My dog is toy obsessed and won’t listen to me at the dog park. I’ve been trying to adjust her to being sniffed by other dogs while holding a ball. Is this right?

Question

Hello,

I have an 11 month old lab/border collie mix that is very toy obsessed. I don't mind that she likes to always play with toys but I'm having trouble with getting her to only play with the toys when I say it is alright, she's at her worst at the dog parks when other owners are playing with their own dogs. Once she sees the toy (mainly balls) she does not listen at all she is so fixated on the ball and it gets really frustrating when she takes the other dog's toy. She's really good at bringing the toy back to the other dogs owner so they will continue to throw the ball for her. She'll take off to the other end of the dog park just to get that toy, I call her but once she's on the move there is no stopping her. I read in some articles that I could use a shock collar and that seems like it could work but I was wondering if there is other things I could try and do before I spend the money on one of those collars.

Also, when I take her own ball to the park she gets really aggressive and her hackles stand up anytime another dog comes up to sniff her when she has the ball, she has also gotten into fights because of it. This only happens when it's her own toy, I've been working with her about it. When her hackles stand up I take the ball from her and not let her have it till her hackles come down and the other dog leaves. If it gets to the point where the two dogs get into a fight, I break it up and put her on her side and make her stay and try to get the other dog to come up to her and sniff her and sniff the ball while she's laying there. Is this right?

Any help is appreciated,
Kaitlyn

Accepted Answer

Why does she have access to the toys on her own? I would not allow any toy obsessed dog to be able to get toys whenever she felt like it. The toys are MINE and I allow her to play with them when I say, and only when she behaves in a manner in which she earns them (like training time).

I’d also keep her out of the dog parks. Taking her to a park where you KNOW people are going to be playing and KNOWING your dog won’t listen is an incredibly bad idea. Putting a dog on her side is not going to teach her anything and is not a proper way to correct the behavior. It’s really not a good idea and it will not give you the results you want. At only 11 months old, she’s an adolescent and as she matures you are going to end up with an obsessive/compulsive, aggressive dog on your hands if you don’t start managing her time and training her. You are also going to either end up with an injured dog or a lawsuit if she attacks another dog and injures it. (or a human will be bitten trying to break up a fight)

You can read Ed’s article on dog parks.

I’d start with basics, since your dog is toy obsessed you can use a toy as a reward and get great obedience from her if you put in the right training effort.

I’d first start with some pack leadership, here is our groundwork program. Pack Structure for the Family Pet is the video that picks up where the article leaves off.

I’d recommend

The Power of Training Dogs with Food
The Power of Playing Tug with your Dog

Become a student of marker training: I would read our article on training dogs with Markers.

The Power of Training Dogs with Markers

You can always go to the remote collar but first she needs to learn what you expect, you need to control her free time and her toys and give her something positive to do with her energy to earn her toys. Set her (and yourself) up for success.

I would recommend learning to use our SEARCH function, which is located in the top left corner of every page of the website. If you type in your key words or question it will find you articles, Q&As, free streaming video and links to threads on our discussion forum.

Cindy Rhodes