The CollieBall Journal
Enrichment, Instinct, and Play

The best mental exercise for working dogs is a job they can finish, and a herding ball gives them one: chase, push, redirect, repeat. Twenty minutes of che

The simplest way to give your dog a job is a herding ball session: 15 minutes of chase-push work with a clear start and finish. Sizes run $67.50 to $104.50

Calming toys for anxious dogs split into two camps: soothers that lower arousal, and a herding ball that hands the dog a job instead.

The best reactive dog games give the dog a job it can finish, and a herding ball holds a whole session. Push work, flirt pole, sniff games, scatter feeds.

Puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, flirt poles and herding balls each do a different job. Only one of them keeps a high-energy dog moving long enough to matter.

The best toy for reactive dog training is a herding ball, because it gives a reactive dog a contained job instead of a trigger to fixate on.

XXL herding ball for dogs — the real one is 37 inches, 23% bigger than any competitor XXL. For Malinois, working GSD, Rottweiler, Doberman.

Dog toys for separation anxiety — why herding-drive dogs need a job, not a chew, and which toys actually help vs the ones that don't.

The best herding ball for aggressive chewers is chew-resistant by design, not chew-proof by claim — ballistic fabric, replaceable inner, sized above the bite line.

The best herding ball for a Beauceron is the 37-inch CollieBall ($104.50): too big to grip, tough enough for a French shepherd's push.

The best herding ball for a Belgian Tervuren is the 30-inch CollieBall ($81): too big to grab, tough enough for a Belgian shepherd's drive.

The best herding ball for a Belgian Sheepdog is the 30-inch CollieBall ($81): too big to grab, tough enough for a Groenendael's working drive.

Updated July 2026 The best herding ball for an Old English Sheepdog is the 37-inch CollieBall ($104.50). It's too big for the OES to grip, tough enough for a 70-plus-pound drove dog to lean into, and paced right for the bear-of-a-shepherd the breed was built to be. An Old English Sheepdog doesn't want a ball it can carry. It wants one it has to move. Under all the coat, the OES is a working drove dog bred to move stock over English farmland, and the drive is still there. This

Updated July 2026 The best herding ball for a Bearded Collie is the 30-inch CollieBall ($81.00). It's too big to grip, tough enough for the shaggy Scottish sheep-mover the Beardie was bred to be, and paced right for a dog that works on eye and body pressure long before it uses teeth. A Bearded Collie doesn't want a ball it can carry. It wants one it has to move. The Beardie was bred on the Highlands to drove sheep and cattle over rough country, and the drive is still there un

The best herding ball for a Rough Collie is the 30-inch CollieBall ($81.00): too big to grab, tough enough for a natural herder's push and stare.

The best herding ball for a Dutch Shepherd is the 37-inch CollieBall ($104.50): too big to grip, tough enough for a working KNPV dog's push.

The 37-inch CollieBall is the right herding ball for most adult Dobermans: too big to bite, tough enough for a 70-100 lb working dog's push. Smaller females go on the 30-inch.

The best herding ball for a Staffie is the 22-inch CollieBall — English Staffie or Amstaff, sized so the ball can't be gripped, tough enough for terrier drive.

Updated July 2026 Quick answer: The best herding ball for most dogs is the one sized so your dog has to push it, not bite it. For the widest range of herding breeds that means the 22-inch CollieBall (about $76.50), stepping up to the 30 or 37 inch for large and giant dogs. Here is how to choose the right one. If your herding dog is bored, they will invent a job you did not ask for. A herding ball gives that drive a legal target: something big to push, chase, and control. But

Updated June 2026 Quick answer: the best herding ball for a Kelpie is the 22-inch CollieBall ($76.50). It's too big to bite or carry, tough enough for a working Kelpie's relentless push, and sized for the 25–45 lb build. Bigger station-bred Kelpies can size up to the 30-inch ($81). A Kelpie was bred to work all day on its own initiative — and a tennis ball answers that drive for about three seconds. The Australian Kelpie is arguably the hardest-working herding breed on earth,