Chuckit! Erratic Ball for Too Much Fun

Erratic Toys for Managing Dog Behavior

Our four-year old blond lab is the Labrador retriever everyone wants and so few get. She has good (smart) genes, but we’ve invested a lot of time into getting her to this point. She’s not perfect, she’s not a show dog but she’s well behaved, I trust her in most situations, and she has never been destructive. She’s smart, clever, and has diligently taught our younger dog. 

Why?

Favorite fetch toys have erratic bounces.

Labrador retrievers are smart and high energy dogs, which often means creative and easily bored. We found several activities that addressed both of those needs and that tightened the bond between us. A trainer recommended activities that stimulated her mind as a puppy and we’ve continually sought out other games and problem-solving toys. I’ve no doubt these helped but playing fetch with her twice a day and letting her run off excess energy while focusing on her ball has protected our house, furniture, shoes and finances. 

Give me 10 minutes and I’ll give you three hours. 

Without fail, twice a day we play hard ten to 15 minutes. We play her favorite game -- fetch. This  teaches her focus, anticipation and prediction; we prefer balls with erratic action that really keeps her focused. After 15 minutes she’s ready to call it quit. This is her absolute favorite way to spend time with us. It has taught her to come when called. It keeps her attention when at the Dog Park. She doesn’t resource guard at the park because we use tennis balls rather than her favorite balls. When hiking she’s perfectly fine with a stick but when we’re home it’s her Orka Jack, the Chuckit! Erratic Ball, or the Chuckit! Whistling Ball. 

The negative component is that when she deems it playtime the ball gets dropped repeatedly at my feet. Thud, thud, thud – and then she applies those great big soulful lab eyes. I remember the lesson taught by our previous chocolate lab – give me 10 minutes and I’ll leave you alone for three hours.

Someone once suggested that some dog breeds respond well to behavior training that focuses on balls and fetch. While I can’t locate a reference for that theory it’s a theory that feels gut-right.

About the Erratic Ball

Boing – it goes in unanticipated directions and our sharp-eyed retriever has great fun following the action. It’s not your normal ball. The Erratic Ball is a natural rubber toy with a relatively firm surface. The shape fits nicely in my hand for launching it but it’s designed for use with Chuckit’s Launcher. We just use our hand and throwing arm. 

What makes this different from traditional balls is the shape, which consists of a combination of four flatish, pinched surfaces that fit between four slightly curved surfaces. A narrow hole in the top and bottom (opposite each other) creates a little wind whistle when thrown. The slightly curved surfaces are covered by a network of marginally raised contour lines – this surface is also firmer than the other four.  All together they create a ball that lands somewhere, but we rarely know where. 

She doesn’t always watch where it’s headed but follows the sound.

Our special play toys are not left out for random chewing, there are other toys in the dog toybox for that; these are for pack interactive play when us humans interact with our frisky dogs. Use this with the launcher if you need assistance throwing or want it to travel further than what your toss will do unaided. We don’t mind handling slobbery balls – it actually becomes funny when the object we’re tossing slips out of our hands mid-throw. Plan on having too much fun.