29/03/2025
There is a question I get asked constantly:
āBart, should I play fetch with my dog every day? He LOVES it!ā
And my answer is always the same:
No. Especially not with working breeds like the Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd, or any other high-prey-drive dog, like hunting dogs, Agility dogs, etc.
This answer is often met with surprise, sometimes with resistance. I get itāyour dog brings you the ball, eyes bright, body full of energy, practically begging you to throw it. It feels like bonding. It feels like exercise. It feels like the right thing to do.
But from a scientific, behavioral, and neurobiological perspectiveāitās not. In fact, it may be one of the most harmful daily habits for your dogās mental health and nervous system regulation that no one is warning you about.
Let me break it down for you in detail. This will be long, but if you have a working dog, you need to understand this.
Working dogs like the Malinois and German Shepherd were selected over generations for their intensity, persistence, and drive to engage in behaviors tied to the prey sequence: orient, stalk, chase, grab, bite, kill. In their role as police, protection, herding, or military dogs, these genetically encoded motor patterns are partially utilizedābut directed toward human-defined tasks.
Fetch is an artificial mimicry of this prey sequence.
ā¢ Ball = prey
ā¢ Throwing = movement stimulus
ā¢ Chase = reinforcement
ā¢ Grab and return = closure and Reward - Reinforecment again.
Every time you throw that ball, youāre not just giving your dog āexercise.ā You are triggering an evolutionary motor pattern that was designed to result in the death of prey. But hereās the twist:
The "kill bite" never comes.
Thereās no closure. No end. No satisfaction, Except when he start chewing on the ball by himself, which lead to even more problems. So the dog is neurologically left in a state of arousal.
When your dog sees that ball, his brain lights up with dopamine. Anticipation, motivation, drive. When you throw it, adrenaline kicks in. It becomes a cocktail of high arousal and primal intensity.
Dopamine is not the reward chemicalāitās the pursuit chemical. It creates the urge to chase, to repeat the behavior. Adrenaline and cortisol, stress hormones, spike during the chase. Even though the dog āgets the ball,ā the biological closure never really happensābecause the pattern is reset, again and again, with each throw.
Now imagine doing this every single day.
The dogās brain begins to wire itself for a constant state of high alert, constantly expecting arousal, movement, and stimulation. This is how we create chronic stress.
The autonomic nervous system has two main branches:
ā¢ Sympathetic Nervous System ā āFight, flight, chaseā
ā¢ Parasympathetic Nervous System ā āRest, digest, recoverā
Fetch, as a prey-driven game, stimulates the sympathetic system. The problem? Most owners never help the dog come down from that state.
Thereās no decompression, no parasympathetic activation, no transition into rest.
Chronic sympathetic dominance leads to:
ā¢ Panting, pacing, inability to settle
ā¢ Destructive behaviors
ā¢ Hypervigilance
ā¢ Reactivity to movement
ā¢ Obsession with balls, toys, other dogs
ā¢ Poor sleep cycles
ā¢ Digestive issues
ā¢ A weakened immune system over time
ā¢ Behavioral burnout
In essence, weāre creating a dog who is neurologically trapped in the primal mindāalways hunting, never resting.
Expectation Is a Form of Pressure!!!!!!
When fetch becomes a daily ritual, your dog begins to expect it.This is no longer āfun.ā Itās a conditioned need. And when that need is not met?
Stress. Frustration. Obsession.
A dog who expects to chase every day but doesnāt get it may begin redirecting that drive elsewhereāchasing shadows, lights, children, other dogs, cars.
This is how pathological behavior patterns form.
Many people use fetch as a shortcut for physical exercise.
But movement is not the same as regulation.
Throwing a ball 100 times does not tire out a working dogāit wires him tighter. Itās like giving coffee to someone with ADHD and calling it relaxation.
What these dogs need is:
ā¢ Cognitive engagement
ā¢ Problem solving
ā¢ Relationship-based training
ā¢ Impulse control and on/off switches
ā¢ Scentwork or tracking to satisfy the nose-brain connection
ā¢ Regulated physical outlets like structured walks, swimming, tug with rules, or balanced sport work
ā¢ Recovery time in a calm environment
But What About Drive Fulfillment? Donāt They Need an Outlet?
Yes, and hereās the nuance:
Drive should be fulfilled strategically, not passively or impulsively. This is where real training philosophy comes in.
Instead of free-for-all ball throwing, I recommend:
ā¢ Tug with rules of out, impulse control, and handler engagement
ā¢ Controlled prey play with a flirt pole, used sparingly
ā¢ Engagement-based drive work with clear start and stop signals
ā¢ Training sessions that integrate drive, control, and reward
ā¢ Activities like search games, mantrailing, or protection sport with balance
ā¢ Working on ādown in driveā ā the ability to switch from arousal to rest
This builds a thinking dog, not a reactive one. The Bottom Line: Just Because He Loves It Doesnāt Mean Itās Good for Him
Your Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutchie, or other working dog may love the ball. He may bring it to you with joy. But the question is not what he likesāitās what he needs.
A child may love candy every day, but a good parent knows better. As a trainer, handler, and caretaker, itās your responsibility to think long term.
Youāre not raising a dog for this moment. Youāre developing a life companion, a regulated athlete, a resilient thinker.
So noāI donāt recommend playing ball every day.
Because every throw is a reinforcement of the primal mind.
And the primal mind, unchecked, cannot be reasoned with. It cannot self-regulate. It becomes a slave to its own instincts.
Train your dog to engage with you, not just the object. Teach arousal with control, play with purpose, and rest with confidence.
Your dog deserves better than obsession.He deserves balance. He deserves youānot just the ball.
Bart De Gols
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