Dog has developed obsession with chasing stones

[Speckledhen617]

It started in the summer, he had so much fun chasing stones in the sea or river we then started throwing a couple on walks. This coincided with his recall going out of the window but he'd stay by our side if he thought we had a stone for him to chase.

He doesn't catch them, he chases them then sniffs around for them. He'll occasionally find it and pick it up in his mouth then drop it.

I've tried to get him into balls or other toys but he's not interested at all. It's now his favourite thing to do and the only thing that holds his attention when he's off lead. He's 13 months old. I don't really know what to do about it.

Obviously stones are not the best toy for dogs. They wreck their teeth and if swallowed could be a major issue so you are right to try and change this habit.

What breed of dog is he? (we ought to take bets on this ).

You need to stop all interactions with stones, do not touch them, do not ever kick them when out on your walk they no longer exist in you or your dogs life.

He probably needs to go back on line for a bit and work on focus games with him. So reward for eye contact, work really hard at home in a boring environment before you take him out and about.

Maybe also look at playing with a ball again in a quiet boring environment and use that to help with focus.

Scent working games are also good for breaking up the chase and eye connection that he is getting from the stones.

I do totally understand the fixation on particular toys, I have one dog that has a favourite ball and will not touch any other ball ever. It took work but encouraging them to be flexible does really help them. It does involve you looking like an idiot and playing with one toy then moving onto another toy and pretending it is the best thing in the world!

Thanks for the reply, he's a cocker terrier cross. I'm going to have to put a ban on them and make sure everyone's on board with it. I've been trying to find a toy that would mimic a stone for him, it obviously doesn't exist because anything that small would be a choking hazard,!