Football and tennis ball games for dogs: safety tips and more

If your dog lights up at the sight of a football or tennis ball, they’re not alone. In fact, most dogs can’t resist the rewardingly springy texture and unpredictable bounce of their favourite spherical object.

But can a passion for footballs and tennis balls tip over into something darker, and why are dogs so obsessed with them anyway?

Let’s find out.

Key takeaways

• Choose the right ball size and type: Pick a ball that fits comfortably in your dog’s mouth to reduce choking, and avoid tennis balls for heavy chewers due to dental problems.

• Watch for heatstroke warning signs: Don’t exercise your dogs vigorously when the weather is hot - choose cooler parts of the day.

• Warm up before intense play: This is especially important with older dogs or high-risk breeds. Take 5-10 minutes to warm up.

• Don’t forget mental stimulation: Use balls for mental stimulation too - it’s not just about physical exercise.

• Balance is key: Keep an eye on obsessive behaviour and joint problems from repetitive high-impact movements.

Why do dogs like balls so much?

The science

It comes from your dog’s prey drive. It’s why certain breeds, like Springer Spaniels, can become more obsessed with “their ball” than others; balls trigger instinctive hunting behaviours that are hardwired in their brain.

This means catching, chewing and chasing a ball lights up your dog’s reward centres, releasing lots of feel-good chemicals like dopamine. Dogs enjoy the football or tennis ball’s texture and smell too, giving them a satisfying mouthfeel and engaging their nose.

We also play a major role in a dog’s love for footballs and tennis balls. We often reward our dog when they successfully “fetch” something for us. This is known as positive reinforcement training, and it makes a dog feel accomplished when completing specific actions. Your dog also enjoys bonding with you through play.

Physical and mental benefits

Much like us, dogs react well to exercise, and when playing with a ball, they’ll get the right mix of anticipation, direction, movement and returning the ball. It mixes mental tasks with physical challenges, which is always a good time for dogs.

Since ball games involve multiple areas of the brain and body at once, it reduces your dog’s boredom, conditions muscles, and improves cardiovascular fitness. They can also help reduce obesity.

What breeds love balls the most?

Typically, dogs bred for herding and hunting tend to love balls the most. These include:

• Australian Shepherds

• Border Collies

• German Shepherds

• Golden Retrievers

• Jack Russells

• Labradors

• Springer Spaniels

But personality matters more than breed, so all dogs have a chance of becoming ball-obsessed.

Football for dogs

Teaching your dog to play fetch with a football

Fetch is a classic, but we usually play it with a smaller ball. If you’re using a football, there are a few things you need to do to keep your Pele-like pupper safe:

• Don’t let your dog chase a kicked ball - this could hurt them. Roll the football instead.

• Choose a ball that matches your dog’s size to make it easier for them to play. Don’t give a large football to a smaller breed, for example.

• Allow your dog to explore the football at their own pace. You can encourage interaction through positive reinforcement, but don’t force things.

• Watch out for your dog obsessively chewing the ball. It may be too risky if they’re a firm chewer, as small bits can fall off and cause a choking hazard.

• Once you and your dog are happy, simply roll the ball for them, wait for them to return it and give them praise if you do.

Training your dog to score passes and goals

You can positively reinforce commands like “push”, “stop” and “pass” to control how your dog uses the ball. When your dog successfully scores or passes, you can positively reinforce them, like with a clicker, to build up that association.

This may take some time to learn, but for dogs who hunger for agility and mental stimulation, like Border Collies, it’s a good challenge.

Football dribbling games for dogs

Ever noticed your dog can dribble it like Messi? They aren’t alone.

Dogs have fantastic reflexes and agility, meaning they’re able to guide the ball well. You can encourage your ball to touch the ball with their nose, using commands like “push” and “stop” to build up their agility over time.

Potential safety problems with footballs

Choosing the right ball size and texture

Make sure the size of the football (or any ball your dog plays with) is appropriate. One that’s too small for a big dog becomes a choking hazard, while a ball that’s too large makes carrying frustrating and difficult.

Avoiding heatstroke during summer play

Our guide on heatstroke in dogs can help here, but to summarise, dogs can’t cool down as easily as we do. They’re limited to panting and sweating only through their paws.

This means they can struggle to regulate their temperature, especially when exercising in the summer. In fact, exercise triggers 75% of heatstroke cases. So make sure you’re taking it steady and only exercising your dog during the cooler parts of the day.

Symptoms include:

• Appearing to be upset or distressed

• Dribbling more than usual

• Excessive panting

• Foaming at the mouth

• Increased heart rate

• Panting heavily (dogs pant as a means to cool themselves down, so some panting can be normal and not a major source of concern)

• Vomiting

• Weakness

• Warming up and cooling down properly

Cold muscles strain more easily, so make sure you warm up your dog properly before exercise. Slowly build up to strenuous exercise rather than launching straight into it, and take your dog for a casual walk after the activity is done to make sure their body gradually returns to a normal temperature.

Preventing injuries from jumping and chasing

For at-risk dogs, make sure they wait until the ball lands before releasing them. Running and leaping to catch balls in mid-air with turns and abrupt stops can cause injuries for at-risk dogs.

Watching for (and managing) obsessive behaviour

Set ground rules so dogs know when fetch and “ball time” are appropriate. Never leave these types of toy out where they can see them; put them away in bins with lids and establish clear “play” and “not playing” time.

For obsessed dogs, you need to be very clear about when play time starts and ends. Otherwise, you’ll find they spend all day chewing their ball, exercising too much and, in rare instances, being aggressive.

Obsession can lead to aggression, especially over perceived ownership of valuable items like balls. This is known for resource guarding. Seek professional help from a behaviourist if your dog becomes too aggressive.

Tennis ball games (and problems) for dogs

Are tennis balls bad for your dog’s health?

Veterinary surgeon Cat Henstridge, aka Cat the Vet, has seen first-hand the mental and physical toll that too many tennis balls can take on your dog.

Physically, tennis balls can provide a good workout for you and your dog. But everything in moderation.

“Lots of ball play can be really hard on your dog’s legs because of all the stopping, starting, turning and jumping that they do," says Dr Cat.

And while a few minutes’ of ball chasing fun is fine for most dogs, Cat has an important message that ball flingers or tennis ball launchers can actually be quite harmful to your dog.

“Fling them in the bin.” she says. “They throw the ball so far, so fast, so many times that it puts massive strain through their joints.”

Tennis ball problem one: chew and destroy

Is your dog a tennis ball murderer? You aren't alome.

What’s the issue?

Some dogs just love their toys to death and that includes tennis balls. If your pup chews their balls to bits it’s not just the expense of replacing them you need to worry about. Bits of swallowed ball can cause tummy troubles, including an intestinal obstruction.

Sometimes those chewed up lumps of dayglo rubber even need surgery to remove.

Constant tennis ball carrying and chewing is also very bad for your dog’s teeth. The abrasive fabric on the outside of a tennis ball can wear your dog’s teeth down over time. This causes blunting of the teeth and potentially leads to dental complications.

Our solution

Teach your dog to roll the ball.

By redirecting your dog’s chewy energy into a focused learning experience you keep it out of their mouth and instead use it to engage their brain.

You’re teaching them a new way to entertain themselves with a ball, which will hopefully mean less focus on simply chewing it to pieces.

• Step 1: Start by holding the ball in front of your dog. When they boop it with their nose, immediately reward them. If they bop it with a paw, just ignore that and wait for a nose boop. You’ll need to spend some time building this up, then add a cue word like ‘touch’ or ‘roll’ just before they do it.

• Step 2: Instead of holding the ball while they boop it, progress to putting the ball on the ground and using your cue word. Hopefully they will start to get the idea that they touch the ball, but don’t grab it or pick it up. Keep practising…

• Step 3: Keep working on building up their ball rolling using your cue word. Try to progress from little nudges to repeat pushes using their nose.

Tennis ball problem two: too hot for tennis

If it’s too hot to walk your dog, it’s definitely too hot to be making them chase balls around.

What’s the issue?

Wimbledon season hits just as the mercury rises in June and July. If you like to exercise your dog with a tennis ball outdoors, just be careful at this time of year. They’re at real danger of heatstroke if they’re repeatedly running after a ball in the summer heat.

Our solution

Move your game of fetch to the water!

Tennis ball bobbing is so much fun for dogs and you can improvise this game in lots of different scenarios - all you need is a bag of tennis balls and a body of water - anything from a bucket to a lake will work!

Just put as many balls as you like in the water and get your dog to fish them out for you.

Remember, more dogs = more balls = more fun!

Tennis ball problem three: possessive and obsessive

It's all fun and games until someone starts hogging the ball...

What’s the issue?

Some dogs have no problem chasing the ball, picking up the ball… but then it all falls apart. If your dog’s possessive with their ball and won’t relinquish it it can limit the fun for both of you.

Our solution

Make giving the ball back part of the game.

By teaching your dog to drop their ball into a bucket or bowl you can reduce their guarding behaviour and make them much more relaxed around the object of their desire – in this case, a tennis ball.

Even if your dog isn’t willing to give back the treasured tennis ball, you need them to return to you. So have something of greater value. That can be anything from an even more valued toy to some really smelly sausage treats – whatever they love.

• Step 1: Sit with a bucket or basket in front of you. While your dog’s got their ball, get their attention with your ‘trade up’ item.

• Step 2: To take the better item they’ll need to drop the ball. Be ready for this and try to offer it over the basket so the ball falls there. When they trade items, use a marker word like ‘nice’ or ‘good’ to reinforce and give them their reward.

• Step 3: Keep trading items in this way and when they get the hang of it start to move the basket away from you a bit but hold your trade item over it. See if you can get them to progress to targeting the basket to get their treat.

• Step 4: Try putting the treat in the basket and use your cue word form further away to get them to associate ball in basket = treat. This step is hard!

Tennis ball problem four: no restraint

Fix that single-minded focus on tennis balls.

What’s the issue?

“Dogs love balls but for some it can become a bit of an obsession,” says Dr Cat. “That’s not great for their mental health, so make sure you mix those games up.”

Our solution

Unplug their brain from the ball!

If your dog completely loses their head in the presence of a tennis ball, try this fun ‘out of sight, out of mind’ game to get them thinking calmly again.

You’ll need a ball, a pot or bowl and a ball-obsessed dog.

• Step 1: Attract your dog’s attention and put the ball on the ground. They’ll probably come over in great excitement to grab it if they’re ball-crazy. Before they do, put your pot over the ball to hide it.

• Step 2: They might bark, scrabble or nose at the pot. Just keep your hand on it and wait. Sooner or later, they should back off a bit. Lift the pot and tell them to ‘get it’ or another cue word of your choice.

• Step 3: Keep repeating. You should find your dog is learning to wait to be told when they can take their ball, rather than being told they can’t. Mix it up a bit by throwing out a treat or two while they wait patiently to be allowed to take their ball and watch their restraint and patience grow.

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