Rescue dog obsessed with one of her toys. Help?

If the dog doesn't improve after a week or two (become less obsessed & develop more interests & become more interested in you) then remove the ball from the home (at least for the time being). Yes, you might be able to use it (later) as a training reward for nosework or tracking. But if you cannot gain the dog's attention & affection, the dog may not be right for you, period. You need to get to that point of knowing if you can enjoy & work with the dog (minus the ball). The dog really sounds like NO FUN (currently) WITH the ball, because you're invisible.

Unless you are going to train the dog for some sport or job I would take the ball away for good.

My old dog was obsessed with "balls" when he was young but this came in very useful for training him as he would do anything for his ball.

However it had some drawbacks ( too long to explain) and I substituted the ball for another toy which he took to ok but was not so obsessed to the point that nothing else mattered, like he was with the ball.

I swear he would have jumped off a cliff after his ball if I had thrown it over there. Any ball would do for him, so his substitute toy was NOT a ball, it was a small rubber ring, or a sausage shaped rubber toy on a rope.

If you take the ball away for good, and have some games with her with another toy, she may eventually forget about the ball and be content with the substitute, and hopefully not as obsessed.

Do remember that Aussie Sheps and even mixes of them are working dogs and thrive on having a job to do or a dog sport to take part in and love being trained to do so.

A short walk round the block will not be enough mental stimulation for a dog like this and being obsessed with her ball is an outlet for her lack of mental stimulation. I bet you could throw that ball ALL day and she go after it until she drops.

Find another outlet for her frustration and she could become a changed dog. She would probably excel at Tracking, obedience, searching, herding and agility. Jmo.

I would take it away, at least periodically, if she's that obsessed with it. I agree with SD that you can use it for training, though. BTW, I think you have an Australian Cattle Dog mix there, not an Aussie Shepherd mix. I've had 4 Cattle Dogs, and I never teach them fetch until they are a little older so they don't become obsessive about it. I would encourage other interests. Good luck with your new dog!

I'd remove the toy BUT you have to see what reaction you get ..... leaving her with the toy may be the better option. Clearly she needs to learn there will be a time for her, for you to play, feed, groom, exercise her etc. And then a time which isn't for her. Routine in other words.

I would suggest she just needs time to settle in with you and once that's achieved, this ball obscession should become less important in her life. It sounds as if this is early days after all.

She might feel secure with the ball around because she had it for a while before she was adopted. I would not take it away but instead continue to encourage her to play with others toys.

Use that ball to train the dog that it can have it, BUT, it must perform for it. Train it in obedience using that ball as a reward, train it to do article searches, reward with the ball.

This is not something bad, its priceless when you can take advantage of a dog's desire to own a toy like that.

Leave the dog alone. You did say you just adopted her, didn't you? Give her time to get comfortable in her home, learn to trust her new family and she'll develop other interests. Those exact balls are HUGE favorites with one of my dogs too, but he'll leave it and she'll learn to as well. Settle down and have some patience.

depending on her history.

It may be that she has become dependent on the ball.

LET HER KEEP THE TOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!