# Herding balls... good or bad?



## Schwee (Aug 22, 2015)

I've seen some videos and articles about herding balls (jolly push n play, indestructaball, etc.) being a good toy for GSD and other herding dogs.. however I've also seen owners complaining about it damaging the dog's teeth??

Does anyone have any experience with these toys or suggestions?
Thanks!


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

The hard plastic ones will hurt their teeth if they use their teeth to push them around. I tossed the darn thing out because it wasn't worth the effort to teach her otherwise. It also turned her OCD.


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

Yeah, I agree, I loved the idea of our jolly egg, but our pup gets SUPER frustrated that she can't pick it up. We'll toss it around the yard a little bit, but we always only do it for short bursts and follow up with a massive game of tug so she gets that biting satisfaction that she's after. We'll continue to use it since we already have it, but there were probably better things we could have spent our money on.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

I've just ordered the biggest size Kong Jumbler Ball. Features


 Squeaker and tumbling interior ball 
 Handles make pick up and shaking easy
 


*
*


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

we tossed ours because we were concerned about hurting teeth. But our dog loved chasing the hard ball around the yard. He threw all of his effort into trying to catch the ball. If we could have taught him to use his paws and snout and not his mouth, we might have kept the ball. 

there is a sport called Trieball but one of the first steps is teaching the dog to bump the ball, not bite it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBJ9DVp9dyM


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

There is that sport called Treibball and they recommend those huge anti burst exercise balls. I got a few and the dogs popped everyone of them, but they did have fun for 5 minutes it would have have been beneficial to teach them not to bite it, but that proved harder to do with several dogs. I remember thinking there is no way they would attempt to put them in their mouths but I was wrong.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

I bought Delgado a jolly egg this year thinking he would like it because he loves to chase, 0 interest :crazy:


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

llombardo said:


> There is that sport called Treibball and they recommend those huge anti burst exercise balls. I got a few and the dogs popped everyone of them, but they did have fun for 5 minutes it would have have been beneficial to teach them not to bite it, but that proved harder to do with several dogs. I remember thinking there is no way they would attempt to put them in their mouths but I was wrong.


Same experiece with daisy and Lucky. Daisy popped one and then Lucky the other.It was an expensive 10 minutes.I also bought Lucky the jolly egg and tried introducing it to Thunder . No interest from either dog. I think its a great idea especially for an older dog with some mobility isues or stiffness ,still moving but no jumping like with a kong or other fetch type toys.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

llombardo said:


> There is that sport called Treibball and they recommend those huge anti burst exercise balls. I got a few and the dogs popped everyone of them, but they did have fun for 5 minutes it would have have been beneficial to teach them not to bite it, but that proved harder to do with several dogs. I remember thinking there is no way they would attempt to put them in their mouths but I was wrong.


Lombardo and Daisy, wish me luck, I am going to start trying this with Newlie tonight. I already have a large ball at home and looked at a little video online about how to teach the skills. The last couple of times Newlie has chased balls, he limped a little afterward, I am not sure if he sprained something or is just getting a little older. Anyway, would like to move him away from it, but he loves it so much, am going to try to find something else he can love,


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## HOBY (Aug 12, 2013)

I use basketballs, soccer or volley balls [I stop at tag sales] with just a little air let out. I send the balls out for fetch and Hoby guides them right back to me. He also has been known to pop them ounce in a while as he pushes them all over the place outdoors. I do know for a fact that the large hard [basketball size] plastic balls can cause damage to k9 teeth, pinch lips and tongues.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

newlie said:


> Lombardo and Daisy, wish me luck, I am going to start trying this with Newlie tonight. I already have a large ball at home and looked at a little video online about how to teach the skills. The last couple of times Newlie has chased balls, he limped a little afterward, I am not sure if he sprained something or is just getting a little older. Anyway, would like to move him away from it, but he loves it so much, am going to try to find something else he can love,


I think its great idea. I bought Lucky a horse ball from Tractor Supply and Ive seen them on websites. they are a hard plastic. i got a 13 or 14 in still not big enough for trieball but Im sure they have bigger ones. They were hard plastic . It took Lucky two years to put a hole in it and it stil worked.I think the video I found maybe on here but definiely on you tube was pretty good. anxious to hear how Newlie likes it.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

Well, the first challenge will be to keep his teeth off the ball, if I can manage that we might have a chance!


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

Hoby, any tips on trying to teach your dog to play trieball?


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## yuriy (Dec 23, 2012)

I recently got this Jolly Ball:










Liza loves playing with it, and she frequently bites it. Is that bad for her teeth?


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

yuriy said:


> I recently got this Jolly Ball:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks just like ours!They are soft rubber not hard plastic.Samson loves to put his mouth around it and squeeze the air out of it,then bat it around with his paws.The first time he was big enough to get his jaws partially around it to squeeze,it popped back up and he was stuck with his mouth open for a few seconds until he realized he had to squeeze again to spit it out!It was hilarious!And no it's not left out,only supervised play.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I have several of the horse jolly balls. Midnite is rarely without one in his mouth or very near by.


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

yuriy said:


> I recently got this Jolly Ball:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is the one I WISH I'd spent my money on!! Spec would LOVE to have something so huge to play around with, but she just gets so frustrated that she can't pick up the jolly egg.


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## atravis (Sep 24, 2008)

You could always go big or go home.

Go all out, get the full sized polar bear one, then you'll never have to worry about messing up teeth, as it will be vastly too large to get their mouths around :laugh:

In all seriousness, I have been thinking about getting one of these. Not the biggest of the big, but the 20". Just gotta rationalize parting with $100 for a dog toy.

Also jolly balls are a must-have. I've had dozens, they are great toys.


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

Paisley got to try a horse ball a couple of times about a year and a half ago (the size of an exercise ball). Someone brought it to the park. She pushed that thing all over the place. We never had to show her what do, so I can't help much there. Needless to say, she was quite obsessed so we had to take it away and then crate her in order for her to settle back down.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

mspiker03 said:


> Paisley got to try a horse ball a couple of times about a year and a half ago (the size of an exercise ball). Someone brought it to the park. She pushed that thing all over the place. We never had to show her what do, so I can't help much there. Needless to say, she was quite obsessed so we had to take it away and then crate her in order for her to settle back down.


Same with Deja. I think she would have run herself to death if I hadn't stopped her. I will save it for a less intense dog.


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## HOBY (Aug 12, 2013)

newlie said:


> Hoby, any tips on trying to teach your dog to play trieball?


 Hoby's desire to guide the balls back to me is a desire to herd and work with me. To start the dog must learn to wait [Hoby will down anywhere, on the move or at a distance] and then be sent for a ball that is not moving. This is easy if the dog already fetches for you. Wanting to push a large ball around is another plus. Help the dog to move along. Short distance to start with. Move farther out as the dogs coordination for moving the ball along gets tighter and quicker. It is a smooth quick pace. I love watching his whole body manage the ball. It is so cool when the ball bounces out of line and the dog moves it back in line and continues on his original direction toward me, right to my feet.... When we get started I take two balls under my arms and guide one with my feet out to the yard. Hoby takes one and guides it out right along side of me. This did not happen overnight but I can tell you it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. His reward was a toss of the ball. Exercise all around. Great stuff.


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## JB-Kona (Apr 13, 2015)

We have the Jolly Ball Bounce-n-Play for Kona. Its about 10" in diameter but it's a softer rubber type material. Ours probably has 100 puncture marks in it from her biting it, but it always goes back to shape. 

She LOVES this ball. Her absolute favorite toy.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

HOBY said:


> Hoby's desire to guide the balls back to me is a desire to herd and work with me. To start the dog must learn to wait [Hoby will down anywhere, on the move or at a distance] and then be sent for a ball that is not moving. This is easy if the dog already fetches for you. Wanting to push a large ball around is another plus. Help the dog to move along. Short distance to start with. Move farther out as the dogs coordination for moving the ball along gets tighter and quicker. It is a smooth quick pace. I love watching his whole body manage the ball. It is so cool when the ball bounces out of line and the dog moves it back in line and continues on his original direction toward me, right to my feet.... When we get started I take two balls under my arms and guide one with my feet out to the yard. Hoby takes one and guides it out right along side of me. This did not happen overnight but I can tell you it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. His reward was a toss of the ball. Exercise all around. Great stuff.


 Thanks for the tips! We made a start last night and Newlie did pretty well, I thought. (See new thread "Teaching Newlie Trieball") I think my biggest challenge with him is going to be keeping his teeth off the balls.

I really want to find him something else he can love besides chasing tennis balls. Like most dogs, he has no sense of moderation, he goes after each and every tennis ball like his life depends on it and twice now, after a brief session, he will limp a little bit. I think it's time to move him toward something different.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

atravis said:


> You could always go big or go home.
> 
> Go all out, get the full sized polar bear one, then you'll never have to worry about messing up teeth, as it will be vastly too large to get their mouths around :laugh:
> 
> ...



I would love to get that 30 inch one but I would cry if they broke it. I've gotten plenty indestructible toys that were gone within 10 minutes


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