SheepOfBlue
Premium Member
Nope his skill is being a love sponge. He insists on a LOT of petting.
Train to fetch?
- Thread starter SheepOfBlue
- Start date
DianeP
Forums Enthusiast
Sounds like our games, too!
RikyR
Premium Member
Zulu came to us with fetch built in. No real training, it was natural to him. Cody, on the other hand, was "you want met get that?"
Wendy C
Forums Enthusiast
Cooper does a fetch/tug combo and he loves it it so we use that to entertain him during his crazy time between 6-8 p.m. lol. He will fetch toys and his ball, but doesn’t seem to care about a frisbee.
2GoodDogs
Forums Enthusiast
I teach a play retrieve as soon as puppy comes home. I toss cheese balls a few puppy steps ahead, and puppy runs out to eat it, I quickly call "come" and lure puppy back to me with another cheese ball. We play this game until I can throw farther and puppy anticipates running back to me as quickly as he runs out initially. The game goes "get it" "come"
Meanwhile anytime the puppy has something in his mouth - whatever it is - my shoes, the potted plant, a toy - he is praised to high heaven and I trade a tasty treat for "give"
So, I have him familiar with chase - return quickly and give.
It's a game of inches and generalization to have a shaped retrieve in a few months.
This has worked for all four of my dogs that have earned advanced obedience titles.
Meanwhile anytime the puppy has something in his mouth - whatever it is - my shoes, the potted plant, a toy - he is praised to high heaven and I trade a tasty treat for "give"
So, I have him familiar with chase - return quickly and give.
It's a game of inches and generalization to have a shaped retrieve in a few months.
This has worked for all four of my dogs that have earned advanced obedience titles.
Hanne
Forums Sage
Since I have had 3 German Shepherd dogs before Minnie
I know everything about stress with balls / sticks.
If you do not limit this then they will become totally "crazy"
I was very surprised that Minnie would rather "tease" than pick up and bring
So I have a ball with a string in (from the GSD)
1. Doing catch the ball - as soon as she took it in her mouth
2-3 quick steps backwards
2. take the string in the ball, pull a little, a friendly "drop"
a quick throw. In the beginning only 3-4 times
3. then a "now it is over" - treat - hanging the ball on the fence.
She quickly captured the concept.
When we now go into the garden and I take a garden tool,
then she picks me up to take the ball down from the fence
But do not think the breed has the big fetch/bring gene.
Actually think that is the string, that is the fun
Minnie does a great job to pick it
and come running back to me with the ball dangling
When we go to the beach
- Minnie loves that I have to throw sticks
- when she finds a stick she "down" with it in between the front legs
- I have to throw- she loves to run fast after the stick 2-3 times
- she always ends up with a quick run out to it, but does not bring it back.
I think it is the "race" itself that is the fun
and gives them drains for their stress.
She do not care to be "the big stick finder"
she can easily make "down" with some dried seaweed,
when i come to her she says:
"So mom now it is your job to find me a stick"
I know everything about stress with balls / sticks.
If you do not limit this then they will become totally "crazy"
I was very surprised that Minnie would rather "tease" than pick up and bring
So I have a ball with a string in (from the GSD)
1. Doing catch the ball - as soon as she took it in her mouth
2-3 quick steps backwards
2. take the string in the ball, pull a little, a friendly "drop"
a quick throw. In the beginning only 3-4 times
3. then a "now it is over" - treat - hanging the ball on the fence.
She quickly captured the concept.
When we now go into the garden and I take a garden tool,
then she picks me up to take the ball down from the fence
But do not think the breed has the big fetch/bring gene.
Actually think that is the string, that is the fun
Minnie does a great job to pick it
and come running back to me with the ball dangling
When we go to the beach
- Minnie loves that I have to throw sticks
- when she finds a stick she "down" with it in between the front legs
- I have to throw- she loves to run fast after the stick 2-3 times
- she always ends up with a quick run out to it, but does not bring it back.
I think it is the "race" itself that is the fun
and gives them drains for their stress.
She do not care to be "the big stick finder"
she can easily make "down" with some dried seaweed,
when i come to her she says:
"So mom now it is your job to find me a stick"
Chris
Forums Celebrity
I'm training all mine to fetch toilet paper.