What Size Herding Ball Does My Dog Need? An Honest Guide

This is one of the most common things owners ask us before they buy.

It's a fair question. A herding ball doesn't work like a regular toy. Get the size wrong and you've either bought something your dog can pick up and lose interest in after twenty minutes, or something so large they give up trying to push it. Neither of those is the experience you want — and neither is the dog's instinct doing what it was built to do.

This guide walks you through how to choose. No marketing fluff, no "the bigger the better" nonsense. Just how the sizing actually works and which size most owners end up with for their breed.

The mistake most owners make

The mistake is reaching for a herding ball the same way you'd reach for any other dog toy: by guessing.

A herding ball is sized differently from a fetch toy or a chew. The whole point is that your dog can't pick it up. That's what flips the brain from "fetch" mode into "herd" mode — the same instinct your Border Collie or your Kelpie has been wired for over generations of working livestock.

If the ball is too small, your dog will mouth it, lift it, and treat it like a soccer ball. Herding instinct never activates. Fun for a bit, then boring.

If the ball is too large, your dog can't get under it to push it properly. The instinct activates but the body doesn't follow. Frustration, then disinterest.

The size that works is the one that's just too big to pick up — but small enough for your dog to nudge, steer, and chase with their chest and nose.

Why shoulder height matters more than weight

You'll see other size guides online that use the dog's weight in kilos. We don't, and our size guide popup on the store page doesn't either. Here's why.

Weight tells you how heavy your dog is. It doesn't tell you how tall they are, how their chest sits, or how they move. Two dogs at the same weight can have completely different builds — one a stocky Staffie with a low chest, the other a leggy Kelpie who runs taller than she looks. They'd need different size balls.

Shoulder height — measured from the wither (the highest point of the shoulder blade, just at the base of the neck) straight down to the ground — gives you a much better signal. It tells you how big the dog actually is in the space where the ball lives: at chest level. That's what matters when your dog is pushing the ball, not the number on the vet scale.

How to measure your dog properly

Three steps. Two minutes. You'll need a tape measure and a willing dog.

Step 1. Make sure your dog is standing tall and still. If they're sitting, lying down, or stretching, the measurement is wrong. A second pair of hands helps — one person holds a treat at nose height to keep them looking forward, the other measures.

Step 2. Find the wither. Run your hand from the base of the neck back along the spine — the wither is the bony point where the shoulder blades meet the neck. It's the highest point on a standing dog's back. Most dogs have a slight ridge there you can feel.

Step 3. Measure straight down from the wither to the ground. Not from the head, not from the back — from the wither. This is the shoulder height.

Write the number down. That's the figure you use against the table below.

The four CollieBall sizes

CollieBall comes in four sizes. Each one is built around a different shoulder-height range and a different set of working breeds. This list comes straight from the size guide popup on our store page — same breeds, same logic.

45cm — for small herders and toy breeds

Best for Corgis, French Bulldogs and Toy Aussies. If your dog is short in the shoulder and built close to the ground, this is the size that lets them push and steer without the ball towering over them. Herding instinct works just as hard in a Corgi as it does in a Border Collie — the body just needs the right scale of ball.

55cm — for medium herders

This is the popular pick: Border Collies, Cattle Dogs and Poodles. Most Border Collies in Australia land here, and most Cattle Dogs too. If you've got a working-line Kelpie that's on the smaller side, this size also fits — though most Kelpies go up a size.

75cm — for full-sized working dogs

Australian Shepherds, most Kelpies, Staffies. This is the size for dogs with a deeper chest, a longer leg, or a bigger frame. Aussie Shepherds especially benefit from going up — their drive is intense and they want a ball they can really lean into.

95cm — for large working breeds

German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Rottweilers. If your dog is big enough that a 75cm ball looks small under their chest, you want the 95cm. This is also the size that holds up to the highest jaw pressure — a Mal that's serious about its work needs the cover and the scale of the largest ball.

The store page has a "Find your dog's size" button that opens a visual size guide with the same breakdown plus measurement diagrams. Worth a look if you want the picture version.

Edge cases owners ask about

A few real questions we hear.

My dog is between sizes. What do I do?

Size up. This is the single most useful rule for picking a herding ball. A ball that's slightly larger than ideal still triggers the herding instinct — your dog adapts. A ball that's slightly smaller stops working as a herding ball altogether because your dog picks it up. Bigger is the safer mistake.

I have a mixed breed — what size?

Go by the body, not the name. Measure the shoulder height and match against the table. If you've got a Border Collie × Kelpie cross who measures like a full Kelpie, treat them like a Kelpie. The instinct doesn't care about the paperwork.

My dog is still a puppy. Do I buy for now or for the adult size?

Most owners buy for the size their dog will be in twelve months. A puppy can grow into a 75cm ball, and you'll want that ball for years. If your puppy is very small now, the 45cm is a reasonable starter — but you'll likely want a second size as they grow.

My dog is a Bull-type — Staffie, Pit, Bull Terrier. Does shoulder height still apply?

Shoulder height is still the main signal, but with Bull-types the jaw structure and head proportion matter too. The 75cm is usually the right call for a standard adult Staffie — large enough that they can't grip the cover with their jaws, which is the safety principle the whole CollieBall design is built around.

If in doubt, size up

This is the line we put at the bottom of our size guide popup, and we mean it. CollieBall's safety design is built on one principle: the dog should not be able to grip the cover with its jaws. A larger ball makes that easier. A smaller ball makes it harder.

If you measure your dog and they land exactly on the line between two sizes — go up. If your breed isn't on the list above and you're trying to match by similar dogs — go up. If you're buying for a puppy who's going to grow — go up.

The cost of buying one size too big is a slightly clumsier first week as your dog learns to handle it. The cost of buying one size too small is a ball that doesn't work as a herding ball at all.

A note on inflation

Two things on this. First, the ball has to be fully and smoothly inflated for the size principle to work. A half-inflated 75cm ball behaves like a 60cm ball — soft, slack, and gripable. Pump it up properly.

Second, herding balls deflate slowly. That's normal — it's not a defect, it's the same physics as any air-filled ball. The needle valve inner ball (sold separately) is the version that holds air longer if reinflation is a hassle for you. Either way, check the firmness every couple of weeks and top up if needed.

When in doubt, ask us

If you've measured your dog and you're still not sure — send us an email with the breed, the shoulder height, and one photo of your dog standing. We'll tell you what we'd buy. We do this most days. We'd rather you got the right size first time than guess and end up with a ball that doesn't work for you.

Ships from Tweed Heads, NSW.