He’s your little bundle of joy. He’s cute, cuddly and always there to say good morning when you come down the stairs for work each day. The family love him, friends love him and life would no longer be the same without your dog. He also never seems to be short of energy. You take him for a walk each day but he still spends his evenings tearing around the house. What you need is an effective way of tiring your little guy out, so he spends more time napping instead of charging around the kitchen while you try and cook. Teaching him to like a ball would do exactly that.
Because he’s small, chasing after a ball will tire him out swiftly. It’s the perfect daily exercise to incorporate into your daily walk. Not to mention, it means you can send the kids into the yard to play ball with him, so they all come back more docile and less argumentative.
Fortunately, training any dog to like a ball is relatively straightforward. Small dogs are no exception. The trick is to make training feel like one big game. Dogs learn best when they are having fun. You will also need an effective incentive. As you can probably imagine, appealing to a dog’s belly is often the fastest way to get him on board. You will need to introduce a number of ball-related games to get him excited.
If he’s a puppy, he should eager to please and as energetic as they come. You could see results in just a few days. If he’s older and not quite the keen athlete he once was, then you may need up to ten days. Succeed and you’ll have the perfect way to keep him fit, lean and healthy. Small dogs can put on weight easily, but now you will have an effective way to help him lose it.
Before you start training, you will need to get your hands on a few bits. A tennis ball and a soccer ball will be needed. Get any other balls you want him to start playing with too.
You will then need a decent supply of tasty treats, or you can break his favorite food into small pieces. You can train in a yard or local field, but try and avoid rooms with valuable items in them! Set aside 10 minutes for training each day.
Once you have all that, you just need some sneakers and then you are ready to get to work!