The Best Large Dog Ball: Fun and Exercise for Your Furry Friend
- Seven
- Jun 7, 2025
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 3
Updated July 2026
Quick answer: The best herding ball for a large dog is the one sized so a big jaw cannot grip it. For most large breeds that means the 30-inch CollieBall (about $81) for 50 to 75 pound dogs, and the 37-inch (about $100) for 75 pounds and up. Size it too small and a large dog treats it like a chew toy. Here is how to get it right.
Big dogs break small balls. A large herding breed brings serious jaw strength and drive, and most balls sold for big dogs are either too small to herd or too flimsy to survive. Get the size right and a herding ball gives that power a job instead of a chew target. This guide covers what a large dog actually needs, and which CollieBall size fits which breed.
Why Most Balls Fail a Large Dog
Most balls marketed for big dogs fail one of two ways. Exercise and yoga balls are the cheap option, but they are built for gym floors, not the jaw and claws of a 70 pound working dog. A large dog pops one in a single session, and the torn skin becomes a swallowing hazard. Hard plastic and rubber balls last a little longer, but a large dog's bite force cracks and chips them, and the hard shell is rough on teeth.
The bigger problem is size. Almost every ball on the shelf is too small for a large dog. If your dog can get its jaw around the ball, it will treat it like something to carry and destroy, not something to herd. A ball only triggers the push-and-chase instinct when it is too big to pick up. For most large breeds that means a 30 or 37 inch ball, and nothing smaller will do the job.
What a Large Herding Dog Needs in a Ball
Start with size, because for a big dog it is everything. You size a herding ball to the jaw, not the scale, and a large dog needs a ball clearly too big to grab. A 30-inch ball suits most 50 to 75 pound dogs, and a 37-inch suits 75 pounds and up. When a powerful dog sits between two sizes, always go up. The bigger ball is the one that lasts, because the dog cannot get a grip to start tearing.
Then the cover. A large dog puts real force through the ball, so the cover has to grip the ground and flex under claws instead of cracking. The CollieBall cover is ballistic fabric, the same tough weave used in heavy-duty gear, wrapped around an air chamber. A woven shell takes the shoulder-and-chest push a big working dog specializes in and keeps rolling. Look for a dense woven outer, reinforced seams, and stitching that will not give the first time a large dog drags it across gravel.
Finally, whether you can fix it. A sealed one-piece ball is finished the moment it punctures, and a big dog will find that weak point. A serviceable design lets you replace the part that fails and keep the expensive cover. Those three things, a size too big to bite, a cover that survives claws, and a replaceable inner bladder, are what separate a ball a large dog works for years from one that lasts a weekend.
The Original Herding Ball, Built Big Enough
We are not neutral about our own ball, and we will say so plainly. We made the original herding ball in San Francisco back in 2021, and we built it in sizes big enough for the largest working breeds on purpose. The fabric-covered design that now defines a good herding ball started with ours, and imitations have followed. None of them are the original, and few are built to survive a full-size Malinois or Rottweiler.
That is why the 37-inch exists. It sits past the bite of even the biggest working dogs, so the mouth never closes on the cover, and the ballistic fabric absorbs the drive that these breeds live for. It comes air-filled so it is still light enough to move, with a replaceable inner bladder inside a double-zippered cover, and more than 1,000 owners have left reviews at an average of 4.8 stars. See the original CollieBall lineup for the full range of sizes.
Sizing a Herding Ball for Large and Giant Breeds
Here is the quick map for the big breeds. The 30-inch fits 50 to 75 pound dogs: Australian Shepherds, working Kelpies, Staffies, larger Goldendoodles, and show-line German Shepherds. The 37-inch fits 75 pounds and up: Belgian Malinois, working-line German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and giant herding and guardian breeds. Nearly all of these are recognized herding or working breeds by the American Kennel Club, and they share the same chase-and-control drive. If your dog is a heavy, high-drive worker anywhere near the line between two sizes, size up.
We go deeper on the two toughest cases in the German Shepherd herding ball guide and the working-line Malinois guide, and if you want the full picture across every weight, the complete size guide breaks it down band by band.
How Herding Ball Sizing Works for Big Dogs
The size number is not decorative, it is the whole mechanic, and it matters most for large dogs. Too small and a big dog bites straight through the play. Correctly sized and the ball sits just past the bite, so the only way to move it is to push with the body. That is what turns a toy into a job, and it is what keeps a powerful dog from shredding the ball out of frustration.
If you are not sure which way to size a borderline dog, the interactive sizer higher on this page takes your dog's breed and weight and returns the exact size. When you are still deciding whether a herding ball is even the right toy, our how to choose a herding ball guide walks through the five things that matter before you buy.
5 Things a Large Dog Needs From a Herding Ball
1. A ball too big to bite
For a large dog this is non-negotiable. Sized past the jaw, the ball can only be moved with the body, which channels the drive into herding instead of destruction.
2. A cover that survives a big dog's claws and teeth
Ballistic fabric absorbs the tooth and claw contact that a powerful dog puts through the ball and flexes instead of cracking. A hard shell cannot grip the ground and survive a large dog at the same time.
3. A closure that does not become the weak point
A double zipper seals the cover without leaving a seam that fails first. On cheap large-dog balls the closure is usually the first thing a strong dog finds.
4. A replaceable bladder
A big dog will eventually cost you an inner bladder. When it goes, you swap that one part and keep the cover, so the ball is a multi-year purchase instead of a monthly one.
5. The right size for the weight
The single biggest mistake with large dogs is going too small. Match the 30 or 37 inch to the weight, not the price, and the ball does its job for years.
How to Introduce a Big Dog to a Herding Ball
Bring the ball in deflated first and let your dog investigate with no pressure, then inflate it in front of them until no wrinkles are left in the cover and it holds a firm round shape. With a large, powerful dog, do not over-inflate, a slightly softer ball takes the first hard hits better and the wrinkles are your gauge, not a pressure number.
The first push usually happens on its own. The moment the ball rolls away and a big dog moves to cut it off, the instinct has taken over. Keep the first sessions short, let them win, and watch a high-drive dog settle afterward the way a long walk never manages.
Find Your Large Dog's CollieBall
The interactive sizer higher on this page maps your dog to the right size in a few taps. If you already know your dog's weight, the 30 and 37 inch product cards above link straight to it.
What Other Owners Say
Watch a Large Working Dog on a CollieBall
The dog in the video is not being trained to perform, it is doing what a large working breed was built to do: chase, cut off, and control something bigger than a fetch toy, the same instinct behind the dog sport of treibball. A herding ball, sized right, is the one toy that keeps up with that.
Common Questions About Herding Balls for Large Dogs
What size herding ball does a large dog need?
Size to the jaw, not the weight alone. Most large dogs (50 to 75 pounds) do best on the 30-inch CollieBall, and dogs 75 pounds and up need the 37-inch. The ball should be clearly too big to pick up or bite so your dog pushes it instead of carrying it. If your dog is between sizes, go up.
What size herding ball for a German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois?
The 37-inch. Working-line German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois have the drive and jaw strength to destroy anything they can grip, so they need a ball that sits past the bite. On the 37-inch the mouth never closes on the cover, and the ballistic fabric absorbs the push. Show-line Shepherds on the lighter side can use the 30-inch.
Can a large dog pop a herding ball?
A cheap sealed or hard ball, yes, quickly. A correctly sized fabric herding ball, no, because the dog cannot get a grip to start tearing, and a puncture in the inner bladder is a part you replace rather than the end of the ball. No toy is truly indestructible, so match the size to the dog and supervise a committed chewer.
Is the 37-inch too big for my dog?
Only if your dog is under about 50 pounds. For large and giant breeds the 37-inch is the point, it has to be too big to grab. A ball that looks oversized to you is exactly the size that triggers herding instead of chewing. If your dog is 50 to 75 pounds, the 30-inch is the better fit.
What is a herding ball made of?
The best ones use a tough woven outer cover, such as ballistic fabric, wrapped around an air-filled inner bladder. That combination gives grip on the ground, a controllable roll, and flex under claws, while staying light enough for even a large dog to move.
Which large breeds are herding balls good for?
Any large, high-drive breed: German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Australian Shepherds, larger Kelpies and Heelers, and herding mixes with a strong chase instinct. If your big dog stalks, chases, or nips at movement, a herding ball gives that power a healthy outlet.
The Bottom Line for Large-Dog Owners
A herding ball earns its place with a large dog when it is sized too big to bite, covered in tough woven fabric, and built to be repaired rather than replaced. For most large breeds that is the 30-inch CollieBall at about $81, and for the biggest working dogs the 37-inch at about $100. Use the sizer above to land on the right one, and give that big working brain the job it has been asking for.
Written by Huckleberry, CollieBall Spokesperson. Updated July 2026.
Ready to find the right size for your large dog? Explore all sizes at the CollieBall shop.
My dog tore the zipper in 2 days. I have been trying to get a hold of collie ball for about 10 days now. I have sent 2 emails and submitted a question, o sent pictures to see what they could do. Maybe even have a better design. I need a new cover. My dog loves the ball - but when he plays with it not it cuts his tounge because of the broken zippersz