Really? Oh. I throw a ball for the opposite effect. To try and focus my dogs prey drive on a ball rather than hunting out squirrels etc and chasing them.........well, at least that is what I try and do anyway.
Never thought about it making them hyper and sort of think it's good interaction and fun for both me and my dog and her doggy friends.

Obviously it depends on the dog.

I have a collie X who was obsessive about tennis balls when she was younger, and throwing the ball certainly caused her to become over excited and a bit unpredictable, although not in a dangerous or aggressive way - she was more likely to do herself harm by running into something while chasing the ball!!

Anyone listening to the show will notice a theme really - all the bad experiences people relay are when a dog is out of control and acts on canine instinct. I doubt anyone on this forum ever lets their dog get out of control in a public place, so once again it is a case of BAD OWNERS not bad dogs.

I know what he said - I heard it! He said throwing balls for dogs makes them aggressive. He did not use the words prey drive or instinct or excite. He then said people should never throw balls for dogs.
I use play to train. This includes retrieve and play as a reward.
So do a lot of people - including those who do Flyball and Obedience. I haven`t noticed all the flyball teams on Crufts having that many problems with aggression.

it never the dogs fault ,its the people ,who own them and make them that way . its a terrible shame ,for the staffie owners and the other breeds mentioned .

there is a dog ,which we have local . i allways put mine on the lead ,when i see it from a distance ,as he did make ,a terrible mess ,of a guys dog ,i walk with ,infact ,i cried .when i saw her . she did get over it ( i didnt think she would ). but i saw the guy ,again today ,and he run over to tell ,me it had happened again ,but worse this time . i cant beleive ,they havent got ,at least a muzzle on this dog . i dont know ,what they are thinking it happens in a second ,if they came running over ,and you dont see ,them coming

No, he said he sees people on the beach throwing things for their dog............ He then talked about that instinct for the dog for biting and chasing such as an animal / rabbit becomes over developed by chasing the thing being thrown.

So yes he did talk about instincts for the dog, fair enough he didn't mention the WORDS prey drive (but that is what he was getting at talking about rabbits and animals) but he never used the word aggressive and he didn't say it would make a dog uncontrollably aggressive either........

He then said 'basically you shouldn't throw things for a dog, or many only once a week'


I assume we are talking about the same guy at the end of interview here..... about 39mins into the podcast...... if so we are hearing two totally different messages from the words he spoke.

I listened to it, and watched something last night on TV.

It doesn't surprise me when the RSPCA say that ''dog fighting'' and using dogs for ''weapons'' has increased in the Midlands.
We have been quite fortunate of late that Stechford Police seem to be on a ''clamp down'' on alot of certain people with dogs being handled in a menacing way. They have been making thier presence known over the parks, walking around in two's and stopping them to ask about the dogs.

We have noticed that if the owner is not complying with what they are being asked, they are being order out of the parks around here. Unfortunately alot of people have been saying that they have been approached with ''my dogs going to kill yours'' or ''is your dog any good at fighting...mine is'' then trying to provoke thier dog into growling or snapping at yours.

Pat and I have had it happen a couple of times (not recently I have to say) on our walk by Aldi's on the Bordesley Green Road, eventually we stopped going there, which was a shame because the dogs enjoyed that walk along the river.

I didn't really agree with the ball throwing conclusion, ours have always had ball throwing, but they don't have prey drive or aggression, I've always had dogs that love the ball, but none of them have shown either behaviour due to that.

As far as the ball throwing/chasing thing is concerned, surely it's a GOOD thing to allow a dog to exercise it's natural behaviours in a structured way where the owner is (Mostly in my case...) in control?

I agree ball throwing for us is definitely a good thing. Diesel my Staffie is ball obsessed and will chase the thing all day long but we build control into the ball throwing. He has to sit and wait between ball throws. We also stop and start, continue with our walk while I dangle the ball on a rope from my hand, swinging in a tempting way which he has had to learn to ignore. He has to wait until I say it's ok to have the ball. That ball can focus Diesel on me in a nano second whatever distractions there may be, how can that possibly be a bad thing.

No - he said you shouldn`t throw a ball for a dog because it makes them aggressive. I disagree. Vehemently. I am perfectly capable of making a dog aggressive if I wanted to and were a (insert expletive here), but it wouldn`t involve a ball. Or throwing.
I used a toy to focus my previously aggressive dog. Now she is not aggressive. Go figure. Possessive occasionally, but not human-aggressive. For dogs who are not food-oriented, a toy, a play, is a valuable reward. I`m not going to change my mind because some guy on the radio has seen some dog on a beach somewhere getting excited.

We will have to agree to disagree I think, because I just listened to the discussion again via podcast and that isn't what he said.

for the record I have no real issue with ball throwing personally.