When Playing Isn't Just Playing: Understanding Your Ball-Obsessed Dog

For years dog trainers have been talking about the obsession with balls and ball launchers for dogs, and they tend to be used mostly for working breeds. People believe that by tiring out their dog physically, they will create a satisfied, calm and happy canine.

The truth is though that ball chasing doesn't actually help a dog to be calm and current research backs this up.

A recent study published in Scientific Reports investigated what many in the dog training world have long suspected - that some dogs exhibit genuinely addictive-like behaviours toward their toys. The researchers studied 105 toy-motivated dogs and found that 33 of them showed behaviours that mirrored human behavioural addictions like gambling or gaming.

These weren't just enthusiastic dogs who loved to play. The dogs showing addictive-like tendencies became excessively fixated on their toys to the point where they ignored food, couldn't engage in play with their owners, and made persistent efforts to access toys even when they were clearly unavailable. Two dogs actually destroyed the boxes their toys were hidden in during testing. 

Even more telling, after all toys were removed from the room, these dogs couldn't calm down - they paced around for the entire 15-minute cooldown period, fixating on doors and shelves where the toys had been.

The most affected breeds were working dogs like Belgian Malinois, Border Collies, Labrador Retrievers, and particularly shepherd breeds like German Shepherds and Belgian Shepherds. These are exactly the dogs that people tend to use ball launchers with, thinking they're meeting their exercise needs. 

But lead researcher Stefanie Riemer was clear that while many ball-motivated dogs are simply enthusiastic and healthy, for a subset of dogs the behaviour becomes excessive and maladaptive, leading to frustration, stress, and even injury. 

The research suggests that rather than creating calm, satisfied dogs, repetitive ball play may actually be fuelling obsessive behaviours that prevent dogs from truly relaxing.

When we understand how addiction works in the brain, it becomes clearer why ball chasing can be so problematic for dogs.

Addiction hijacks the brain's reward system, which is built around a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Dopamine isn't actually the "pleasure chemical" as it's often called - it's the "wanting" chemical. It creates anticipation and drives motivation to pursue rewards. 

When a dog chases a ball, dopamine floods their system during the chase, creating an intense feeling of desire and excitement. The problem is that this dopamine spike happens during the pursuit, not when the dog actually catches the ball.

This is why dogs will drop the ball and immediately want to chase it again. They're not satisfied - they're stuck in a loop of craving. The anticipation feels rewarding, so the brain keeps demanding more of it. 

Over time, with repetitive ball chasing, the brain becomes sensitised to this pattern. It starts to release dopamine just at the sight of the ball, or even at cues that suggest ball time is coming. The dog becomes hypervigilant, constantly scanning for opportunities to chase.

What's particularly concerning is that this hijacked reward system actually prevents genuine satisfaction and calm. A truly fulfilled dog experiences a different neurochemical state - one involving serotonin and endorphins that promote contentment and relaxation. 

But when the dopamine-driven "wanting" system is constantly activated, it overrides the ability to feel genuinely satisfied. The dog becomes trapped in a state of perpetual craving, unable to switch off even when the play has stopped.

This is why those dogs in the study couldn't calm down after 15 minutes - their brains were still locked in that anticipatory, craving state. Rather than being exercised into contentment, they'd been wound up into a state of compulsive need.

So what can we do instead to create genuinely calm and satisfied dogs?

The key is to shift from activities that spike dopamine and create craving, to activities that engage different parts of the brain and lead to genuine fulfilment. Scent work is one of the most powerful alternatives. When dogs use their noses to search for hidden treats or follow scent trails, they're engaging their primary sense in a way that's deeply natural to them.

Sniffing activates the parasympathetic nervous system - the rest and digest response - which actually calms the dog down whilst simultaneously providing mental enrichment. A 20-minute scentwork session can tire a dog out far more effectively than half an hour of ball chasing, and crucially, the dog ends the session feeling satisfied rather than wired.

Slow, exploratory walks where the dog is allowed to sniff at their own pace serve a similar function. Rather than marching through a walk focused on distance or speed, letting your dog stop and investigate scents allows them to process their environment in a calming, enriching way. This type of decompression walk helps dogs regulate their nervous systems naturally.

Cooperative play is another excellent alternative. Games like tug, where you're working together with your dog, build connection and engagement without the obsessive chase element. The key is to keep sessions short, end whilst the dog still wants more, and incorporate training elements like asking for a release or a sit between tugs. This teaches impulse control whilst still being rewarding.

Food-based enrichment, like scatter feeding in the garden, lick mats, snuffle mats, or puzzle feeders, taps into natural foraging behaviours. These activities are self-limiting - once the food is gone, the activity naturally ends - and they promote a calm, focused state rather than frantic excitement.

Training sessions that challenge your dog mentally are also invaluable. Teaching new skills, practising trick training, or working on tasks that require problem-solving engage your dog's brain in a way that leads to genuine tiredness and satisfaction. A dog that's had to think and work through challenges will settle far more readily than one that's been running mindlessly after a ball.

The crucial difference with all these alternatives is that they have a natural conclusion. The dog completes the task, finds the treats, solves the puzzle, or the training session ends - and their brain can switch into a satisfied, restful state.

To see for yourself how scentwork can help wean dogs off a ball obsession get my eBook below.