It’s a classic game to play with your dog. You throw the ball, they bring it back. What’s not to love? I hate to be the fun police, but playing fetch can actually lead to a number of issues for your dog’s body and their emotional well-being. Have a read of this post before you bring along the ball launcher on your next dog walk. 

How playing fetch affects your dog’s body 

The biggest issue with repetitive ball chasing is the effect it has on your dog’s body. It puts a lot of strain on the knees and other joints as they skid, jump or twist to catch the ball. This is especially true if your dog doesn’t have an opportunity to warm up and cool down before playing fetch. In the long term, this can lead to pain for your dog and the development of problems in their muscles and skeleton. These include knee, hip and elbow dysplasia, as well as arthritis. Dogs will often continue to chase a ball despite being in pain. You can read a bit more about the effects of playing fetch on a dog’s body here.

Mental health

As well as the detrimental effect playing fetch can have on your dog’s body, it can also lead to over arousal and frustration. Chasing a ball over and over again can become ‘addictive’ and your dog can struggle to do anything else on walks. This level of obsession isn’t healthy. It’s easy to think that throwing a ball is going to tire your energetic dog out, but it can easily have the opposite effect. Have a read of our post of calmness here if you’re struggling with a busy dog.  If your dog pesters you to throw a ball for them by barking or jumping up at you, it’s definitely time to give the ball a break. Many clients have told me that after leaving the ball at home for a one week period has led to a noticeable difference in how calm their dog is overall. 

Alternatives to playing fetch for your dog

In good news, there are many alternatives to playing fetch that have a much more beneficial impact on your dog’s body and mental state. These games get your dog engaging in other behaviours, such as sniffing, which help them relax, rather than get them amped up. 

• Play find it with the ball. Ask your dog to wait or tether them whilst you hide the ball in long grass, then release them to find it. 
• Find it with treats. As above but with treats. 
• Food bowling. If you’ve got a dog who loves to chase, toss treats low across the ground for them to chase instead. This puts much less strain on their joints. 
• Encouraging your dog to engage in other normal dog behaviours- sniffing, exploring, digging, paddling etc. Just letting your dog do dog stuff is so important for their emotional well being. An hour of sniffing is so much better for your dog’s mind and body than an hour of ball throwing!
• Playing tug. This gets your dog engaging with you (instead of running away from you at high speed!) and knackers them out just as much as playing fetch. 
• If you’ve been playing fetch to keep your reactive dog focused on you instead of other dogs, have a look at our games for reactive dogs here. 

 What next?

• Looking for help with your dog? Contact us to arrange in person or online training.
• Read more blog posts here.
• Perfect Recall: Teaching your dog to come back when called every time. Our guide is free to download when you join our email list- sign up here.