breaking Ball Hog behavior

[Ssams]

I have a 2yr old Bull Mastiff who loves the ball. Most times though he will retrieve the ball and then play the keep away with me which is frustrating. I recently started taking him to a local dog park and after about 2 throws of my ball, he loses interest and fixates on everyone else's balls. He is usually the biggest dog in the park and surprisingly one of the fastest so he usually gets the ball when others throw them. If he does not get the ball he circles the dog with the ball until the dog just gives up and relents dropping the ball for him. He is not aggressive - at least not overtly from what you can see however the fact he does this seems to imply aggression. While it may not be the case it seems everyone stops throwing their ball because he seems to be the ball bully. I am trying to figure out a way I can break this habit. I don't think I am being overly anal about it. I am sure while everyone seems to love my dog, it has to be a bit frustrating for the other owners as well. I don't want to be the one chasing him around the dog park yelling at him to drop the other dogs ball.

ideas?

 

[Boxergirl]

If this were my dog, I would immediately start working on a strong leave it command. Leave it, in my home, means drop what you have and it also means stop what you're doing right now. I would also not be taking my dog to the dog park while this behavior persists. It's bullying and it's not fair to the other dogs or dog owners. There's also going to come a time where a fight breaks out because of it.

 

[DennasMom]

I would incorporate some significant negative consequences to stealing another dog's ball... when we've been at dog parks with ball hogs (other dogs going after their OWN ball), some have gotten aggressive when Denna jumped in to play the disrupter - for some, if she even LOOKED at their ball, they got angry... we would do a quick "leave it" and move to another location in the park (ours is 40 acres, so lots of room to find pups more to her level of insanity).

I would work with him to let him know that he is NOT to touch any ball but his own.
If he looks at another ball - "no, leave it" and then entice him to chase you around, or find a stick to throw, just something to take his mind off the other ball... if he goes after and touches the other dog's ball - leash him up and leave the park. It shouldn't take too many repetitions for him to correlate other dog's balls with the end of fun times. As long as getting him leashed up to leave doesn't turn into a rewarding game of 'chase me'....

 

[Ssams]

Thanks, One thing I wonder is how do I teach him the difference between "his ball" and "theirs"?

 

[Ssams]

Well, I gave it a go with my training collar and it worked quite well after one trip. First time I had to give him all three alerts but after that vibration or sound worked good. By the end of our stay, I was able to issue a NO command and it stopped him in his tracks. I am glad he adhered so quickly so I don't have to avoid the place.

 

[CeeCee]

Pruie can be quite the ball hog and, if allowed, pushy with her brother - who LOVES to play ball. So a friend of mine (who owns a dog day care and allows toys in her yard) told me to give Pruie "her" ball. We play catch and fetch with this ball while her brother plays with his ball. If Pru tries to go for Zeek's ball, all games stop and they resume when she gets her ball. With very little time she caught on and now Pruie is racing around after her ball and Zeek is racing around after his.

For this, you will probably want to start in your own backyard (not a dog park) with a single trusted dog friend and as he gets the rules of the game, add in friends one at at a time.