# At What Age did your Pups Ball Drive Kick in?



## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

Curious to hear the different ages that everyones pups ball drive kicked in? i know they are all different, some are early, some are later, and Some ya have to work to bring it out.

all my past males ball drive kicked in before 4 months. my female was later around 6 months and now she is obsessed with it. my young pup now is 7 months and i have to work hard to get him excited about the ball. he will chase it and bring it back, but not as obsessed as all my other dogs. i think he would rather chase the female who is chasing her ball than to chase his own. this is why i am separating them and working harder than i ever have with him alone in hopes he will develope the drive., i doubt at this point he will be a ball fanatic like the others, the way i figure is its either there or it isn't by 7-8 months old. i hope he proves me wrong!









debbie

debbie

debbie


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

I think Brady was 4-5 months 
Now he is just obsessed with the ball


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

I got Gala when she was about 14 weeks and she was already a ball crazy, or should I say an ALL crazy nut, everything that moved she chased/wanted.


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

My male was obsessed with the soccer ball from day one. He never really cared for tennis balls or anything smaller than a soccer ball. NOW (at 2.5 yrs old) he will chase any ball, but not forever, but for a good lenght of time. I would not call him high drive anyways, but he has decent ball drive.
My female (11 mths old) has high prey/ball drive. She chased a ball the day we got her (at 8wks) and her ball drive has just increased since then.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

Sam doesn't care for tennis balls either. i am using a racket ball, which he seems to like better. maybe a soccer ball would turn him on more. i am up for anything!

he likes a rag toy and i can get him cranked up with that, but, how far can you really through the darn thing, its not a ball.









debbie


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: GSDBESTK9.....an ALL crazy nut, everything that moved she chased/wanted.


Siren is the same way. She has been into "getting" ANYTHING that moves since the first time I saw her. (Just before 7 weeks of age.) I can't count the munber of times I have darn near had my arm ripped from the socket because the wind blew something past her line of vision.


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## sleachy (Aug 10, 2001)

Tooz was ball crazy since the day I brought her home at 11 weeks old. Even as a pup, she would bypass the food for a ball. If she lost a ball, I would have to get physically remove her from the area because she wouldn't leave until she found it!


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## shepherdbydesign (Mar 7, 2007)

> Quote: Siren is the same way. She has been into "getting" ANYTHING that moves since the first time I saw her


 our 2 Pandora girls Abby and Paloma both were the same way.

Tracy that just makes my arm hurt when you said about Siren going after anything that moves


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

LOL...I know how that feels.. getting your arm almost pulled out of the socket... my little girl is INSANE about squirrels and bunnies and if I dont pay attention she will FLY after them..


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

my female also is ready to chase anything that moves! actually most of my working dogs have been like that. never had one that wasn't all out ready to move at anything. Never had one like this that you had to work this hard to bring it out. maybe he is a REAL late bloomer. he certainly comes from a line with ball drive, so i'm told.

debbie


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## The Stig (Oct 11, 2007)

My pup was already very prey driven when she came home at 8 weeks, starting with our cat. She would charge after anything that moves, from her little fleece tug toy to wind-blown leaves to her Orbee ball.

She is very ball-driven, and will want to play catch for as long as she has that ball. I once timed her how long she will stop playing ball with me in the house. I gave up after 1 hr 15 mins.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

Sam has no problem wanting chasing my cat, but i would imagine any gsd or herding dog would tend to do that. 

debbie


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Brady almost torn my arm off when Peter cottontail took off into the woods when I was walking him
wasn't pretty


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## VectorSketcher (Jul 20, 2008)

My little girl turned ball crazy around 9 weeks of age, I have pics of her stealing the ball from my older GSD and him chasing her over it. My male wasn't interested with the ball until about 2 months old after that it was love at first sight.


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

Levi and Leyna didn't start playing fetch until they were 2. Leyna is ok at fetch, but I don't force the issue to keep it fun for her. Levi does much better, but isn't uber ball obsessed. We did find a favorite ball for him and he LOVES it (those orange chuck it balls), but there are still have times when he doesn't seem interested in chasing the ball. They won't chase a ball if some other dog goes after it (they usually stop and let the other dog win), and I have to wait to play in a new place after they do a sniff over. Also, don't tell DH, but I think the pups play fetch much better with me than him.


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## sleachy (Aug 10, 2001)

I posted above about my dog always having "ball drive." But, does ball drive = prey drive? What about hunt drive? Or is it all just semantics?


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

I didn't have a ball when I first met him at 5 weeks but this is Otto at 8 weeks. He's a certified ball-a-holic, tennis ball, soccer ball, football doesn't matter he loves them all. 










He was about 4 months when he was able to catch it when I threw it to him. Now he's the master of drop it and catch it myself. BALL DRIVE. CRAZY BALL DRIVE.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

My females tend to show drive alot earlier than the boys. Girls normally will chase anywhere from 5 wks on. Boys sometimes not until almost 6 months!


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i definitely think if a dog has extreme ball drive potential it shows from 8 weeks on. other dogs might chase a ball at some point but could take it or leave it. i am exhausted trying to fire him up with the ball. i tease him with it, dodge back and forth in front of him with it, etc. i mean i am working up a sweat. and it does work, but, geesh! i never had to work that hard to get a dog to really want to chase a ball!









debbie


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

But some dogs aren't ball dogs. I've had some pups that were ball nuts, others that were tug/rag nuts. I worked them with a small bite tug instead of a ball.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Debbie, can't say I have that problem! Whenever I"m in the kitchen, I have this cute little dog throwing his ball at my feet, don't even have to pick it up, I can just kick it across the room and he's right back with it. It's a long narrow galley kitchen and that's where I taught him how to play so it's all my fault... drive for other toys isn't a bad thing!


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i never had that problem either. and i guess its not really a porblem i know there is something there i just gotta figure out what it is. unlike my female who is totally reactive and responsive to EVERYTHING, he just quietly does stuff. he does great at agility, just doesn't show extreme excitment., so its hard to tell what turns him on. 

Angela is right, i might have to work the tug with him, which he does like, but kinda hard to tire him out since ya can't through it far. i am in the experimental stage with him anyway, trying different things trying to figure him out. again, just very unlike the ddr lines i have always had. maybe the west german working lines are more the strong silent types.....LOL.

debbie


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

ddr lines can be harder to work with. Grace doesn't care for the ball, can barely get her after a tug, hot dogs she likes but she can be frustrating









She had squat as a puppy. She's now almost 2 years old, am taking her out tonight to see if anything is there now, but I have noticed more seriousness about her as she's gotten older. FINALLY! Still looks like a puppy though, ugh!


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

> Originally Posted By: debbiebAngela is right, i might have to work the tug with him, which he does like, but kinda hard to tire him out since ya can't through it far.


Ball on a tug might work. Otto had one of those, till he ate the tug part. He's just started eating his toys that aren't balls.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

Diabla... since I met her at 9 weeks old.


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

Debbie... maybe your pup is just not a high drive dog? He may be easier to train with treats than with toys... it took me two years to be able to train Cody with toys. He is not a high drive dog, I would say he is low to a medium drive dog, but he LOVES to play now and will play ball and tug and bounce and jump and leap for a good 10-15 minutes, but he is not high drive, a dog that will NEVER stop. If he does not like the ball, try something else, the hardest thing is to accept the fact who our dogs are, some like the ball some don't. This has been MY hardest lesson, to accept our dogs the way they are. Maybe stop trying to entice him with the ball and see what happens, do some basic obedience with food, and occasionally bring out the ball so it is sort of a surprise?!


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

he should have the drive considering the line he came from. i am told most of the dogs from that line are crazy ball fanatics. i picked this line because of this. its not anyones fault, just because a certain breeding usually produces drives, doesn't mean your not going to get an odd ball every so often. besides, i am hoping he will exceed in some kind of work. we are going to try him in tracking, he is a food fanatic anyway! and as i said he does well in agility. so, i think i will try working the rag with him more as reward. heck i bet if the rag/tug really turns him on i will reward him with that when he retrieves the ball..LOL!

debbie


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

BTW, he is not DDR, he is mostly west german. i have never had a problem working drives with my ddr's.


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## SuzyE (Apr 22, 2005)

paige could retrieve at 7 weeks and never stopped.


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

What about herding?

Mine are very low key dogs/low drive (they are German showlines) - but when it comes to their sheep....there ain't no stopping them!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

yeah debbie that might be an idea,,show him some SHEEP! that may really turn him on,,and kick in other drives)

Masi, well you know all about her,,she is almost 8 months and is a possessed ball demon,,especially her soccer ball (so that was a good suggestion to!),,she will chase balls, frisbee, the cats)(altho she's got a very soft mouth when it comes to the cats thank goodness!),,the other dogs, birds,, tugs toys,but she hasn't showed much interest in chasing wildlife,,(which is fine by me, and I don't really give her much of a chance to do that!) 

Masi is actually MUCH more turned on by "toys' than food..She loves food/treats,,but if a ball/toy/frisbee is involved,,forget the food, which is also fine by me..She was chasing "stuff" when I got her,,but giving her that dang soccer ball a few months ago,,my god, her obsession with chasing 'toys' really kicked in..

Jynx on the other hand, (the aussie) could care less about the ball thing,,BUT she is very wildlife driven) and sheep,,oh my god,,she is zoned out by them..sooo maybe show him some sheep???

ok done rambling
diane


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

it will be interesting to see just what really turns him on, i am working on it. i know there is something there somewhere, its just not showing yet., because we haven't hit on it.
whats interesting is that he likes to play rough with Neka, that turns him on. which i am not crazy about. the fight drive is in him for sure, not that its a good thing......... he can be an angel one minute and turn into a rough playing tarzan with my female the next.

debbie


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

im not sure but it was very young maybe 10 weeks? i remember being faster than him and playing keep away. that only made the drive kick in HARDER and FASTER!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: GSDBESTK9I got Gala when she was about 14 weeks and she was already a ball crazy, or should I say an ALL crazy nut, everything that moved she chased/wanted.


Uh oh. I may be in trouble. Mauser thinks if it moves he MUST catch it (as in sink his teeth into it and tug).

The broom, Kaynya, Tazer's tail, my feet, my slippers ...

What HAVE I gotten myself into??


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Lauri, Otto is like that too. Not fun trying to use any yard tools around him, the vacuum must die, leaves must be chased. I don't put up with it and when I need to do something, like rake or shovel poop, I make sure he has a high value toy like the coveted big cuz. At 6months, he's getting it that he can either behave or go sit in his box! So there's hope.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

ok, don't get me wrong folks, Sam has drive. he goes after the cat, the vacum, bugs, butterflies, the tug, things like that, he just isn't a total nut over the ball. he shows it in otherways just not in the form of a ball. i just have never had a gsd that wasn't a total ball nut by 7 months old.

my young female is like Jenn's Otto, but they are related in breeding so that doesn't surprise me. lol!









debbie


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

debbie, some dogs just don't get all that excited over a ball, but will really light up for another toy. 

Keeta's focus and intensity really lit up when I changed from a ball on a rope reward toy in training to a pocket tug. It was like she was a different dog, who would have thunk?


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

yep, i think thats the secret for Sam is a Tug. i need to get into that mode myself do more of it with him and see what happens.

debbie


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## bosco146 (Jan 30, 2004)

Bear is not overly excited on the ball, but he will retrieve it and does work for it. However if I put a rope or tug in front of him he goes nuts.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

how about tying a ball to neka's tail and let him chase her ??LMBO


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!! OK dIANE, TO FUNNY! how about you try it and let me know how it works first! you do however get an A for creative thinking!









DEB


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## chris37 (Apr 25, 2007)

My Jack never did get that ball drive....we all tried and tried but all he does when you try to play fetch with him is to close his eyes and duck when he sees a ball coming at him! At almost 11yrs old we have finally given up! Of course if it is our cat "Fido" he would love to fetch him if he could catch him!


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## Sherush (Jan 12, 2008)

Jesse loved balls and toys at 8 weeks but it wasn't until about 3-4 months before he got the idea to return it, now will play fetch anytime, anywhere, we fetch during walks on 26" retractable I throw a stick behind me he runs fetches it and has to catch up to me as I continue walking and drops it.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i have made the discovery that Sam isn't crazy about tennis balls, but is fetching a soccer ball, stick, and as of lately snowballs!

my mistake was thinking he was going to fetch anything while his sister is outside with him. she is a distraction chasing her ball. i mean if you were a dog and there was another dog chasing balls outside wouldn't it be more fun to chase another dog chasing a ball.
daaaaaaaah!

working alone with him he will chase the things i mentioned above and return and drop them. so, it looks like there will be something there. maybe not a crazy as his sister and older brother, but he will retrieve.

debbie


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

Jackson (10 months) loves tennis balls, but that really didn't kick in until about two months ago...he is just as happy chasing a cat or trying to defend himself against the evil vacuum cleaner


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

since the day i showed him a ball so probably around 8 weeks

now he will chase anything u can throw..


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

when i started this thread i had no idea just how late of a bloomer i would have.

Sam has really gone nuts with drive at this point. i did alot of things to bring it out, one thing was seperating him from my female, he really needed even more of my time to work on this.
wow! that dog goes NUTS over snowballs, tease him with them and he turns into a maniac. wining, barking, etc. yeepie, its there just took the silly dog until 8 months to really show it!

now, i will eat my words, and my arm will fall off from throwing snowballs.









debbie


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## bmass01 (Apr 7, 2005)

LOL, you know what they say......Becareful what you ask for!







Heck I picked Dakota up 2 days ago and he is already chasing his ball.....


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## doxsee (Jun 14, 2007)

Jayda has had a high ball drive since the day I brought her home. Now at 5 months, she's play ball all day if I let her. When the game is done and I put the balls up (always play with two, it has worked great!) she will sit there staring at them and whining. I'm so happy, I've always wanted a dog I could play ball with and that would actually bring it back!


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

Dakota was interested in a tennis ball a few months ago. I could throw it in the house and she would return it, but it would take a 'drop it' command. I've always wanted a dog to play fetch with and worked very hard on getting her interested. tried this outside and she couldn't care less about retuning the ball but will run around with it. My husband then thought it would be fun to chace her - against my pleading, he did it anyway. Now she runs away from me when she has the ball. I refuse to play chace her games.

I will have to be content to play fetch with my cat. He is really good at it. He will even come up to me and drop the little ball in my hand while I'm watching TV.


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## gmcenroe (Oct 23, 2007)

My dog has huge ball drive but with the balls with cord on it she always wanted to chew the cord not the ball. I use tennis balls now and she is nuts for them. Sometimes she ends up with two balls in her mouth at once! She used to play chase games with me but in the last two months I have taught her to return to me with the ball. I did this by offering her something more valuable than the ball, a treat. Now she just comes back to me on her own although she usually wants to keep the ball to herself.


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## Baby Byron (Aug 20, 2002)

I guess all our GSDs were born with a ball-drive... It probably kicked in right after they opened their eyes:"Oooh... that's how mom looks like... and THAT's where my milk comes from. Now... where's the ball?"


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## networkn (May 28, 2008)

The trouble we have with thunder is that he can split a tennis ball in half within a few moments, though he will chase anything that is moving per se. I have been trying to find a ball that is big enough he can't just break it in his mouth, not too big that when he is chasing it, it dents our rimu furniture and still interesting enough for him to play with. I was thinking a solidish rugby ball that moves erratically.


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## JFoster (Nov 22, 2006)

Interesting question. Zeus was crazy for the soccer balls instantly. We got him when he was 6/7 weeks old. At some point he ate all the soccer balls and we moved to the cheap tennis balls. We've been buy them by the dozen ever since (about a dozen a week). He begs for tennis balls like a treat. New tennis balls mind you. He takes a new one and pops it within a minute or so. Then he squeezes it really fast for a while and he's done. And then he's ready for a new one before the last one has had time to dry out.

Our new pup Isis is taking to the tennis balls right away too. She's about 12/13 weeks old. But keep in mind we have like 40 or 50 or more tennis balls sitting around the house constantly. Plus another truck load of old gross ones out in the backyard too.

Jon.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

Sofie was born with ball drive... when she was a puppy, she's darn near take your hand off if you weren't watching.

Jack's ball drive kicked in closer to a year old. I was beginning to think it wasn't there.. Wrong!


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

I've noticed my females drives are def. there by 8 wks. The boys usually start about 12 wks to 6 months.


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## Tetley's Mom (Dec 1, 2008)

My pup has always liked to chase and fetch since the day she came home - 9 wks, but her ball drive over treat drive - for training purposes has just kicked in at about 19 weeks old.


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## CarLooSHoo (Feb 26, 2009)

Meesha was a tennis-ballaholic from day one! Her favorite toy still!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Dena was chasing balls and bringing them back from when we got her at 9 weeks old. Keefer was more interested in chasing HER chasing her ball. He'd go after a ball if I rolled it a few feet and she wasn't around, but it was a long time before he became ball obsessed. He was not a natural retriever, like her. Now he's a nut for balls, big balls especially - Jolly Balls, soccer balls, footballs, basketballs....

I think his ball drive kicked in when he got big and fast enough that he could chase Dena and the ball and actually get it before she did - and then he could lord it over her that he had "her" ball.







Somewhere along the way he realized how much fun chasing balls is, but I don't recall how old he was. Definitely a late bloomer though. 

Right now Halo isn't really into balls yet, but she'll chase Keefer chasing the ball, so it may end up being a similar situation with her. When it's just her and me we're working on the training homework from puppy class and I haven't spent much time playing ball with her, so I may try that soon and see if I can spark her interest.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

since i posted this thread Sam has begun to be Very interested in retrieving. he's funny because he doesn't like tennis balls, or normal retrieval objects. he's into snowballs.

he started out at a young age more interested in chasing my female who was retrieving, and that would be a natural thing for a young pup, and certainly more stimulating than chasing his own ball. i separated them at some point and winter came and thats where the snowballs came in. i can have them all outside now and throw Neka's frisbee for her in one direction and throw a snowball for Sam in the other and he is more interested in his own retrieval. he's not as driven or obsessed as my female is, but its coming along i just need to tease him a bit more with objects to get him fired up.

i don't think its a gender thing, because my other males were early bloomers with the ball drive, most from day one as pups. but, you have to know my Neka, she's a party girl and alot of fun, so who could resist chasing her..........lol!









it will be interesting when the snow disappears and we have no more snowballs. i am hoping Sam will be turned on by something else, and i think he will if he has gotten used to retrieving. i just need to find something that turns him on as well as the snowballs. maybe i could start making snowballs up and freezing them......

debbie


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

I'm glad that I can finally add my name to this list.

I didn't think Dakota had much ball drive even though I tried to encourage it. Would throw the ball in the park and she would get it and drop it and move on to the blowing leaf or fly. In the house she would retrieve it and return it, but I think she was more interested in the treat for returning the ball than actually playing fetch.

During obience class a few weeks ago during distraction exercises they needed a dog that wasn't ball crazy so up went my hand. You had to sit/stay your dog, and one person would grab a toy and try to distract the other dogs. Piece of cake I thought. I could bounce a ball in front of this dog and she couldn't care the least. Well, in class she wanted to break her stay to get that ball.

Dakota is now 8 months old and I can say that she has ball drive. Yes! I bought a chuck-it and had a great time with her yesterday playing fetch.


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## Northof60 (Feb 15, 2009)

Kiah ( 5 1/2 months) must have been born with it. She has fetched a ball since a few days after we got her. She now does the same with frisbees.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

its funny how they all develope differently. i would imagine alot is genetic, some inviroment, and others just a crap shoot on the drive at all.

most of mine as i said earlier have had it from day one, the last two i got were later bloomers. my female was what i though a poopy puppy, she had no drive at all at 4-5-6 months old. at around 8-9 months old holy crap, she turned into a crazy woman with the ball, or retrieving anything.

Sam the one i started this thread on, is very different than what i've had. he loves chasing snowballs, could care less about sticks, regular balls, or anything else for a throw toy. i guess he's gonna have to find something he likes because the snow is fading fast!

debbie


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## mmarie (Feb 25, 2009)

Bella was 8 weeks old when I brought her home, her first toy was a ball, and it was only more than 2 feet from her if she was fetching it. I got good pictures of her and grabbed her attention by squeeking a ball, and she wanted to fetch NON STOP. From the get-go she brought the ball back so I would throw it again. She even learned to sneak to the top of the stairs, drop the ball and push it down, wait for it to get to the bottom, and fetch it so she could play with herself when we were busy. When we got sick of throwing the ball, we'd hide it and tell her to "find it". She loves this game as much or more than fetch. Now after a little bit of playing ball, she'll hide it for us.

Duke is 10 weeks and doesn't care to play fetch. He loves watching Bella fetch though, so maybe the drive will kick in? If Bella is in a different room and you throw something he LOVES to pounce on it and attack it, but he's not great and bringing it back. You have to be prepared with 3 or 4 toys and be willing to fetch them yourself when he's done with his "attack".


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