Retrieve Help!

[corie]

So Butch has no problem loving his ball - but he used to always drop it 3 meters away from me! We've gotten to the point where he'll drop it much closer, but only in certain conditions: if I throw it while standing on the grassy patch of our backyard, onto grass, and if I stand at one end of the patio and throw the ball to the opposite end of the patio. If he's dropped it too far away, I can say 'bring it!' and he'll pick it up and sort of 'throw' it to me. When we're outdoors, he's pretty good with tossing it near me as well.

The problem is if I throw it from the patio, onto the grass. He refuses to set foot on the patio again, will drop it on the grass and just look at me, even if I say 'bring it'. If I pretend to go inside, he will pick up the ball and drop it right on the door mat, but that makes for a very interrupted game of fetch. When we put his ball away, it's on one of the tables on the patio, so I think he's made the association that ball near patio = possible chance of game ending, whereas it will always be okay to give me the ball when I'm on grass.

Any advice to train/shape so he brings it to me regardless of where I stand? I could always just throw it out on the grass, but that would just be like giving up right :p

Thanks in advance!!

[The Spotted Devil]

Backchaining is the key!

Teach the last behaviour first ie drop ball into your hand.

Google Shirly Chong retrieve.

One of my dogs hated retrieving whilst the other adores it. I taught them a formal retrieve and deliver to hand the same way :)

[corie]

We do have to work on the fine line between 'it is okay to take from the hand when human says so' and 'don't grab things from a hand whenever I feel like it'.

But yes, will try that. Even though I've got Shirley Chong's method saved on my computer, backchaining still hadn't occurred to me