Found a weird trick at the dog park in Austin

Was at the Zilker dog park last Tuesday. Saw this older guy with a border collie. He had the dog fetch rocks instead of balls. Said rocks don't bounce weird so the dog doesn't get confused during retrieves. Tried it with my lab mix the next day. She actually stayed focused longer. Has anyone else tried non-standard fetch toys that changed your dog's behavior?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_felix1mo ago

My buddy tried it with his golden retriever and the dog just ate the rocks.

faithg261mo ago

Our vet told me about that risk with retrievers and labs, they'll swallow anything that smells even slightly interesting. I had to switch my lab to flat river stones just to be safe after he crunched through a bag of decorative pebbles in ten minutes. If you try this with a retriever, make sure the rocks are too big to fit in their mouth.

hugow301mo ago

Is it really that common though? My lab has eaten some weird stuff and never had an issue with rocks.