# How to build ball drive?



## mandiah89

As the title says. How do I build ball drive in my puppy? One thing I miss a lot from Diesel was we used to play fetch for hours! And Penny well.. she would rather lay under the tree or chase the one and only toy she will chase on her flirt pole. I have tried attaching a ball to her flirt pole and she just looks at me like Ive got 10 heads or something and walks away, Ive tried holding the ball and play fighting with her to build up her drive and then throw it and still nothing, she wont fetch anything!

She has no interest in balls or fetching anything the only toy she wants to play with is that stupid tail at the end of her flirt pole. Any suggestions as to how to build ball drive? How to get her interested in fetch? I have all these cool toys for her like her kong and no matter what I fill it with she has no interest, a Hole-E roller (however you spell it ive always just called it a cookie ball cause I filled it with large milk bones for Diesel and she would spend forever trying to get them out) and she has no interest in that either, no other toys in the house she is interested in her two ropes her stuffed animals NOTHING! 

*Sighs* I think my GSD is broken!


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## Pooky44

I could be wrong but I think ball drive is built in, or it's not. My last dog had none. My current GSD will fetch maybe a dozen times at most then decide that's enough. (She's 4)
Most other people around me who have GSDs can play fetch with them until they drop. They are very ball-focused. My dog kinda says, "OK, I have proven that I can do that, enough already!"


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## Chaps

My gsd pup wasn't very interested in balls, he would play for a little bit and stop. So what I did was tease him with the ball (ball w/ handle) and make it something he couldn't have. Did this about a week multiple times a day and that did the trick. 
Of course make it super fun once they acknowledge the ball lol


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## MadLab

Attach a ball onto the furry thing? At least then you can throw them.

Or get a ball you can put some food into so the dog will be more interested in it.

A ball on a string works better than simple ball for some dogs


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## NancyJ

You may get some toys like the one on her flirt pole and start small. Google two ball. worth a try.


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## Lilie

I think it's important to note that if you are wanting to build drive you'll need to work on your dog's drive in total and not just with a ball.


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## David Taggart

Sometimes it depends whether your dog likes the ball you try to play. To all possible types I have ever tried I prefer "Chuckit" Large, you can buy it with Amazon. Probably it could be better to start teaching your puppy with medium size "Chuckit". Maybe the balls you use smell of resin human nose cannot detect? Chuckit doesn't have any smell, your dog can chew it, and it is very bouncy.
Ball is an improvisation of a prey for dogs, that's why they like balls more than other toys. So, make it appear as food for her. Give your puppy a tiny piece of sausage, butter or smocked fish, than rub the ball with this substance so make it smell. Let your puppy chew it for half a minute and take it away by throwing the ball say a yard from her in the grass. Place another small piece with it and let her find it. Let her second time chew it for longer and take it away again. Repeat it only the next day, see how she reacts on the ball in your hand. Teach her to chew it first, then to find it, and start throwing it when she is already interested to have it in her mouth.


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## Castlemaid

Prey drive gives the dog the desire to chase, catch and possess the prey, eating it is another drive - like hunger? A lot of dogs will eat anything they can find, but still don't have a lot of drive to chase balls. I'm wondering if David has actually instilled prey drive into dogs with little drive with the method he describes, or if that is just some out-loud musing from his part. I'd love to hear some actual hands-on experiences and results with the above method.


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## Gretchen

Don't throw the ball in the air, but find a fairly flat surface and throw/roll the ball on the ground. My dog loves this at the beach at the hard packed sand near the water. This way it mimics something running away to be chased. It also helps to find the right ball. My dog will not pick up a tennis ball, nor hard balls, we have found some soft, squishy rubber balls she like chewing like bubble gum.


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## Delt530

It took me awhile to get Duke to like a ball. One thing is I didn't play ball in the house, and they were hid while in the house. It drove his excitement up that when it came out he knew it was time to play fetch (or chase at the time cause he hadn't learned to return it). Next was he was "OK" at chasing a ball, but a normal tennis ball all he wanted to do was to tear the skin off of it when he caught it. When I got the Chuckit ball he fell in love with it. He can chomp it, chase it, I can bounce it, and the thing can't break. It took me awhile to then teach him to bring his new favorite toy back...but a few treats for giving it back cured that quickly. Get a chuckit, although i suggest short throws until diesel likes it and learns how to return it, you can throw really far with the chuckit stick and thats a long walk if she doesn't go after it.


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## Kingsj

How old is your dog? As he/she matures, drive should also grow to some extent. My last dog, a GSD/lab mix, did not have a lot of natural prey/play drive. I eventually got her to chase, pick up, and retrieve a ball, but it was always more of a chore than a play session. I did this by always making it fun and never overdoing our sessions. Eventually she learned to associate retrieving with fun interactions between us, but we never did long retrieving sessions, she just didn't have the drive.

If I were you, I would focus on the toy she likes. Keep playing with the flirt pole toy. Always make it fun, don't burn her out on it. You may end up with a dog that loves to tug instead of one that loves to retrieve. If the pup enjoys this enough, eventually you will be able to throw the tug toy and she will race back to you with it for more play. Tugging is a great training tool as well as a good way to exercise your dog.

I guess what I'm saying is try to use what you have. If you push an activity the pup is not interested in, (and you are like me) you and the pup with both end up frustrated.

Good luck!


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## Chip Blasiole

Since she shows interest in the tail end of the flirt pole, tie a rag to the end of the pole and move the rag with short, jerky, quick movements. A short pole about a foot long with a string and rag attached works best. There is really no such thing as ball drive, but I know what you mean. You are trying to build her prey drive and then tranfer the prey object to a ball. There is definitely a skill to getting a low prey dog interested in a potential prey object.


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## lyssa62

Roxy would play fetch in the house all day long if I could handle it....but taking her outside to play fetch -- not happening. There are too many bugs that she hears in the ground that need uprooting. We spend outside time digging up worms and grubs. That's her job I guess.


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## jessac

How old is you're puppy? When our pup was little, we had three small chuck its and would toss one, chase it, toss another and chase, picking them up and tossing again really short distances. I think the fast movement worked better to get him excited. Our pup would run after us and the ball. Eventually he would pick them up and then we went to two ball toss to get him to bring it back. Now we can't get him to put down the balls. I don't know if he was naturally driven for them or if playing early worked to build it, but he loooves fetch (and we've tried like 6 different balls, but the chuck its win out each time)


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