Ball-aholic... to a fault?

[Jaime + Oliver]

So Oliver is completely ball obsessed.  He'll pick a special ball that becomes THE BALL.  No other ball or toy will do.  If you line up several balls he'll sniff until he finds THE BALL.  Put it away in the pantry?  He'll sit outside of the door waiting for THE BALL to come back.  He'll carry it outside for potty time, he'll sleep with is by his head.  It's cute.

When he has THE BALL he'll want to play fetch/catch endlessly.  I'm glad we have a way to engage & exercise with fetch.  The problem is if we try to end play time with a cue etc and put THE BALL away, he'll endlessly search the house for it.  He'll bark at the door to go out thinking he left it outside.  It's not so cute at 10:30 at night.

So, has anyone else had a dog that becomes this obsessed?  What's your pups favorite?  Any tips on how to let a dog know play time is over, and it's time to relax?

[Kylee]

My Willow is the same way with my boyfriend's discs (he uses them to play disc golf). She is obsessed with them, nothing else in the world matters if she has a disc. She carries it around with her, she sleeps with it, goes potty with it, and she won't play with any other toy if a disc is around. I put it on top of the refrigerator the other day and she just stood at the frig just staring up at it. If she leaves it outside and we go somewhere, the first thing she does when we get back is go outside and get that disc...it is a crazy obsession. She is seriously nuts and I too have yet to find out how to turn playtime off...haha.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Charlie Brown is similar to Oliver - his favorite ball is the medium Kong squeaky ball and when he gets a new one, he will be obsessed with it for several weeks.  At night when it is time to go to bed he will bring it to bed with him (he sleeps with us).  He does not squeak it, but goes to sleep with it in his mouth.  He seldom moves around at night and in the a.m., it is lying right next to his nose!  As a puppy, Charlie was so easy to train and I think it was because he could concentrate on me and what I was saying at a very young age.  He remembers where he puts things and given a command to "find it" - he will not stop looking until he finds what he is supposed to and brings it back to you.  We have always played the "find it game"  from the time he was 4 mos old.  Beau (his half brother) does not have much an attention span - he does not obsess over any toy instead lurks around waiting for Charlie to drop his ball and then Beau will be the first one there to snatch the ball and take off running for a game of keep away!  Interesting dynamics!

[Jaime + Oliver]

Yes - those medium sized Kong balls are Oliver's favorite too!  For some reason the pink/orange one is always his go-to!

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Your story made me smile- it reminds me of a poodle that my parents used to have years ago. Teddy was sooo obsessed with his little stuffed frog toy named Kermit. Their vacation was almost ruined one time when they accidently left Kermit behind in a hotel room. Horror of horrors- no other stuffed toy could replace Kermit! They had to have the old thing shipped overnight..... :-)  

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

We often say that a ball is like a pacifier for Polly, if she gets even the least bit excited she has to run right away to find one and put it in her mouth, she runs around like that most of the day.  If we tire of playing with her she takes it to her coolaroo bed and plays by herself, then she puts it in the creases of the chair and pounces until it falls through and comes to get someone to lift the chair so she can have it back.  She will also fixate on one ball at a time, I don't even want to admit to how many are laying around my house...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmbPCBqa41A

[Jaime + Oliver]

Polly is adorable!  These doodles sure are silly creatures!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Enzo is " ball motivated" as well. She will pick a ball of the day...and then only THAT ball will do. We have lined up the 10 some odd balls we have and she will obsess over the one and only. No treat, no cookie, no steak, will grab her attention. Each night, after a session of chasing balls outdoors, she'll pick her indoor ball, and the she takes turns bringing it to either DH or I. The ball can be thrown easily 100 times in the house...at some point, she decides she has had enough and crashes on her bed( with the ball).