Teaching Dogs to Chase Balls

Use a frisbee or a stick if you don't have a ball for your dog.

Playing fetch allows dogs to enact their natural instincts of pursuing and retrieving prey. Calm energetic dogs and give your pet some healthy exercise by playing a game of fetch. Training your dog to chase balls makes playing fetch less frustrating, as you eliminate behaviors such as refusing to return the ball or disobeying your commands. Start with simple games and teach your dog to respect your authority and retrieve and release the ball, and soon you will have developed a life-long skill you can use together.

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1. Simple Games

   • Begin with simple games to help your dog learn to chase balls successfully. Eliminate distractions from the place where you teach your dog to play and soon you can indulge your new game in any setting, such as in a busy park or at a beach. Teach your dog to play in a room free of distractions. For example, remove other pets, people, food and chew toys from the room and throw a toy for your dog repeatedly until it understands the game. Use a squeaky toy and squeeze it before throwing to fully engage your dog’s attention.

   Letting Go of the Toy

   • Most dogs learn easily to chase and retrieve an object the owner throws, but untrained dogs often sit at the owner’s feet and chew the object instead of relinquishing it for the next toss. Teaching your dog to return the ball is one of the most difficult parts of playing fetch, but is essential to a successful game. Help your dog master this skill by holding a handful of treats in one hand. Hold a treat in front of your dog’s nose and let it eat the treat when it drops the toy. Your dog will associate returning the ball with a reward, and soon this behavior will become second nature.

   Command Respect

   • If your dog does not respect your authority, it will be difficult to train it to chase a ball obediently, making the game frustrating for both of you. Establish discipline during games of fetch. For example, if your dog fails to return the ball, do not indulge this behavior by giving your pet attention and chasing after it. Instead, wait patiently for the dog to return the ball. Your pet will soon become bored since it has not obtained the game of chase it desired and will bring the ball back. If you indulge your dog’s bad behavior during a game of fetch, your pet will not understand that it must return the ball for the fun to continue.

   Overcoming Reluctance

   • Some dogs are not naturally inclined to chase and retrieve objects. However, you can train even reluctant dogs to chase a ball. If your pet does not seem to enjoy or understand playing fetch, pay attention to the games your dog does like. For example, if it loves tug of war, toss an object and play tug of war with your dog when it retrieves it. This way, your pet will associate a game of fetch with its favorite activities and will soon learn to enjoy chasing balls as well.

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