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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

If chasing a ball is bad ...

26 replies

OldSpeclkledHen · 13/12/2023 10:34

How do you exercise your dogs?

My boy LOVES chasing and fetching the ball, I do try and limit how much he does, but I couldn't not

How can I get him more interested in sniffy walks?

Sorry this is short (supposed to be working!) but any advice appreciated

Thanks you

OP posts:
twistyizzy · 13/12/2023 10:40

Will depend on the breed but to encourage sniffing throw the ball into a bush and get him to sniff + retrieve. Scatter portion of food on ground randomly so he can sniff it out.
I have a pattern to my walks so I intermix training into every walk: 5 mins heel walk on lead to get to off lead place (woodland/field etc), 2 mins heel walk without lead (never let dog race off after taking lead off), 5 mins free running, 5 mins obedience training exercises ie sit/stay/recall, 5 mins free running, 2 mins walk to heel off lead, 10 mins specific training (working gundog so exercises appropriate to whatever we need to work on) then repeat throughout walk.
This way the dog is getting both physical and mental exercise on the walk.

letstrythatagain · 13/12/2023 10:47

What's wrong with chasing and catching a ball? Never heard of it being a problem before! My dog (Weimaraner) absolutely loves it.

twistyizzy · 13/12/2023 10:49

@letstrythatagain it is incredibly bad for their skeleton/joints etc ie constant fast running, sharp stops and turns. Plus it can lead to ball obsessive behaviour. You have an HPR breed so much better would be to do breed appropriate training where he would get both physical and mental exercise.

letstrythatagain · 13/12/2023 10:51

twistyizzy · 13/12/2023 10:49

@letstrythatagain it is incredibly bad for their skeleton/joints etc ie constant fast running, sharp stops and turns. Plus it can lead to ball obsessive behaviour. You have an HPR breed so much better would be to do breed appropriate training where he would get both physical and mental exercise.

Didn't realise this. I'll look into it. Thank you!

JenniferJupiterVenusandMars · 13/12/2023 10:56

I use the ball as a reward rather than a routine form of exercise. I appreciate the concerns around the effect on the dog’s joints etc but my dog does fast turns, stops etc chasing around with her friends 🤷🏼‍♀️ Am I supposed to stop that too?

twistyizzy · 13/12/2023 10:59

@JenniferJupiterVenusandMars no but many people repetitively throw balls constantly for the whole walk, that's what makes it harmful. 2 or 3 balls thrown throughout a 1 hour walk won't cause harm, same as a 5 min run around with doggy friends won't cause harm.

IngGenius · 13/12/2023 11:15

Fetching a still ball is not as bad as a dog chasing a moving ball. However should not be excessive.

The dogs movements will not be so jaring on the joints.

Hiding balls and letting the dog find it - is great for all breeds.

Endless chasing a moving ball will normally make your dog as high as a kite.

Sniffing out a ball will tire your dog mentally and physically and they will be in a much happier calm state.

Teach your dog to catch a ball. Have them close to you and encourage them to catch the ball when they do not have to jump off the ground to get it.

IngGenius · 13/12/2023 11:17

JenniferJupiterVenusandMars · 13/12/2023 10:56

I use the ball as a reward rather than a routine form of exercise. I appreciate the concerns around the effect on the dog’s joints etc but my dog does fast turns, stops etc chasing around with her friends 🤷🏼‍♀️ Am I supposed to stop that too?

I would be very aware of the twisting and turning and would stop it if it went on for a long time or became too intense.

In a second you can be dealing with a cruciate injury

IngGenius · 13/12/2023 11:21

@OldSpeclkledHen re getting him interested in sniffy walks is giving him the opportunity.

If walks so far have been go to the middle of the field and chase balls it will take a while for them to adjust. If he is fixated on the ball then hide the ball in the hedges etc and ask him to find it.

Walk your dog around the outside of the field, way more sniffs at the edge, mice, animals, other dogs etc. Walk slowly with him on lead to start with. Stand still see what he does.

If he is just scanning the horizon and not looking around and not sniffing I would say he is over threshold and not feeling very relaxed. It is good for him to have his nose down and just chilling.

You could also help him by putting treats on the floor for him to sniff out. If he is not doing this then you really will have to work on relaxing and his threshold levels out and about.

OldTinHat · 13/12/2023 11:37

I used to play 'hide and seek' with my old dog. But at home, not out on walks, but it did encourage sniffing.

I'd shut him out of the room/garden, hide a small treat and tell him to go and find it. He loved it - and the praise he got afterwards for being so clever!

He had a cruciate injury (not from chasing a ball but from being an idiot!) so I was always very cautious about any harsh exercise such as chasing balls.

hermioneee · 13/12/2023 11:41

Throwing it into long grass for him to find it is a great alternative. I do really bad throws so he can't predict where it will land and then he sniffs it out. Favourite walk of the day.

Original poster
OldSpeclkledHen · 13/12/2023 13:18

Phew! Thanks everyone!

I hold onto him when it's thrown, so he's not always jumping up to catch it .... (as that made me wince watching that) and yes I throw into long grass too so he has to search for it - he likes that!

It's not for the whole walk, maybe 5 mins out of 30 mins

I also hide treats in and about the house when am out

He is toy/ball obsessed, but it's good distraction from other dogs too as he's a bit unpredictable sometimes (but completely ignores other dogs if he can see the ball)

Thank you again, I'll aim at more long grass searches 😊

OP posts:
margotrose · 13/12/2023 14:15

As well as at home, you can do treat scattering on walks too. My beagle loves a sniffy walk where I hide treats in long grass and put his nose to work!

LolaSmiles · 13/12/2023 14:20

Rightly or wrongly I take the approach of throwing balls and toys in moderation with mine. They enjoy playing with their toys and some throwing as part of other play, tug, and fun in the garden. It's not as their primary exercise so is fine to me. I don't use ball flingers or throw such a distance they would be doing lots of harsh stopping after building up speed.

Wiser mumsnetters will advise but I always thought the big issue was people spending lots of their walk throwing the ball because of the repetitive strain on the joints. The tennis ball flingers are bad for similar reasons as the longer distance means dogs pick up more speed, which takes more to stop.

Aria20 · 13/12/2023 14:45

Beware of grass seeds though if you hide things in long grass.... several hundred pounds on a flipping grass seed! I always thoroughly check long haired dog after walks but obviously they can be missed!

longtompot · 13/12/2023 17:03

letstrythatagain · 13/12/2023 10:47

What's wrong with chasing and catching a ball? Never heard of it being a problem before! My dog (Weimaraner) absolutely loves it.

We had to stop ball chasing walks when my cocker spaniel started hurting her joints and almost tore her cruciate ligament. We do short stints in our back garden which she still loves, and funnily enough after a long time of not playing with the ball, she now gives it back! She was very much of the throw don't take category of ball play.

Original poster
OldSpeclkledHen · 13/12/2023 21:30

@Aria20 omg this is meant to be stress free and enjoyable 😂😂😂

But point noted!

Tried a sniffy walk tonight, not sure if he enjoyed it so much? Then hid the ball around the house a few times when we got home (he loved that 😂)

Thanks everyone, this dawg parenting is still new to me, so still learning! All the advice is appreciated 😊

OP posts:
margotrose · 13/12/2023 22:42

Where did you take him for a sniffy walk?

My beagle gets bored doing the same sniffs all the time - we have about ten routes and try and vary it so he never does the same walk more than twice a week.

If we do have to do the same walk twice, I try and vary it by going in the opposite direction or on the opposite side of the road etc.

Newfluff · 13/12/2023 22:47

It is ridiculous, living is dangerous. Dogs have been chasing things thrown for them since domestication.

This angst around everything isn't healthy.

Wolfiefan · 13/12/2023 22:50

What’s not healthy is people using those awful ball slingers every 2 minutes on a walk. A dog chasing a ball sometimes is fine.

EdithStourton · 14/12/2023 05:57

Something else you can do is teach your dog to sit while you throw the ball and then send him for it. Or throw two balls in different directions and then indicate which one you want. It takes a bit more training but it does help to nail sit-stay which is very useful.

Aria20 · 14/12/2023 06:57

@OldSpeclkledHen enjoyable yes... stress free not so much....

There is always something to watch out for on walks, in some ways I'm lucky mine is a fussy eater so doesn't eat random stuff she finds on walks but my friend's beagle eats anything and everything he finds no matter how gross!

Then you have fox poo rollers Grin and the clean up operation is not pleasant!

pilates · 14/12/2023 07:01

I’m sure ball throwing is fine in moderation

twistyizzy · 14/12/2023 07:57

@Newfluff @pilates
From a vet + physio p.o.v this is why it is bad:
How chasing a ball can be harmful. Our dogs have changed both in form and function from their wolf ancestors, so when we ask a dog to run repeatedly from virtually standing to a gallop, brake sharply, often skidding on the underlying surface, throwing their neck back initially, and then bringing all their weight forward as they reach for the ball, often twisting at the same time, we can see that the forces on a dog’s skeleton and muscles are enormous. Increasing speeds can as much as double the forces generated.
It is thought that the most dangerous component of ball chasing occurs during braking, and thus is often responsible for shoulder injuries.
We also know that repeated micro-trauma to muscles and cartilage is the cause of long-term damage and that the older a dog gets, the more likely it is to be carrying small injuries. This will cause a dog to try and compensate, thus further altering the loading of its limbs.
In summary, chasing a ball combines sharp acceleration, high speeds, rapid and uncontrolled deceleration that includes rotatory forces on fundamentally unstable joints. In addition, this activity is usually repeated over and over again.

Definitelyrandom · 14/12/2023 12:53

Interesting re the strains ball chasing imposes. We have a retired racing greyhound. He'll chase a ball (or pinch other dogs' balls and run off with them) but he very rarely brings it back, so it's not something we do often. However, it's very noticeable when he's playing with other dogs not only how much faster he runs (obviously) but also how much faster he turns direction from running at speed. Clearly that's not from racing - maybe it's genetic from his (presumably) coursing ancestors a number of generations back. It's amazing to watch but we'll have to keep an eye on him as he gets older.