Training A Retrieve

[Kavik]

Keep away, or depending on the tug he might lie down with it for a chew.

He is on lead now when tugging so he can't do those, but that is what he would like to do!

[Zug Zug]

My puppy (Pasha) now fetches a ball, his soft frisbee or squeaky toy enthusiastically.

Thinking it is time to introduce some different items (wood, hard plastic, the dreaded metal object.

I am a bit worried about this next step. Ideas, anyone?

[Erny]

Keep away, or depending on the tug he might lie down with it for a chew.

He is on lead now when tugging so he can't do those, but that is what he would like to do!

He doesn't care that you will finish the game, go inside and leave him locked outside if he plays "keep-away" (with a tug he's not into chewing)?

[Kavik]

I'm not sure if he would care - I think it wouldn't bother him.

[Erny]

I'm not sure if he would care - I think it wouldn't bother him.

Lol - there are benefits to having a 'clingy' dog.

But I wonder if it would bother your dog if the area he was left in was otherwise barron and boring ??

[Kavik]

Actually he might care - how would that help his retrieve?

[Erny]

Actually he might care - how would that help his retrieve?

It may begin to get him into the voluntary (ie his decision) of realising and appreciating that if he brings the tug to you, you'll immediately start the game again. Once *addicted* to this game and with any thought of his prior *keep away* activity weakened through extinction , you might find him realising there's more reward in bringing the tug back to you.

This is how Mandela learnt to bring back to me. Mind you, he never has had the opportunity to learn *keep away* and this was made easy by the fact that his heart breaks if I shut him out.

Edited May 9, 2012 by Erny

[kiesha09]

Kavik my girl is exactly the same... she likes to possess the item. She plays tug and I think her main motivation is to get the item to lay down and chew on it. She does like to chase a moving or thrown object (like a thrown ball) and will very enthusiastically run off and pick it up. Thinking about it now there are many times when she'll sit down and chew the item once she's got it. But its these times she doesn't even get to the running back to me part.

I ran out of time to test out some of the suggestions tonight but will work through some of them in the next few days and report back with our progress.

[Tassie]

My puppy (Pasha) now fetches a ball, his soft frisbee or squeaky toy enthusiastically.

Thinking it is time to introduce some different items (wood, hard plastic, the dreaded metal object.

I am a bit worried about this next step. Ideas, anyone?

Good to introduce them early - but make sure he's finished teething, or his mouth might hurt. (Not sure how old he is.)

You can try just introducing them into a fetch game when he is in the high excitement phase - just throw and see what happens - often they'll just pick things up without realising they're different if the game is highly exciting. Then interchange soft and hard. Huge party when he picks up the different object.

Another option is to play hide and seek with the different textured objects - again in the middle of a high excitement game of hide and seek. Again - huge party, and next one is an 'easy' object.

Then there's the more formal approach (mix and match these approaches) - sitting in the chair with treats and use the Shirley Chong retrieve teaching method to shape a retrieve. (Did this the other day with an enthusiastically retrieving Mini Schnauzer who was struggling with the metal. Took quite a while, but she was starting to put her mouth on the metal, and realising that the metal was a highly rewarding object. The method can be slow or fast, depending on the dog's progress.

IMO, most important of all is to keep the whole thing as a highly energising and exciting and rewarding game.