Ball Obsessives are paying attention to you but they aren’t interested in anything else other than the ball. Any obsessive behaviour is not what you want your dog to be doing and although they are paying attention to you, they aren’t listening they and just want the ball.

Whether they are interested in people or dogs near by them, birds, or just a smell that catches their attention, Retrievers are often too interested in the ‘what’s going on’ in the environment to pay attention to you. They will ignore recall unless you are lucky enough for there to be nothing of interest going on around them.

Being a retrieving breed, they love having something in their mouths. This often means Retrievers will naturally steal things to carry around and this can frequently create unwanted games of ‘chase’ for you to get what they have stolen back.