Possessive Over Fetch Toy

[Zorro13]

My 6.5 month old BC/Aussie has started getting pretty possessive over thrown balls while at the dog park. If there is a chase and another dog gets it he lashes out no matter the size of the other dog. He's extremely well behaved with them otherwise but is extremely driven to get the ball. I would just stop throwing a ball in the dog park but there is usually someone else throwing one and he goes after that one (His recall is good enough that I can call him off when a ball is thrown but I have to do it every time. I don't want to "use up" good recalls with a lot of requests where he has to make a hard decision between me and a bouncing ball). He stops when I give a loud "Hey!" and so far the scraps have been short lived but I'm afraid he's going to run into a dog who doesn't appreciate how he's acting and really hurt him.

 

This is a really good park that generally has well behaved dogs so it would be a shame if I had to stop taking him, especially since he is the problem. Is this sort of thing just an adolescent phase or is there something I need to do to train it out of him?

[Gloria Atwater]

This is something you must work with and train out of him. It will not - not - go away on his own.

My advice is don't throw the ball while other dogs are around and don't let him chase other dogs' balls. If he has a recall, then work on using that, redirect him to you and teach him a "leave it." Teach him to leave the other balls alone. If you can get him to do something else like play tug without other dogs interfering, then do that.

But I'd say your safest bet is no playing fetch at the dog park. You are correct in your concerns and conflicts over toys are a common cause of dog fights. You want to nip that in the bud, right now, and at this young age, just reserve ball playing for one-on-one when other dogs are not around.

His "puppy license" is about to expire and other dogs will begin treating him like an adult when he acts like a snot. Keep him safe. Teach him redirects and "leave it."

Good luck!

~ Gloria

[Zorro13]

So far my approach has been to have a squeeky tennis ball in my pocket (He would leave a juicy steak when he hears that noise!) and redirect if I see a collision coming. I'm just not sure what type of training scenario would be best. The incidents generally happen far away from me so there's no training opportunity during a real scenario. I've considered asking people if they would volunteer their dog to help me but I want to make sure my training setup is good since it would be somewhat risky training. I want to make sure it's actually worth it. Everything I've read online basically says "yah, dog on dog toy possessiveness is a hard one." I haven't seen any real ways to handle it though.

[Shetlander]

Toy possessiveness is largely managed, at least in my experience. It may be you need to play fetch away from other dogs. You could try to set up a scenario where he gets rewarded big time (extra exciting toy) for calling off a toy another dog wants. He could learn that you will always have another toy for him. That might work if you got enough reps in. However, if the other dog is horning in on his play, not part of the play group, then I consider it rude behavior. Quinn plays great with his friends. He is not happy to have a random dog join in his play and neither am I. But that is one reason why I don't go to dog parks. I hope it works out for you but you may need to find a different activity than fetch when other dogs want to join in.

[GentleLake]

Since his recall is so good and he'll come to the squeaking ball, could you call him back to you and throw your ball in another direction? Or would other dogs just join in the chase?

 

If you can find an adequate reward for calling him back just before the spat starts, it could teach him to leave the ball when another dog gets it first rather than fighting over it. But I agree that just calling him back without there being sufficient reward could eventually taint the recall cue, especially at this young age.

 

You're right to be concerned about another dog that might not quit so easily. He could get hurt, and in all honestly, it'd be his fault, not the other dog's. Just a bad scenario all around.

 

I wish I had better advice to offer. Is there a good trainer in the area who you could hire for some private lessons at the park to help you?

 

Good luck figuring this out. Until you do -- or have someone along who can help -- I agree with others in saying you probably shouldn't take him to the dog park. Each repetition of this behavior just reinforces it.

[Camden's Mom]

Everything I've read online basically says "yah, dog on dog toy possessiveness is a hard one." I haven't seen any real ways to handle it though.

 

This!! I saw the same sort of issue cropping up with my dog when he was going through adolescence and I could not find any functional training advice. Saying "don't play fetch at the dog park" basically translates to "you can no longer take him to the dog park" because there are always balls laying around and other people throwing them. I totally understand your frustration.

 

GentleLake just posted while I was writing this and offered a lot of the advice I was going to suggest. I think you need to actively work on this with him. The fact that he has a good recall and you have higher value toys in your pocket are going to be worth gold. It may feel tedious, but your trips to the dog park are going to be more like structured training sessions while you work on getting this under control. As a courtesy you may want to let other owners know that it's something you are working on, good owners like you described they will probably be willing to help in whatever way they can.

 

Keep an eagle eye on him. Don't let him get too far away from you so that you can't intervene/distract. Do not allow him to practice this behavior and do everything you can to help him succeed. Always call him to you before he even thinks about becoming possessive. I agree you should make these recalls awesome (throw a ball for him, praise him, treats, etc.). If he does become possessive over another dog's ball I would verbally correct and then enforce a time out, whether that means leashing him in the park or physically removing him from the dog park for a few minutes. He needs to understand that this behavior is unacceptable but that he'll be well rewarded for exhibiting some self control and resisting the urge to be possessive. I wish it was an easy fix, but I think it just takes time and practice.

 

I also noticed an improvement with my dogs behavior when we started making the ball a low value item. The game of fetch itself is very high value, but I've tried to make the ball much less significant. I tend to hoard crappy, old, cheap tennis balls so that I can just have him leave them at places. At the dog park, for example, I might bring a few tennis balls of my own or just use the ones on the ground there. I will play with him for a bit with a tennis ball, then ask him to "leave it" as I walk away. We'll mill for a bit and then I'll pick up a different tennis ball and play with that one for a few throws, rinse and repeat. We'll often leave a park without the ball I brought, or any ball for that matter, and he's always the one who has to "leave it" and walk away from it. For us this has made a ball about as exciting as a stick... meaning finding one is no big deal unless a human wants to play a game with it.

 

I wish I could offer better advice. This is a frustrating behavior and you've really got to nip it in the bud, but I don't see a quick fix. Luckily, he's very young and this sounds like a relatively new behavior that has just started to surface. There are a lot of very skilled trainers on this board, I hope someone will be able to offer more precise advice. Either way, good luck with this moving forward!

[Zorro13]

Since his recall is so good and he'll come to the squeaking ball, could you call him back to you and throw your ball in another direction? Or would other dogs just join in the chase?

 

That's mostly what I've done. As soon as I see someone raise one of those long ball throwers I get his attention and have him get my ball. I have had one fight that was a result of a dog sprinting up behind me and joining my game though (It was a huge Rotty too, luckily she was a total sweetheart). He is one of the fastest and most driven and usually is the one that gets the ball so the fight opportunities are reduced. He is also still small enough to rate the small dog section (just a hair over 30lbs) so I can take him there where the dogs are usually less interested in fetch if there are a lot of balls flying around in the big dog section. That's generally what I've done in the past anyways when the big dog area looked too rowdy that day.

 

I didn't realize I was creating a monster with the fetch game! It was a huge struggle to get him into it and now it is what he lives for. His recall is actually as good as it is because of fetch. He's much more driven over getting a throw for a reward as opposed to a treat. I guess some bad had to come of the good...

[gonetotervs]

Does he argue over a ball when he already has one in his mouth? Very hard to bit another dog if the dog' one' s mouth is already full of a ball he won't give up.

If yes, take multiple balls to the dog park and the moment you see another dog go after his ball, lob a second one, so each of the dogs can have one.

 

This is a management solution rather than addressing the issue, but -- if your dog cares about having a ball, but not about which one -- can be made to work. And it de-escalates any potential confrontation. Extra balls are rather cheaper than vet bills.

[gonetotervs]

sorry, can't spell tonight. I meant "bite" . (Please ignore other typos/misspellings. I need coffee, but not at this time of night.)

[Debbie Meier]

Have one of those, no toys when other dogs are around, she was also possessive of me. Total management in her case, as she is getting older she is exhibiting better self control and higher tolerance, I suspect that once she gets rolling good on training that we will see less and less of it as she develops more self control and patience.

[Camden's Mom]

Have one of those, no toys when other dogs are around, she was also possessive of me. Total management in her case, as she is getting older she is exhibiting better self control and higher tolerance, I suspect that once she gets rolling good on training that we will see less and less of it as she develops more self control and patience.

 

I agree with this. I think self control plays a huge part in this and usually that comes with age and training. While my dogs possessiveness of toys (and sometimes me) was not terribly severe, I still made sure to work on it. I'd always give him a better option then fighting over an object and verbally correct him when he made a bad choice. I might be wrong, but I just don't think avoiding dog parks all together is going to do him any good. Trips to the dog park might be more work then play until his behavior improves, but I think you have to teach him somehow. Of course, I didn't have a dog that was willing to really *fight* to keep what he thought was his, so I think it was a lot easier for me then it is for the OP.

[TEC]

...He is also still small enough to rate the small dog section (just a hair over 30lbs) so I can take him there where the dogs are usually less interested in fetch if there are a lot of balls flying around in the big dog section. That's generally what I've done in the past anyways when the big dog area looked too rowdy that day...

 

Quite some time ago my dog and I thought we would give a nearby dog park another try. No sections for different sizes, and just one dog and a guy throwing a ball or something when we arrived. I elected to avoid potential for problems, and walked through a treed area, unsuitable for tossing things. The guy and his dog followed us, apparently because he didn't have enough control to keep it with him. He didn't make conversation, but said, "Most people stay over in the main area next to the gate". He wanted me to go back there, so he could play with his dog. We did not return to any place referred to as a *dog park*.

 

You don't know how owners and dogs are going to behave on any particular visit. Just say no to *dog parks*. It's not a good atmosphere for learning or anything else.

 

Lots of large public areas around here that invite pets, as well as visitors without dogs. Nearly all handlers seem to display courtesy and have control. We will continue to exercise at those places. -- TEC