Is Your Doodle Ball Obsessed?

[BG and Gavin]

The food group got side-tracked discussing their tennis ball obsessed doodles.  I have one too!  I thought the topic deserved front page coverage. (Maybe the FG'rs can cut and paste their stories here.)

Gavin will sit for literally an hour, in wait for someone to toss a ball to him.  Here is part of his collection which has to be kept on the window sill out of his reach:

And here he is with his favorite Kong Squeeky Tennis Ball

 

 

[Becky & Sheeba]

I always thought it was just Sheeba who is obsessed with her toy balls. I've never had a dog so in tuned with her ball. She even created her own game of fetch with her ball. Sheeba will nugde her ball with her nose underneath the sofa, just hard enough for it to roll onto the other side. She'll run around to the other side and grab it. There are times when she hasn't nudged it hard enough and it lingers near the edge of the sofa. Then, she'll lay down, stretch out her front legs underneath the sofa and tries to push it with her paws which usually does the trick. She can do this for hours while in the house. When we are sitting down in the evening, it's a never ending of placing the ball in your lap, nudging our hands with her nose, anything to get our attention. We'll play a game of hide n seek with her ball. We will pretend we've tossed her ball, then place it somewhere so she won't be able to spot it. Under our shirt, behind a pillow behind us on the book shelf, etc. She'll go around the house with her nose in the air, sniffing trying to get that scent. When she finds it...she'll sit down in front of the hidden place. There have been many days I've suffered from a sore arm from throwing her ball outside for hours on end. Photo of Sheeba with her favorit ball....I call this photo "Orange Crush"

[BG and Gavin]

Cute picture.  Sheeba shows promise as a detector dog.

[Becky & Sheeba]

Thanks =)  We've thought so, too. It's amazing how she will detect her favorite ball. We've even seen her when searching for her ball: we'll take her ball while she's looking for it in another part of the room, move it in front of us. She'll pass by that same spot, stop and sniff the air where we had been waving it back and forth. I saw a site several months ago where they train poodles or doodles to sniff out truffles because they are great detector dogs.

[Bonnie and Kona]

So cute, Sheeba!

[Becky & Sheeba]

Thanks =)

[Lee Seidman]

Billy is ball obsessed but Lexi could care less..........I think it is because when we throw a ball Billy is so aggressive that he pushes Lexi out of the way to be first to the ball.  We try to play with Lexi seperately.

 My questioon is that I have been told that the coating on tennis balls is bad for Doodle teeth.  We started buying them street hockey balls at the Sports Authority. They last forever and are rubber but they can not bite thru them.  Has anyone else been told tennis balls are bad for the teeth?

[Becky & Sheeba]

I haven't heard about tennis balls being bad for their teeth. I don't use tennis balls, but hard rubber ones for Sheeba. Otherwise, she tears up anything she can grab hold of.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Here's what we discussed in the past. The answer in short is go know.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[BG and Gavin]

I have heard that they can wear down their teeth as well.  For that reason I don't leave them out so they can be used as a "chew toy" but rather use them only as a fetching toy.  Gavin has learned that if he starts chewing on it, it goes away and the game is over.  Didn't take long for him to catch on.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin is obsessed with food. Tennis balls he could take or leave. I bought him a chuck-it and he will only chase the ball and bring it back a few times in a row, and only if you don't throw it very far... LOL

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'll trade you for a little while. It can be like a little vacation for them. You can put that Chuck-it to good use with JD, and I can give Darwin all kinds of wonderful gourmet goodies that the tennis-ball nut refuses to eat. They will both be in Heaven.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin says he gives this plan two paws up. :-)