Teaching Ralph To Fetch

[chepet]

I have taught Ralph -2 1/2 -cairn terrier , lots of tricks , sit ,stay, high 5 , shake hands , play dead, hug ,roll over,dance, lay down.but I can't get him to fetch ,sometimes he will chase the ball sometimes he won't ,sometimes he get the ball but he won't bring it to me despite me calling him to me ,I need help

[rastus_froggy]

A couple of parts to look at here I think, how is his recall in general? If he is getting the ball somethime then not coming I would work on his recall by doing the recall on lead then seeing if he will get the ball while on lead then if he doesnt return you are in control of the situation and can make him return. Before this though I would really work on making him want the ball, make him think that the ball is a great thing to you and that giving you the ball is the best thing in the world, because it makes you happy and he gets treats for making you happy.

I would start this by playing with the ball in front of the dog just for a few seconds going "woo hoo" and being very happy in general about it all, then put it away, dont let the dog have it initially. Do this a few times a day for a few days. Next I would have the dog on lead, play with the ball then give it to the dog and then ask for it back (you may have to take it from the dogs mouth) and give the dog loads of treats, repeat a number of times. I would keep the dog on lead and start to throw the ball small distances and just increase the distance over time and eventually remove the lead.

Sorry this is long winded, hope it makes sense and hope it helps.

[whatevah]

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