Is therapy work still a possibility if Lucky won't leave the tennis balls alone on the bottom of walkers?

[Brenda Hetzel]

Has anyone else encountered this problem when training their dog for therapy work? Granted Lucky and I are only in basic obedience but I got a taste of what might happen because the trainer had a walker with tennis balls on the legs of it at our class in preparation for her next class that night. I noticed Lucky being distracted with a basic stay command and when I released him, you guessed it, he went right after those tennis balls on the bottom of that walker! I laughed and told the trainer and she told me that is one of the test for therapy training. Now it's not so funny. How did you get your ball obsessed doodle to leave Granny's walker alone? Any suggestions?

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

LOL

[Brenda Hetzel]

No we have not gotten to the leave it command yet. We are only on are 3rd lesson so we have covered sit, stay, heel, watch me and how to greet other dogs. I'm really concerned about the tennis ball situation though because when I say Lucky is obsessed with tennis balls, it is almost an understatement!

[Brenda Hetzel]

I think you're safe with the birds in therapy testing! Thanks for the headsup! I hope Lucky will be able to get past his obsession. I guess only time and training; practice, practice, practice, will tell!

[Kim]

LOL - that would SOOOOO be my luck!

[Adina P]

I think you're safe. It's just a matter of training so that his response to your commands are solid and then maybe even learning "leave it" and lots of practice...USING tennis balls =)

[Kim Williams]

I thought you would like this story. Parris also likes tennis balls and when we did or TDI test there was a walker with tennis balls and she did fine!! Relief!!! But guess what? On one of my first therapy dog visits, one of the residents had a tennis ball hanging from a rope rigged up so that she could turn on a light or call for help. Parris was jumping and barking to get to this ball. She did manage to turn the light on, but didn't call for help!!! The resident was a 96 yr old wonderful woman and she got the biggest kick out it!!! You have to love those doodles.
Kim and Parris

[Brenda Hetzel]

What will they think of next to use our tennis balls for?! I'm glad Parris passed the test and gave some laughter to that 96 yr old woman!

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

We actually don’t do fetch until after training and certification of our dogs, fetch instills the prey drive and is hard to break and makes regular obedience training more difficult too.

My best advice to people who want to do therapy or service with their dog is not to engage in common routine play (fetch, tug [tug when done properly is different but most owners don’t understand the difference], wrestling) until the dog and owner are trained.

[Sessa]

If it were me, I'd set my doodle up---that is, work on the "leave it" command first at home with tennis balls, then eventually introduce the walker into the same training routine as the balls by themselves...
...the more exposure to temptation calls for increased inhibition control training--which is really tough, but VERY possible with patience and time...gaining control again over the object is the key to controlling object obsession with any dog, of course, this is just my humble opinion.....

for example, at our local dog park, there are always other people playing fetch with their dogs--which poses two temptations, a dog chase AND a ball chase...and, my doodle is very ball oriented as she is chase interested---she would love to tear after all of them...with much work and patience, the "leave it" command, coupled with "look" (at me) became our routine for avoidance and control...now, she always looks to me when we are walking around the park and is rewarded for her calmness with some ball play of her own at the end!

All the best with your endeavors, seems like you have already put a ton of hard work into all this, so a bit more shouldn't be a tall order for ya! GOOD LUCK!

[Brenda Hetzel]

At what level of obedience did you finally achieve all of this? It sounds very advanced. But with hard work and practice like you said, maybe we can acheive what you have. I hope so! Thanks for your response.

[Sessa]

We've gone through 3 levels of formal obedience training,
but,
to be honest,
I started on these routines myself when my Mija was still a weeee pup.
(She's not my first dog, and I'm a self-confessed disciplinarian---it allows me to take my dogs everywhere, including work)

Don't think of it as "advanced"....this is totally within your capability and your doodles'! Trust me on that! Again, Keep at it and best of luck (although your really don't need it! LOL!)

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Samantha is ball obsessed. It took patience and consistency but she knows the 'leave it'. I actually worked with her tonight with leave it (the ball). I have been lazy with that kind of work. I had her sit, told her to wait, made sure she was looking at me, I rolled the ball past her and when she didn't move, I immediately clicked which kept her attention on me knowing some type of goody was coming her way. We practiced a few times and if she even looked at the ball, I corrected her. It didn't take long for her to remember her manners. Good luck!!