go for the toy or ball that I'm going for, even if he's playing with something else at the moment. He's accidentally nipped me a few times when we're both trying to get the same ball before I wised up. 

I've found the best way to deal with this is to perfect the leave it command. I make him drop the ball, and then I tell him leave it. Then I can go take the ball right out from under him if I want without risking being bitten. After I get the ball or toy, I throw it for him and we play for a while so he learns that drop it/leave it doesn't mean that the fun ends, it means even more fun cause I'm playing with him instead of him gnawing on a ball by himself.


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## adas (Nov 22, 2008)

Aloha, I am going to hi-jack my own thread to share some of the horror stories from tennis balls.

1: some lower quality contain toxic things
2: the fur on the tennis ball will grind down teeth
3: a large dog can chock on them (even after playing with them for 7 years)
4: Never use "found" balls. some are loaded with explosives
5: "According to this suggested theory, it is not the tennis ball that is abrasive, it is the sand deposited in the felt."

links... some not pleasant
http://www.sfgsrescue.org/articles/tennisballs.htm

http://www.snopes.com/critters/mishaps/tennisball.asp

http://www.dogster.com/answers/question/glue_on_tennis_balls_bad_for_dogs-23279

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080623132452AAxL9Ei


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## Mandalay (Apr 21, 2008)

Mandi wont chase balls but this is what I do with frisbees. Every two or three times she brings it back I have to play tug for a couple seconds or she will stop playing and we usually do this to tire her out at night right before bed.


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

With Kayla out at the parks and such, we play two ball. I always have two (or three) tennis balls. Or tennis ball and a frisbee or two. She must drop the first one before the second gets tossed. No chasing. 

And the tennis balls are only used while we're out at the parks and/or waterways. Once we get to the car, they get put away and they are not out at the house.

Lancer fortunately doesn't seem to have much interest in chasing the tennis balls on land. He will pick up and carry Kayla's around entice her with it. He will fetch it when he's swimming but his numero uno chase toy at the moment is the Orbee on the string. And I use two of those at the park as well


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## adas (Nov 22, 2008)

Aloha, I think I found my solution. I started throwing the ball with chuck-it from my office to downstairs yard. Rasa brings it back and does her possessive teasing thing and I ignore her and go back to work. She brought the ball right back to me in a few minutes. I slowly I reached for the ball with the chuck-it and she grabbed the ball. I put the chuckit away and went back to work. After a few of these, Rasa brought the ball back and left it and sat like a Good Girl. Now to get this to happen outside with all the smells and 4' high grass and Rasa going overboard with excitement!! So the score is Humans one/dog zero!
frank


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## IliamnasQuest (Aug 24, 2005)

Good job, Frank! You turned the game around so that she had to play yours instead. And you didn't even fight with her .. *L*

I love hearing about people who just use calm, quiet methods of ignoring to get their dogs to do the behaviors they want. It's really pretty effective when we humans use our "patience factor". 

Rasa probably thinks she has done a terrible job of training you .. *LOL* .. *just kidding*

Melanie and the gang in Alaska


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Yes, good boy Frank! I would encourage you to play it her way part of the time. Dogs like to win too.


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