fetching

[Traneman]

I'am trying to teach Pebbles and BamBam to fetch.I hope this does not get to long but let me explain.

Both had no interest in tennis balls.I finally got Bam Bam to chase one but Pebbles would run to nip at his heels because of this he stopped.I tried putting Pebbles on a leash but I think hs was still afraid she would do it.I tried putting her in the house while I threw the ball for Bam Bam but she just went crazy barking and whining,now Bam Bam wont even chase a ball.

I can get Pebbles to chase a ball with peanut butter in it but all she does is lick it,wont pick it up or anything.If I get the ball and throw it she will again chase and Lick.

So my problem is two fold

One how to I get Bam Bam to chase a ball again and what to do with Pebbles while Iam playing with him,or how to break Pebbles from chassing Bam Bam and biting his heals.She also will bite at his heals when they are playing

Two, How do I get Pebbles to do more then lick the ball.

Both doga are rescue and they have come along way,I just want to get them into this for more exercise and activity.

thank you everone here has been great in helping us so far

[Shelley86]

The way I helped train my friends dog to play fetch was actually with clicker training. We started in very small steps - look at the ball, c/t... go near the ball c/t, touch the ball, c/t, and just kept building up until her dog was happily picking it up. Not sure if this is of any help, but it worked for us and her Yorkshire Terrier. I've been trying to retrain my dogs fetch so that he learns if he brings the ball to me better rewards are there. I used this method on the weekend actually for fun to train him to retrieve a hoola-hoop.

[kelpiegirl]

I'm still stuck on how you named your dogs Pebbles and Bam Bam

[Traneman]

I'm still stuck on how you named your dogs Pebbles and Bam Bam

 

We didnt name them,that was their names when we adopted them from previouse owner.

We get asked that question alot lol.

[echoskybound]

Wow, I can't imagine having to teach a BC to fetch. Mine was obsessed with a tennis ball from birth, lol.

 

However, my BC is weird about fetching with other dogs around. He can refuse to drop the ball after he fetches it because he knows another dog will take it. But, maybe if they are playing with another dog they really like and that dog can fetch, they might get the hang of it. I think my Rio learned from his mom, he would follow her even though he'd get trampled, lol. Have they seen another dog fetch before? If not, maybe they'll learn a thing or two. Border collies are the "mockingbird" dog afterall ;]

 

I don't think putting some kind of treat in the ball will work, because it will give them no incentive to bring the ball back. But I guess your first problem here is that you can't have the two of them together, lol. Have you tried having someone else take Pebbles out for a walk while you play with BamBam? I've heard that some people had to train their dog to fetch using two people: One who threw the ball, then another who called the dog over to where the ball was and put the ball in the dog's mouth, and the first person called the dog back. I never had to try this, but I imagine the problem would be the dog dropping the ball again after having it put in their mouth, but maybe you can take a shot at it... with only one at a time of course, lol.

 

Also, have you ever had any luck getting the nipping habit out of Pebbles? Or does she do it even when you tell her not to?

[dali]

I'm novice at all this so I don't feel qualified to answer. But I'm teaching Dali to fetch right now and he is doing really well.

 

I sat outside on a low garden stool with his basket of toys.

I made sure I had eye contact and I pretended to be all excited to play with him.

He was wondering what was going on

when I threw a toy, he ran to it , I rewarded

I threw another toy , he went to it, I rewarded ( clicker and treat)

and so on until all his toys were all over the place.

 

I picked them all up and started over again.

I discovered he liked it better when I threw the toys further .

Then I started getting really excited when he picked it up , again a confused look about all the fuss.. but he got curious and picked up all the toys when I threw them. ( he didn't bring them)

 

after collecting all the toys again , I started using the word "bring" when he picked them up... and got all excited when he brought it back even a few feet ...each time rewarding.

 

within a few minutes he brought the toy to me .... I couldn't believe it !!! every time I said bring , he brought it , and let go when I offered a treat.

 

This morning , four days later, he played with my son and when my son said "bring" he did it each time and was happy with a " good boy" reward.

 

I couldn't believe my eyes ...they are so smart.

 

Perhaps throwing a lot of toys like I did , would give two dogs the chance to both be rewarded ??? then they don't have to argue about one toy ??? Don't know , just a thought ...

[2 Devils]

Break the fetching down into stages as the person did with clicker training. I keep my dogs on a leash at first (in the house) and will play with the ball and oops drop it - if they pick up they get a treat. I play this game a couple times and then will start adding a little bit of distance and will use the leash to reel the dog back to me with the ball. I teach them to bring the ball to hand. I take all my dogs out for inidividual play time. My dogs rarely play together since I am the CENTER of their universe and I am the fun police.

 

Is there any reason why you can't just leave Pebbles locked inside in the crate even though she is making a fuss? If it is because of neighbors or something fine but otherwise crate her butt. I have 3 dogs that will go ballistic and I just ignore them. They have gotten better with time because they all know that they will have a turn. Instead of 20 minutes of the craziness it lasts only a couple minutes most times.

 

The meantime, I would start working on a leave it command with her. If she goes to nip BamBam I would correct her and make her leave it. Keep her on a long-line so you can have more control of the situation. If you ever take Pebbles out with other dogs she could end up nipping them and those dogs may not ignore her being a butthead and make turn on her. You need to correct the problem... have fun. I am still working on it with my bc. Tempe only does this to my acd which is better than she was but now I need to work it more.

[Traneman]

Wow, I can't imagine having to teach a BC to fetch. Mine was obsessed with a tennis ball from birth, lol.

 

However, my BC is weird about fetching with other dogs around. He can refuse to drop the ball after he fetches it because he knows another dog will take it. But, maybe if they are playing with another dog they really like and that dog can fetch, they might get the hang of it. I think my Rio learned from his mom, he would follow her even though he'd get trampled, lol. Have they seen another dog fetch before? If not, maybe they'll learn a thing or two. Border collies are the "mockingbird" dog afterall ;]

 

I don't think putting some kind of treat in the ball will work, because it will give them no incentive to bring the ball back. But I guess your first problem here is that you can't have the two of them together, lol. Have you tried having someone else take Pebbles out for a walk while you play with BamBam? I've heard that some people had to train their dog to fetch using two people: One who threw the ball, then another who called the dog over to where the ball was and put the ball in the dog's mouth, and the first person called the dog back. I never had to try this, but I imagine the problem would be the dog dropping the ball again after having it put in their mouth, but maybe you can take a shot at it... with only one at a time of course, lol.

 

Also, have you ever had any luck getting the nipping habit out of Pebbles? Or does she do it even when you tell her not to?

 

No Pebbles still nipps at his heals even when they just play,yes she will stop when i ask her to but then the next chance she get she will nipp at his heals again.This may need to be a new topic lol.Any ideas?????

[Bo Peep]

I would put one dog in it's crate and play with the other. Roll the tennis ball around on the floor (keeping your hand on the ball) making it the most "fun object in the world". With your happy voice say get it and don't let them have it for awhile. Keep making the ball more and more fun. Finally roll the ball a little bit and when they get it say wheeeeeeeee good dog and clap and encourage them back. I've never had to train a dog to go get it, only to bring it closer- LOL. Then I would crate the 1st dog and start with the 2nd. It's difficult to train 2 dogs at once. You need one on one time. Once they get the hang of it, they will be fetch happy with the Flintstones-

[jrhodo]

Just a thought. My BC has no interest in balls, but throw a stick or a frisbee and the obsession begins.

[Bo Peep]

Since this was posted in the obedience section, I'm wondering if maybe you are practicing for the dumbell and using the tennis ball as a start, maybe? I guess you could start out with the dumbell and then switch to tennis ball. Usher loves both. With the dumbell, a proper one, you usually use the word "take it" and slowly open the dogs mouth to put the object into the dogs mouth. Then praise and reward or click, whatever your preference, lower again and continue until the dog is finally taking the dumbell off the ground. Don't move too quickly as the dog will feel this is just a game. With time and patience and lots of praise, your dog will be bringing any object back even when you ask them to stay and say "take it" . Usher loves these "mind games". I will say "Usher..........sit, and he has to think, then I will say "Usher ....good boy" ....finally I will say "Usher.....take it and he will quickly retrieve the dumbell and sit directly in front of me holding the object. It works when I drop something also. He tries so hard to please me.

 

If this is just for fun and games. Like I mentioned before, border collies have a lot of eye, so any moving object is a target for them. Frisbees roll great on the carpet and are easier to get with an uninterested dog in the house. Tennis balls zoomed around back & forth real fast make an interesting object for a dog. Good luck and let us know how it's going.

Dianne

[DTrain]

I too can't imagine a BC that won't play ball but if my heels were being nipped I would stop playing to. I have never been able to train 2 BC's at once for anything. If I throw a ball for all of my dogs the fastest dog will get to it, a couple of dogs will go into herding mode and they will all go after the dog with the ball. However, to get them all to play together I use a soccer ball. They can't pick it up so nobody wins. They can only bash it around. I start my dogs with a raquet ball, they are not as hard on the teeth and they bounce like crazy and create excitment. I will give a puppy a ball to do whatever he will with it at first. I will carry the ball around with me. Next step is I will roll the ball to the dog and watch his response. Then I will bounce it and let the dog catch it. I praise the dog for playing with me. I will have the dog put the ball down so I can pick it up. This sometimes takes a while but the reward is, I give it back. I then start throwing the ball past the dog and encourage him to go for it. Once the dog is returning the ball I will throw it further. You can see the slow small steps. I think what happens is the dog develops a good association and wants to play with me. Take steps slowly and let the dog figure it out. Each of my dogs has their own game with me. I use the same steps with frisbee. I have one dog that will carry his frisbee with him constantly if I let him. He will take it in the truck just in case a game breaks out. I have another who will do the same with a ball. He will often stop in front of me, lie down and push the ball at me with his nose. This is his way of saying play time. My oldest dog does an outrun on a ball. I did not teach this but for some reason he wants to go past it and catch it coming back at me. I will often play with the dogs after they have worked and I have one dog who only works for play time. I don't use treats, I would prefer the dog to focus on and work or play for my attention. Try small steps and a game for each of your dogs. I use play time with the dogs as often as I can to give them exercise and create a relaxed and enjoyable situation. When it is hot outside I will fill a kiddie pool for them and they will make a game out of lounging in the pool. I hope this gives you some ideas.

[ziggzmom]

 

I too can't imagine a BC that won't play ball

 

Hi,

 

I couldn't imagine it either, untill I got one=) My youngest is very food motivated, but didn't show much of any interest in toys, tugging or retrieving. He's now 2 yrs old and is much more into balls and tugging, but he still isn't as intense about it as my other two are. I've used lots of games to build his play drive and it has made a big difference, but he would still rather have a cookie....or herd the other dogs.

 

Sometimes when I am playing with all 3 BC's at the same time I tell them who's turn it is. The 'chosen one' gets to go fetch the toy while the other two have to wait. It's a great, fun way to teach them to listen to me and to have self control(most of the time-LOL)!

 

Regards~

 

Janet

[RaisingRiver]

I'm currently teaching my puppy (12wks old) to touch the ball with a clicker/reward system (he's VERY food motivated). He touches it, gets the click and comes back to me for the treat. Eventually I'll wait until he picks it up to click. Then move to either holding it or moving with it in his mouth. We'll work up to bringing it to me. At which point I'll be rolling it away from me and we'll have a nice slow game of fetch. Ultimately the game itself will be the reward and the click/treat will be faded out. We've only been working on this for 2 days and he now knows what 'get your ball means', ie. touch it.

 

Right now, he'll sometimes chase the ball if I roll it, but if a nice smell catches his attention, forget it. I moved from the driveway to inside in the kitchen to reduce stimuli. I also have him do other things like sit, down- things he knows and things he is also learning to mix it up. We do like 5 min sessions.

 

I remember having to teach my other BC pup, River (non-movement reactive unless it's a toy) to fetch but she was easier steps because she like the moving ball and mouthed it right away. Then I just called her back to me (having a recall is great - or use longline) and eventually she figured out to come to me with the ball. After that is just became the game and she's my fetching machine. With her we did it in a hardwood floor hallway due to winter weather.

 

Even my non-fetching BC (who is movement reactive), Diesel, loves a nice game of fetch the tennis ball/chuckit or frisbee, esp if it's 1-1. I have to get pretty excited for him each time he catches it and to have him bring it back without a leisurely pace and stopping to sniff the flowers along the way . I think he enjoys the actual movement of the toy and my reaction then the game itself

 

Good luck and have patience.

[Sassy Girl]

Work your dog's individually - never together when learning a new behavior.

[Root Beer]

I also recommend working with them individually.

 

If one of them "gets it", then I would let the other watch the game. Dean did learn to catch and fetch from watching Speedy.

[DTrain]

I'am trying to teach Pebbles and BamBam to fetch.I hope this does not get to long but let me explain.

Both had no interest in tennis balls.I finally got Bam Bam to chase one but Pebbles would run to nip at his heels because of this he stopped.I tried putting Pebbles on a leash but I think hs was still afraid she would do it.I tried putting her in the house while I threw the ball for Bam Bam but she just went crazy barking and whining,now Bam Bam wont even chase a ball.

I can get Pebbles to chase a ball with peanut butter in it but all she does is lick it,wont pick it up or anything.If I get the ball and throw it she will again chase and Lick.

So my problem is two fold

One how to I get Bam Bam to chase a ball again and what to do with Pebbles while Iam playing with him,or how to break Pebbles from chassing Bam Bam and biting his heals.She also will bite at his heals when they are playing

Two, How do I get Pebbles to do more then lick the ball.

Both doga are rescue and they have come along way,I just want to get them into this for more exercise and activity.

thank you everone here has been great in helping us so far

 

I just remembered something that may be helpful. I am pretty sure that most dogs will chase after a ball or just about anything else that is moving. BC's at least seem to do this. I am not so sure however if they make the connection to bring it back without specifically training them. We have a young dog who started in the house with a ball. We would roll it, he would go to it, chew it, beat it up and then walk away. We would fetch the ball and do it again. After some time he decided he liked it so we began to ask him to bring it back. Instead he would lie down ( a good start ) and roll it back. He could play this game for as long as we would. When we taught him to come to us we taught him to come directly to our hands and touch us. We would then roll the ball and when he picked it up ask him to come. Sometimes he would drop the ball but when he brought it back with him we would praise him. He seemed to then make the connection. There is a problem now however. He is now one and we play fetch outside. He usually gets it right with encouragement but sometimes he will drop the ball and try to nose it back to us. I expect that from time to time he will go back to puppy brain but I think he will get it.