08/10/2024
I see this a lot when out and about, lots of people with them Chuckers, they think that they are a good thing, but they really are not.
Balls and dogs… 🥎
Recently at a wedding someone was asking me for some advice for their dog after his recent surgery. He had fractured a bone in his forelimb and they said “it happened chasing a ball, if we had known it wasn’t a good thing to do we wouldn’t have done it”.
We hear this so often; everyone we see loves their dog and wants the best for them, but ball throwing and dogs have become synonymous in people’s minds and there is a strong culture for it - it looks so fun, it tires them out quickly and we think it is keeping them fit.
But what is actually happening?
Repeatedly stimulating their prey drive keeps them wired and overstimulated.
Motivated to carry on chasing, they work way past muscle fatigue, and high adrenaline means they won’t be aware of pain at the time.
What is chasing?
Fast uncontrolled acceleration and deceleration; twisting and turning without thinking about their bodies.
What happens to humans who do this in sport in a much more controlled way?
ACL injuries, Achilles ruptures, fractures… no surprise then that this is similar to what we see in our canine clinic.
Help us to help your dogs and spread the word.
We will be following this up with some ideas of fun ball related activities for your dog which aren’t repetitive chasing 🙌
