ball on a string and correct trageting

[Robk12]

Hi all,

I was curious to hear how people who use ball on a string instead of a tug get the dog to target the ball and not the string. Both my dogs without fail always go for the string. even when i try to hold as much of the string as possible my dogs still try to move there head to grab the string that is coming out of the side of the ball. The few times i get them on the ball they slip off quickly, though i know they have the grip to stay on.

I think the string on the orbee ball is more like a tug than the ball, so maybe they default to the familiar. I have spent sometime on the tugs and they target the center of the tug fine and don't make a habit of going for the handles.

Is it worth it to try to develop them to target the ball? or should i just stick with what they and I are good at?

Thanks again everyone

Rob

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

For all the trouble I always stuck to using the ball for throwing and an actual tug for tugging. It is so much easier to target a tug and the dogs enjoy biting it better.

I always felt the string on the ball was to help throw it farther and to do a little tug after the dog already fetched the ball part, not necessarily to hold and target the same way as a tug, because the dog may naturally go for the string since it will anchor the ball better for tugging.