How much ball launching is reasonable during a dog walk?

[HayuBingeWatcher]

I took a friend’s dog to a private field today, they gave me a his ball launcher and said he loves it.

the dog was obsessed! only focused on the launcher, fetching and returning for another go. I thought we would have a few throws and then walk the rest of the way with some time spent sniffing, not a chance, he was dancing round my feet waiting for another throw.

so, just wondering what others do when the walk includes launching? Throw it every time the dog returns a ball and let them enjoy the activity. Other walks are pavement walks or normal trips around the local field.

it’s certainly worn him out and he is young and healthy. He wasn’t interested in treats or a sit and wait. It was ball after ball he was completely zoned in!

My dogs would love this and could do it for hours but it is so so incredibly hard on & bad for their joints, so we don’t do it.

It’s a vicious cycle, the more you throw the more they want you to throw. If you leave the ball launcher at home they are perfectly happy to have a “normal” walk.

I did wonder about joint damage if too many times a week. I just didn’t want to say something and look like I’m judging.

he is a good runner and great off lead/recall so maybe once or twice out of 7 walks a week isn’t too much? Honestly, I’ve never seen him so intense although he did look like he enjoyed it.
it’s also quite a short launcher, as in not thrown for miles so more like a good effort at fetch.

As a vet none - I never ever throw a ball fr my own dog. See way too many injuries from this. Rolling the ball along the ground is way safer.

How “young” is the dog, because if he’s still a puppy they could be causing irreparable damage in the future.

I saw a dog training website describing different types of walks. Ball chasing walks keep the dog in high excitement in comparison to sniffy walks. Both will exercise and tire the dog out, but the ball chasing walks will leave the dog craving more.

Well generally have a few minute of ball throwing in any walk and I use it as a distraction if there’s anything I don’t want him to see, but it is bad for their joints and I think it stops them fully engaging with the walk, or any training. Mine wouldn’t even find time to poo if he thought i was going to throw the ball endlessly.

Thankfully he understands “gone now” with me showing my empty hands as the ball has gone away and he is going to have to entertain himself and do his ablutions.

I don't do this with my dogs. Its so bad for them.

He’s 3

2 walks a day. Morning One is a pavement walk for sniffing and wandering about and the 2nd is either running around the edges of a big field or launching - 10-15 mins

He’s a clever boy, lots of training going on at home with scent and find it games.
he was just so hyper focused on the balls he couldn’t do a basic sit/wait and no interest in treats

Dogs see the ball as prey and that's why they get so excited and can only focus on the ball. I don't ever throw a ball for my dog as they can become obsessed and as previous posters have said it's bad for their joints.

My friend wonders why her dog is limping all the time when they feed its obsession with chasing balls.
Along with extendable leads, I hate ball throwers when over used.

Agree with PPs about it being obsession-feeding, and bad for joints etc. For my 3 year old lab, her obsession to retrieve is a work drive rather than a prey drive - she will focus to the exclusion of all else. Sit and stay while we hide (rather than throw) and return. Only take the next turn once sitting/lying down and staying. Add multiple “requests” in a stack before giving the “treat” of “go find it”. She’s taken a lot of varied training and practice well, and seems hard wired for this kind of activity. But given a ball launcher and 15 mins of mindless “fetch” and she’d be back to square one. What breed is your friend’s dog? I do think that has a bearing on their aptitude and drives.

This is really interesting.
he really seemed to enjoy the game but deep down you could see he was obsessed with the game
he didn’t even have a poo! Previous walks without the launcher are very sniffy and it took me a while to encourage my friend to let him dawdle and enjoy the slow pace because he can be reactive to distractions, other dogs where he wants to leap over and say hello (on lead) so my friend discovered launching and enjoys being able to pass distraction without reaction

Everyone has different opinions, but to have a safe, well trained dog, they need to be able to focus consistently on relaxed, at heel walking/you - not sniffs or balls or other dogs. Honestly your friend’s dog sounds like it’s allowed to get away with murder, how often (I think the answer we’ll find is never) is it walked on a short lead, and expected to behave sensibly? A dog’s life shouldn’t be about bombing around sniffing everything, approaching other dogs when on lead, and playing with balls. Occasionally yes - but only as a high-value reward once it’s had a calm, following-state walk where you are in charge!
You didn’t mention the breed? I do think this makes a difference.

My bitch would chase a ball till she died there is no off switch,
Great for training though as she's so obsessed I often carry one on new walks in case we come across horse riders or something else I need an immediate recall from
I can put her in a down stay and she won't break it till I throw the ball

She only gets short throws and a release command once the ball has landed so she's not putting the breaks on hard to catch it and risking muscle damage

Ball launchers are awful things the dogs build up so much speed and then have to put the breaks on or twist and turn to catch it, if they're really fast it can cause a lot of damage

If I was throwing a ball every walk I would limit it to 2-3 throws dependant on distance, age and breed but only after a very long warm up and not with a launcher

None. Ball launchers should be banned.

He’s a French bulldog. I know there are issues with the breed which is why I encouraged my friend to start find it and scent games during the hot weather.

this is also why I’m nervous approaching them again about their dog as the above didn’t go very well to start with. Friends reasoning was that he enjoys sunbathing so he isn’t fussed about being out in the hot weather and that it’s field walking rather than hot pavements.

luckily the dog grabbed on to scent work and find it really quickly, he is very food driven and friend agreed to keep trying with the training. Recall and wait are on point at home and very close with outside distractions.
without meaning to sound judgy I just think launching a ball is easier than planning scent work outside of the house and for me, the hunt looks too much for a 15 min walk.

Taking the launcher and not using it may be a great distraction and the same principle for not needing to treat with food every time a sit is completed.

friend wants an easy fix which is frustrating
he is such a lovely boy with so much potential, I don’t want to risk falling out with friend with my non asked for advice.

Mine gets about 5 minutes in the middle of a longer walk with lots of sniffing, heel, look st me etc. He has to sit before I throw and then has to drop the ball and sit before I throw it again. I do other scent work on the walks too, so the ball thrower is only one small part of the walk.

A French bulldog?
They struggle to breath enough as it is
It's just an accident waiting to happen even if it's the fittest and healthiest French bulldog there ever was they just aren't built for chasing balls for that length of time.

Bracheaphalic dogs can't manage intensive exercise for long periods they overheat and can't breath properly there's a very good chance that at some point that dog is just going to keel over mid way through chasing a ball

I'd rather loose a friend and tell them straight that it's not ok, a few short throws with a good warm up in cool weather fine but what your describing is not.

Aren't those launchers sponsored by Metacam? (Other painkillers are available!)

Thank you, this is all really helpful.
he has 2 walks a day and is quite well behaved on the short leash - he does have reactivity around distractions which can be diverted with treats/distraction 70% off the time

he is in a very good condition and well looked after. I agree with you about the bombing about without being in control/a high value reward.
PP also mentioned rolling the ball rather than throwing it and we’ve recently worked in the house with a wait sit and hiding treats in another room which he is slowly catching on to.
more work is needed on this instead of the launcher, I am going to talk to my friend again.
hopefully it will land well as it’s not about loosing a friend, I’m more concerned for the dog than the friendship if I’m honest.
without the friendship = unable to help the dog so I need to approach it with ideas to see improvement. He is very scent driven and quick to learn

We never throw balls or use a ball thrower when we’re out on walks.

My springer spaniel gets obsessed with balls - would chase them until she dropped if she could.

She also busted her cruciate ligament and needed TPLO surgery and 8 weeks in a crate - as a result of chasing a weirdly bouncing ball.

Crack-cocaine does the same for me @HayuBingeWatcher
Not really but you get the point.
Just because the dog loves it, doesn't mean they should do it. I'd refuse to take the launcher and perhaps suggest to your friends that they might want to do a little research on the subject.

My dog loves a ball. But we throw it for a find it game. So he still gets the retrieve but has to hunt for it. The launcher can help with this as we can get it really far through trees and can't see where it lands.