Fetch (And Return)

[Isabel964]

Is there a known effective way to teach a dog to bring a ball back to you?

Is it something relatively easy to teach or quite difficult? I'm not very good at teaching dogs things.

I'd love to teach my rescued 8 month old staffy/kelpie cross. It would be great for fun, exercise and mental stimulation.

She will run after a ball but she doesn't bring it back. We do go to obedience training twice a week but haven't learned recall yet. We can practice/play in our home and yard.

I did check the training section on the forum but couldn't find it.

[The Spotted Devil]

You asked already:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/266916-fetch/page__pid__6826660#entry6826660

[JRG]

OK

you got a lot of advice in your other post. Here are my tips:

1. start in a small space eg your passageway.

2. make sure there is no escape.

3. sit on the floor and play with your pup using a rolled up sock.

4. gently toss the sock a couple of feet away and encourage the pup to go after it. Make it so that you can reach the sock without standing up if she does not go after it.

5. when she gets to the sock encourage her to pick it up and return to you for another play.

6. do NOT play "fetch" anywhere else and do not let her have a ball at this stage.

Once you have established the fetching routine in a small space, you can move to doing the same thing in a more open area and with different objects but do not give your pup any chance to escape, you must be around encouraging her to play with you the moment she gets to it.

Does that make sense?

Good luck - and be aware that some dogs just do not like playing fetch!

Edited July 2, 2016 by JRG