minyvlz Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Sorry if this is an old topic, I did a search but none seemed to match my situation. I can't get my dogs to play fetch at all. I try to play it separately, and the first one will run to where the ball is, mouths at it then leaves it there. If I call him back/have a treat in my hand he returns but without the ball. Sometimes he carries it halfway but never returns it to me or near me enough so I can trade it for another ball. The other dog looks at me, looks at the ball being thrown touch the ground and stands there wagging his tail. *Sigh* How do I get them to play fetch?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atanquin Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Sorry can I ask what breed of dog you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I work on the idea that we play what the dogs like-and what they are good at ? I'm no help - have never taught a dog to play 'fetch' .. they either do , or they don't - I'm lazy ;) I love playing 'soccer' where I dribble the ball around and they chase it ..or I kick it and they run .. then I tell them 'leave' and I kick it again Most of ours love that . Do they normally carry things around a lot? if not, then 'fetch' may not be something to continue with. They need to enjoy carrying things , IMO. You could try a soft toy.. or an old sock instead of a ball ... How old are the dogs, and yes, what breed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I work on the idea that we play what the dogs like-and what they are good at ? I'm no help - have never taught a dog to play 'fetch' .. they either do , or they don't - I'm lazy ;) I love playing 'soccer' where I dribble the ball around and they chase it ..or I kick it and they run .. then I tell them 'leave' and I kick it again Most of ours love that . Do they normally carry things around a lot? if not, then 'fetch' may not be something to continue with. They need to enjoy carrying things , IMO. You could try a soft toy.. or an old sock instead of a ball ... How old are the dogs, and yes, what breed? I agree with Persephone. Different breeds were bred to do different things. Many things can be taught but there are instinctive breed traits. Some breeds have more of an in-built inclination to 'retrieve' eg. Labradors. Others have a strong prey drive and probably enjoy the 'chase' of a moving object more (but won't necessarily bring it back to you unless trained!) This is the case with my dog. ;) It would be good to know the breeds of your dogs. It could give some clues as to their play styles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Neither of mine are natural retrievers. I shaped a formal retrieve with my girl and she doesn't particularly enjoy that, so I am pretty sure she'll never really enjoy a game of fetch ;) The thing that has helped us most is letting her run with other dogs that DO fetch. She loves having a 'treasure' that the other dogs don't so will actually make the effort to go get the item and bring it back (as long as another dog is hot on her heels). And at least that way she gets exercise and she doesn't even have to bring it back if she doesn't want to (someone else's dog will). I have one of the Kong Donut Squeaker toys and from my experience most dogs go nutty over them, especially herding breeds as they continue rolling when they land. Ava will bring it back once or twice (after learning from other dogs) then gets bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 yes you dog needs to have a cetain amount of prey drive, couple with the desire to retreive, my dog loves to chase, and he often returns back to me I'm working on the release at the momment which is ussually the hardest thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I agree it is instinctive. I have never taught my dogs to fench. My Rotty LOVES fetch. She is so into it that now as she is getting older we have to stop the game as she hurts herself. My labs, one loves it the other has no idea. He chases the other dogs and only want the ball just because the others do. Then if he does get it he runs in the other direction so the dogs chase him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 mosy dogs have some level of prey drive... which is the instinct chase down prey ... some breeds have all but had this instinct bred out of them... I believe you can develop the insinct (if at all present) when they are a pup by playing with the pup like you would a kitten getting them to chase a ball on a string.. but if the dog is old the instinct may become so dormant it becomes extinct... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I agree it is instinctive. I have never taught my dogs to fench. My Rotty LOVES fetch. She is so into it that now as she is getting older we have to stop the game as she hurts herself. My labs, one loves it the other has no idea. He chases the other dogs and only want the ball just because the others do. Then if he does get it he runs in the other direction so the dogs chase him. Lol! I believe that's an instinctive trait that's not breed-specific. It's a particular trait you'll find in some humans too. A built-in tendency to be a S#!tstirrer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minyvlz Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Thank you all for your replies. The first dog I mentioned is a Westie and the second is a Maltese x. I agree that the Maltese does not have such a strong prey drive, not sure about the Westie. He is quite reactive and does chase after the ball, but when he reaches it, all he does is bite it and leave it there. Maltese is 1 year+ while the Westie is about 10 months. Westie seems to have moderate prey drive? He's quite a typical terrier I would say, loves chase, very playful and eager to please. The Maltese doesn't have a strong food/play drive, loves his zoomies and is quick to learn. He will follow the Westie and chase after the ball (if the both of the are together) but usually loses out, obviously. On his own he just stands there, smiling at you as if saying "Nice throw! Now what?" If I could only get the Westie to bring the ball back to me, I think he could be trained as he is quite food-motivated. I just don't know how to get him to do that. I recently took care of a friend's Pomeranian who would bark at and chase every moving thing - would that be considered high prey drive? Playing fetch with that little guy was awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Maybe trainers could have better but you could try marker training your dog during the chase.. Maybe chase the ball and follow your dog once the dog picks the ball up and drops it make sure your hand is under the mouth to catch and mark with a clicker or a YES! and reward. Do this until she inderstand that pick the ball up and dropping it in your hand = reward. then take step back so he has to pick it up take a step and drop it keep increasing the distance until bam doesnt matter how far you throw it she will fetch it.... Of course you never reward her for not dropping it in your hand Thats my thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) Agree with persephone , Stella has always carried a soft toy in her mouth pretty much everywhere she goes, she is also a toy sucker, when she is tired. She retrieved pretty much anything I threw right from 12 weeks of age without me teaching her, was just instinct I think. While Sonny my other BC stands by & watches like 'watever' he will chase but if you want it back he looks at me like 'you best be getting that' !! Not the least bit interested, but he is not a toy carrier. Bring out the soccer ball & Sonny will chase it all day while Stella will just go lay down with her 'sucky' toy. They are all different. Edited July 22, 2011 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 why would you want to teach a dog to fetch a ball when you have to throw it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again and it constantly brings you the ball so you can throw it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over or is that just what happens in my little world of owning a coolie who is on the go all the time seriously some dogs just like fetching balls, as said have you tried a toy, some prefer fetching toys one thing my coolie has learnt is that I don't throw the ball again until she brings it within easy arm reach of me, i ignore it otherwise, much easier so that I can just sit on the chair and watch telly so that I can throw it to her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonecutter Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We taught fetch by first teaching "take" for something out of my hand, then "give" to release (and a treat to lure away). Then I started tossing the toy 30cm away, Ziva would go grab it to bring back to me to swap for a treat. Then we just threw further and further to the point I can chuck a toy 15m and she'll go after it. Not sure if this is the right way - but it worked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 why would you want to teach a dog to fetch a ballwhen you have to throw it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again and it constantly brings you the ball so you can throw it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minyvlz Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 why would you want to teach a dog to fetch a ball when you have to throw it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again and it constantly brings you the ball so you can throw it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over or is that just what happens in my little world of owning a coolie who is on the go all the time seriously some dogs just like fetching balls, as said have you tried a toy, some prefer fetching toys one thing my coolie has learnt is that I don't throw the ball again until she brings it within easy arm reach of me, i ignore it otherwise, much easier so that I can just sit on the chair and watch telly so that I can throw it to her :rofl: I can't keep up with their energy, so throwing is infinitely better than me running I tried a toy today but it seemed to distract them even more (came back running to me and then started chewing on them at my feet, or did the shake-and-kill) but the good news is, they can play fetch now!! Thank you all geniuses for your help :thumbsup: Still can't get them to drop it in my hand but that is a small matter. This forum is awesome. I have taught them shy, fetch, target things with their noses and crawl in 2 days! (Plus have taught the cat sit, come and shake.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara&Heidi Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I honestly wouldn't worry if your dogs dont fetch - it's a great way to rupture an ACL as I now know from experience . By the way for anyone who has ball obsessed dogs, according to my vet you're supposed to throw the ball up hill so there is less impact on the knees when the dog stops suddenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 My dog did her cruciate running in a straight line after a ball. I'm not going to deny my dogs the things they love most because they *might* hurt themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara&Heidi Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) I'm not saying no dogs should fetch - just that it should be up hill if they do and that I wouldn't worry too much if my dog had no inclination to fetch. I was just putting it out there that fetching is an easy and very common way to tear an ACL so people should be careful. It doesn't really matter whether your dog is running in a straight line or on a curve - it is when they stop suddenly to get the ball and everything below the knee stops while everything above the knee continues to accelerate foward. That is why uphill fetching is better - it reduces this effect. Edited July 23, 2011 by arielle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I only ever play fetch with my girl after a long walk so she is warmed up, on sand at the beach. Always throw the ball along the ground, never in the air & only 6 or so times at the most. Then I bury the ball & she has to find it. Which she just loves. Then ball game is over. Too stressing on their joints otherwise. My older boy just loves me to brake up stick's into tiny pieces & throw them around the I tell him to "find them" & he goes around scenting till he picks up every single one, chews it up, spits it out, onto the next one. Might take him an hour but he will do that all day if I would let him, his 'happy tail' is swishing the whole time. totally focused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now