my dogs aggression over tennis balls has increased!

tianna's picture

Thanks to your advice, Adian, Inuki has been doing much better, and he is much more social with other dogs in general, especially since he is going to doggy daycare a few times a week! One thing, however, has gotten worse.....his obsession with tennis balls at the dog park! He does not act like this towards me if I am throwing the ball, only other people that are throwing the ball for their dog(s). He races up to the person full speed if he sees them picking up a ball, and barks this high pitched bark non-stop at them until they throw it, and then he speeds past the other dogs and will lash out with his teeth flaring at any dog that comes between him and the tennis ball! He went after a dog today who was not even interested in the tennis ball, he just wanted to chase and play with Inuki, and Inuki turned aggressive. He is acting in ways that I have never seen him act before. Hes always had a thing for tennis balls, but not to the extreme that I have noticed lately. He used to just love the thrill of the chase, and could care less if he actually was the first one to the ball. Its as if he thinks that every ball being thrown in the dog park is his! I get worried when people start throwing balls because I dont know some days how Inuki is going to behave. Anything I can do?

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Aidan's picture

Hi Tianna, we could set

Hi Tianna, we could set up a training program to teach him how to behave around tennis balls, but I think your best bet is to put him on leash and leave when someone starts throwing a ball around.

At this stage he is learning how to socialise with other dogs, and you are having success. Don't risk it for one little thing like that.

As a matter of fact, I would stay away from parks at peak times because he is too easily over-stimulated and probably not quite ready yet.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com