Hi everyone, My lovely pup I got from the rescue centre is nearly 11 months and he's a typical lab and out on walks he likes nothing more than scavenging. I tried to engage him with balls but he's not very interested. Until he sees another dog with a ball. And then he goes off to steal the ball. The last couple of times he just doesn't want to give it back. He is good at dropping or leaving things at home or on the lead but now he has become really possessive over the ball. He clearly thinks: This is MY ball and you're not having it. I tried with treats but he ended up taking it home and dropped it there. I completely ignored him for a couple of hours and he sat in his bed watching me. Probably wondering why I ignored him. Is it the right thing to do? I don't know. Any tips?
So he is motivated by stealing a ball - this isn't unusual, if you watch dogs together the thing another dog has is hugely more attractive than the thing they have. I can put two identical inside soft toys out for my dogs, and each dog wants the one the other dog has. My older dog is hilarious with this. If my puppy has something he wants, he will start playing with something else. Eventually, the puppy will break and go for the thing my older dog is playing with and then he'll immediately abandon it to steal the thing he wanted in the first place. You can use this. So your dog isn't interested in playing with you? Well, get out a toy (say a tug toy) and play with it on your own. Put it away. Repeat etc. When your dog is super interested in it, let him steal the end of it, and then play a great game of tug with him (just for a few seconds) then trade off for a treat. You can use this in all sorts of ways to build up the value of games. You can do the same thing with two toys. Play with your dog with one, then abandon it and play with the other toy on your own. When your dog switches his attention, play with him then abandon the toy and play with the other. This builds up the value of playing with you. Once you have something your dog is really passionate about, you can use it to train a 'give' cue and you can eventually get that strong enough so your dog will hand you a stolen ball. That takes some time though. Here is a video using two rings - this is the early part of the training although obviously this dog has a strong desire to play - you can build this even in a dog that doesn't do it 'naturally'. (btw, I'd never pull a dog off its feet like this playing tug, let the dog do the pulling, not the human. Apart from that, it's a good video).
You ignored him for a couple of hours after he dropped the ball? I'd say that was just completely pointless.
Dogs don't do 'wondering why'. If you are using ignoring, do it for a few minutes, then back to normal. Good advice from JulieT.
Hey, only just seen the responses to this. Yes, I see now what you mean, dogs, don't do wondering why. Thank you for your advice. He hasn't actually been possessive anymore. Strange, it may have been an isolated incident.
