How Toys and Balls Awaken the Prey Drive

Now before you freak out on me and start ranting and raving about how fun toys are and how your dog gets all their energy out playing with the chuck-it. Hear me out first. Because it wasn’t so long ago that I too had a basket full of toys for my dog and I even had a slingshot tennis ball launcher to get even more distance and trust me I loved the look on my dog’s face every time I brought new toys home. I soon realized it was doing more harm than good and I always want to do what’s best for my dog.

Tennis Balls

Yes, those super fun bright green balls you bust out for your dog and their eyes light up. You throw it, they chase it with pure joy (so we think) and then most of the time they happily bring it back for us to do it over and over and over again.

What we see is a fun game. What our dog sees is an object launching through the air so they can give chase, hunt it down and catch it.

That glossed overlook in your dog’s eye that we think is joy, it’s not. It’s their prey drive. Their animal instinct is kicking in and it’s tapping into a part of their brain that most people don’t want to tap into. Dogs do look at chasing balls as a game, but not in the same way we do. The game is the hunt for them. In the wild dogs find their prey, chase it, catch it then consume it to satisfy the stomach and to satisfy their mind and body. In the wild dogs conserve all of their energy just for that one chase. And once the chase is on they give it everything they got.

So when we throw the ball they chase, catch, but then you see they don’t consume, so then the cycle is never completed and in the dog’s mind they have not finished their task. So instead of being satisfied they get frustrated and need more and soon it becomes an obsessive game that turns them into neurotic, tunnel vision ball crazy dogs.

Don’t believe me? Go to a dog park and watch the owner that comes in with a chuck it. You’ll notice 9 times out of 10 that dog will not pay attention to anyone or anything, only that ball and that chuck it. And if other dogs go for the ball, there is usually either a fight or a very dominant stand off that goes down between dogs. That’s because that dog has become so obsessed with that ball and not being able to consume it, that its mind is on overdrive trying to figure out why the cycle cannot be completed, that maybe if they chase it this one more time they will finally be able to complete the cycle and relax.

Another thing is you throwing that ball is teaching your dog to give chase to small fast-moving objects. Just because you didn’t throw that cat that darted out in front of you from under the car doesn’t mean your dog is going to not give chase. If you play ball with your dog I can almost be certain that your dog also tries to chase squirrels, cats, fast-moving leaves, and other small objects that you come across while out on your walk. Why? Because your dog does not know the difference between you playing ball and the real-world distractions. That is too complex for a dog’s mind to comprehend. The one thing they do know is the chase, so that is what they will default to.

Injuries from playing ball

99.9% of ACL tears and TPLO surgeries are because dogs were chasing a ball. I have even had one client’s dog break its leg while they threw the ball for him. This is because when that ball hits the ground and stops abruptly, but your dog is coming in at 100 miles an hour and has to hit the breaks. That is not a natural motion for your dog, they were not built to stop like that and so tears, breaks, and fractures are more likely to occur because the dog’s body was not meant to withstand that pressure. When your dog chases down an animal that animal is usually moving. So when your dog catches up to it they’re usually going the same speed. When your dog makes that grab and catches they can then slow down at their own speed and make the kill. Sure there is sharp turns and change of direction. But usually never an abrupt stop.

Squeak Toys

You ever hear a dog scream or cry. Or hear a wild animal scream or cry. It’s usually high pitched. Almost kinda like some of the squeak toys we have. Do you notice that when you squeak a toy your dog’s ears perk up and they sometimes tilt their head to one side then the other? That’s because that sound is replicating something being injured and in the wild when something is injured it’s easier to kill. It alerts the dog’s natural instinct to pounce and illuminate the problem and take advantage of the easy kill. That’s why they go after squeak toys sometimes shake them, tear them apart, and eventually kill that toy. They’re not doing it because they know it’s a toy. In their mind, it’s an animal and that fluffy stuffing is the guts and their small victory. Except, here is the key part. THEY NEVER GET TO CONSUME. So again not fulfilling their inner desire or need. So just like the ball they become neurotic and go crazy over toys constantly trying to fill that desire.  Whether we like it or not our dogs have hundreds of years of instinct ingrained in their brain. Yes, they’re domesticated and now considered pets. But that doesn’t mean their wild ancestor’s DNA just simply disappeared. You cant breed instinct out of a dog, nor can you breed out their inner need to hunt. But you can keep it from coming to the surface.

Tug of war

The tug of war is once again looked at as a game to us. But to the dogs, it’s a challenge at who is stronger. It’s a way to assert dominance and to see who can out pull the other. So when you play with your dog you’re basically teaching them that it’s ok to challenge you. It’s ok for them to try and overpower you so they can become the new alpha. It’s a way for them to see your weakness and test their boundaries with you. Yes, it can be fun to watch your dog drag you across the floor. But from their perspective, they’re winning and you are the weak loser, and eventually, you may lose control of your dog because they no longer believe you’re in charge. You may say but “I never let my dogs win” It does not matter who wins or loses. It is still showing your dog that it is acceptable to challenge you. As so they may think it’s ok to challenge you at different times as well.

Roughhousing

Yes, we all like to sometimes get on the ground and rough house with our dogs. Why because it’s fun and entertaining and our dogs seem to love it. But again our interpretation is far different than our dogs. When dogs play and rough house it’s a dance of dominance and submission. They role-play and challenge one another to see which dog is more dominant than the other. That is exactly how your dog views roughhousing only they see us as the weaker link. They know we’re not dogs and us trying to play with them like they play with one another puts us at an unfair advantage. We don’t have sharp teeth and the ability to maneuver on all fours. We don’t know how to play just like them, sure we can try, but to them, we will just look weak and that will put our dog in a position to think they’re the leader.

As you can see there is a pattern here. As much as we want to make our dog’s humans and want them to see things the way we do, they simply can’t. Dogs see the world through their mind and eyes only. They learn in only the way that they were born to learn. They don’t walk around this earth wishing they could be human, like drive a car, or get a paying job, or go to brunch with their friends. They navigate our world by trial and error and what we teach them appropriate or not and through their natural instincts.

Most of these games, toys, and ideas are put out by major corporations who profit millions if not billions of dollars by taking advantage of convincing people that dogs can be just like humans. Chuck-it I am sure knows the risk but doesn’t care because so many people buy their product and then veterinarians benefit from having to fix the problem because an average TPLO surgery is around 5,000 per leg if not more depending on the size of your dog. Commercials, movies, television shows all have dogs chasing balls. Mainly because fetch was ingrained in all of our brains at a young age and dogs are known to fetch.

Now before all you working dog people come at me, just know I am only saying balls, toys, and games are not good for your everyday household domesticated dog. The working lines such as police dogs, military dogs, drug-sniffing dogs, agility, protection, trial, rally, hunting, etc. They use these games for training purposes and that’s totally ok. Because in order for a dog to perform at the level they need to. Trainers and owners NEED to awaken their prey drive to help build their confidence to be able to do their job.

But if you want your dog to stop chasing squirrels, lunging, barking, and being a complete disaster on a leash and in your home. You have to eliminate toys and games like this because your dog does not know the difference between you throwing a ball and a cat running across the street. If you want a calm, mellow, easy-going dog the last thing you want to do is awaking their prey drive because then all they will be doing is trying to complete the hunt.

If you want to give your dog a toy or something to keep them busy while you write a blog post, make dinner, or get some work done. Be sure it’s something that can satisfy the stomach. Such as a raw bone, bully stick, a kong filled with their dinner treats, and peanut butter. Give them anything that will let them complete the cycle. Hunt, chase, catch, CONSUME.

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