05/04/2025
As many of you will know fetch is a game I do not recommend you play with your dog. (I’m talking about mindless consistent ball throwing as opposed to teaching a dog a retrieve!).
Speaking from experience I’ve seen first hand how just even very occasional throws of a ball can bring about obsessive behaviours and injury, not to mention painful arthritic joints later in life.
I’ve seen with many of the spaniels particularly I’ve worked with over time just how unwanted behaviours can change in the home pretty quickly once balls are taken out of the equation.
You might see my dogs carrying toys from time to time on a walk - they’re spaniels - they like to hold things! But you won’t see me throwing anything for them to chase.
We have plenty of other games to play where we use their fantastic nose skills which they absolutely love to do!
If you’d like to have a go at Scentwork get in touch.
Next beginners workshop is on Sat 17th May in KT4.
https://www.the-canine-coach.co.uk/services/scentwork
Is Fetch Ruining Your Dog's "Dogginess"?
There's been quite an animated discussion on social media lately about whether dogs should be allowed to fetch or not.
I wanted to add a different viewpoint to this conversation.
First, let me be clear: I think it's completely fine if dogs *safely* fetch for 10 minutes a day. This won't break their training or cause significant problems.
(I do emphasize "safely" fetch. Not every dog can fetch safely. Some dogs are so driven, so focused on the motion, so reckless with their body that they never can safely fetch. They slam on brakes, twist incorrectly, and risk injury.
But many dogs can engage in safe, moderate fetching.)
Here's where I see the real problem: Fetching, because it's so enticing and such a high-value activity, can take away from dogs showing normal doggy behaviors. They would rather just fetch the whole time.
This isn't a theoretical concern. I first noticed it with my own Border Collie, Fusion, eleven years ago.
When he was young and we lived in the city, I played a lot of fetch with him in our backyard and at the park. He absolutely loved his balls.
Then we moved to the mountains. Suddenly, my backyard had endless miles of trails, forests, and mountains. I was excited to take him on beautiful long walks in nature.
But on these walks, he barely interacted with the environment at all. He would just circle me with his ball, drop it at my feet, lay down expectantly. If I didn't take it, he'd grab it, run ahead, throw it down again.
He didn't do any of what you'd expect from a healthy young dog in nature. He didn't run around exploring. He didn't sniff things. He didn't mark territory. He didn't dig holes or roll in interesting scents.
He was just obsessed with his ball.
I realized the fetching was taking away from his "dogginess" - from all the experiences he could and should have as a dog.
Since then, I've seen this same pattern with many of my in-person clients, especially those with high-energy, driven dogs like Aussies, German Shepherds, or German Shorthair Pointers.
I remember visiting a client with a young German Shepherd. They had a huge yard and three other dogs. The entire time I was there, this dog was obsessing about a ball, carrying it around, dropping it at the owner's feet.
I asked: "Does your dog ever play with the other dogs?"
"No."
"Does he ever wander around your yard? Lay in the sun? Dig holes? Chew bushes? Get the zoomies?"
"No, he mostly just wants to fetch."
This is where the danger lies. Fetch can create such an obsession in certain types of dogs that their behavioral diversity becomes severely limited.
My goal is always to help dogs live the happiest, most fulfilled lives where they can express as many aspects of their natural "dogginess" as possible.
Dogs' lives become rich and full through variety - exploring their environment, following scent trails, interacting with other dogs, digging in interesting spots, finding sunny patches to rest in, investigating rustling leaves, choosing different resting spots, making decisions about their own movement, and yes, even sometimes rolling in (or eating) disgusting things.
If any single activity suppresses so many natural behaviors as intensely as intense fetching can do, we need to seriously consider whether we're doing our dogs a favor with all that fetching (or whether we need to rein it in a bit)
What do you think? Have you noticed fetch becoming an obsession for your dog? Or are they able to switch from being focused on their ball, to doing all kinds of other doggy things?
Happy Training!
