Parker will let other dogs come up and take his ball away from him and he is so wussy he walks over to me and wuffs at me for me to sort it out! Cherry would give short shift to any dog who dared come and try to part her from her prized possessions!

We were on the park one day just before I was due to drop my dogs off at the groomers for a trim when a Border Collie ran up and pinched Parker's ball and ran off with it. The woman couldn't get her dog back and I was getting quite stressed time-wise. Parker's ball is not a normal tennis one but an unusual one that costs a few quid and they don't sell these ones in the pet shops now so irreplacable really.

I did ask her why she let her dog off-lead if it wouldn't recall to her and she said it was much worse on-lead!

Eventually she managed to grab her dog and return the ball, I recommended a good behaviourist in the local area as she had told me a lot of problems she was having with the dog whilst she was trying to get Parker's ball back.

Ozzie has rope toys and tug toys .not many dogs would get them off him when he sets his mind to it .. Unlike his stupid owner who has while throwing said toys put 2 up in the branches of trees ..
Try telling a boxer he cant climb a tree to get his fav toy .lol

I have absolutely no hesitation in asking for a ball back. Could you have said (politely) to that woman, thanks for getting your dog to retrieve my dog's ball as he won't go out of his depth, but can I now have my ball back?

I sometimes have the opposite problem in that another dog steals Wilma's ball, the owner gets very embarrassed because their dog won't give it back, so I just say, if your dog enjoys playing with a ball so much, let him/her keep it ~ maybe you can take it with you on your next walk?!!! Other times I've felt dreadful because the owner gets so cross with their dog, shouts at it, grabs at it & forces the ball out of it's mouth ~ & all the time I'm saying "please don't worry, if it's that important, let him/her keep it, & I've got plenty more". Some owners say "my dog's got to learn it can't steal other dogs' toys", or "this will teach it a lesson & I can't let it get away with it" or "it'll think it's ok to steal toys". Like their dog is going to learn anything other than "I get a lovely game of chase when I find a ball", or "my owner gets really cross when I've got a ball, so I'm going to keep clear", or "sometimes my owner's nice, & sometimes he/she shouts & I don't why"

I'd rather let the dog keep the ball than cause their dog to feel bad. As tennis balls are never in short supply I don't feel it necessary to demonstrate my "resource-holding-potential"

oh, im like how you used to be i didnt say anything to her, i just said to Jake 'oh, Jake that bad doggy just took your ball', as in hint hint that is Jakes ball! but she just put her head down, and refused to look at me! its ok though, coz i sometimes see her down the park with a ball (this time she had no ball, just a big stick but they had been through the woods so maybe didnt want the dog to have a ball in there) so i will just let Jake pinch her dogs ball and put my head down, saying nothing and pretending it didnt happen i was actually surprised Jake didnt cross the river and follow them! i really need to learn to speak up more... i just really hate confrontation and it needs to be something really big, thats get me angry, before i will speak out.

Not really because Flynn holds onto his toys for dear life, especially if other dogs are near! I was accused of pinching another dogs ball the other day though!

A man was playing with his weim and 2 tennis balls. I'd got a squeaky red ball for my dog. Anyway, as we approached I put Jessie's toy in my pocket just in case this other dog did nab it. I saw the weim pick just one ball up and run back to the bloke. As I got level with him he asked:
Man: "Have you just taken a ball?"
Me: "No, but there is a ball still up there"
Man: "I've just seen you put it in your pocket"
Me: "No, you didnt, what you saw was me put this in my pocket" and I showed him Jessie's ball.

I got no apology, just a grunt and that was it. If he could see how many tennis balls we have at home (literally 30 something!) because Flynn and Jessie find lost ones most walks, then he'd realise I could supply Wimbledon and have no need to stoop to thieving them!

My lot wont play with tennis balls even if they find them in the grass, they have their big rubber balls on a rope and they are unique as all the ropes have been replaced at one time or another. We have 3 that we take with us 2 orange and one yellow and Diesel will only use the yellow one. The orange ones are Syd's and Rio's, Milan doesn't have any interest in balls but chases the other dogs as they chase the ball. Frankie has squeaky latex balls which sometimes other dogs take a fancy to but I usually try to get it back if possible but if the other dog refuses and the owner can't retrieve it I'll just let them keep it but it's really only happened once or twice.

Tilly's had hers pinched, but I always make sure I get them back!
Once her & another dog swapped tennis balls & we just left them to it, but I was a bit muffed when we got home as the other dog's ball that Tilly had was one of those cheap fall aprat ones - ours was a slazenger which she can't break

Ollie finds loads of balls and occasionally before they are even lost. We always return them though, and apologise!

It really doesn't bother me at all, Vito isn't the best "fetcher" so I expect to lose any balls we take out anyway, I buy 6 for a £ in the £ shop so I don't shed any tears if a doggie pinches one.

i used to buy Jake cheap tennis balls which i didnt care about losing. but he always burst them within minutes so i now get him those soft foamy type ones, but they are £1 per ball... so if you lose them regularly the cost can fairly add up. i dont bother though if Jake loses a ball, coz he finds more than he loses anyway Jake is a ball lover though, and if he isnt fetching them, then he wants to carry one in his mouth while he runs around playing. the only time he doesnt have one, is if he is chasing rabbits or sniffing them out.