hef Posted March 27, 2000 Report Share Posted March 27, 2000 My kids and I play a lot of baseball and frisbee, both with and without the dog. When my son & I are playing catch with a ball there are lots of times for the pup to join in, and we include her in the games quite a bit. The problem is simple, she just wont give up the ball when she should. She is just about 4 months now, so I think I should be able to work this out. In a 1 on 1 situation, I dont have any trouble getting her to give it up, frisbee, balls, or whatever, when I'm with the kids she wants to make a game out of it. I hate to get so serious about this but sometimes you want to have a serious catch with your kids, and the pup is just getting in the way. I've tried rewarding her for sitting next to me, then when someone misses a ball have her get it, but she wont bring it back... Any great suggestions out there... thanks kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted March 27, 2000 Report Share Posted March 27, 2000 Kelly - is your problem that she won't come back to you or the kids when she's with the kids? Will she come back and just not give up the item? Does she want to play chase or tug instead? The best thing I've found - and be careful with kids doing it, but sounds like your pup is pretty good with kids. (Just be sure she doesn't nip fingers with this...) One solution: Give a treat when she arrives at your feet with the toy in her mouth - if it's good enough (hot dogs, real meat, at least dry liver treats you can keep in a pocket - none of those horrid crunchy dry things! ), she'll drop whatever she's got in her mouth to eat! If all else fails, aim for the stomach! Yum.... diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamite Tess Again Posted March 27, 2000 Report Share Posted March 27, 2000 Hef I can endorse what Diane has suggested. I taught Isa to drop by offering a treat. She is now 5 months and will drop on command. In fact if I hold my hand low she will put the ball into it. Regards, Val and her girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted March 30, 2000 Report Share Posted March 30, 2000 I use two identical toys to teach a retrieve and drop. Let the dog go out and get one of them, then entice her to you with the other. As soon as she drops the first one, throw the second. When she is reliable, give it a command. (I use out!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katherine Posted March 31, 2000 Report Share Posted March 31, 2000 At least your BC will get a ball. Mine just looks at you in an old fashioned way, as if to say - you threw it, you go get it! And he is only 9 months old! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamite Tess Again Posted March 31, 2000 Report Share Posted March 31, 2000 Oh Katherine your post did make me chuckle. That's just what my Tess does. Because she came to us with her sister,Pepsi, she played with her instead of toys. I know that look so well, and I do end up going to get it myself. Isa loves chasing after a ball and I'm going to use that to my advantage when I eventually start serious agility training with her. Best wishes, Val and her girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hef Posted April 2, 2000 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2000 Thanks for the replies, I think the real problem here is the distractions from all the kids. When I'm alone with Roxy I dont have a problem, with a treat I've gone as far as taught her to drop a ball into a bucket. I think she likes to tease the kids and make them chase her. Oh well, we are starting school this week and I hear that should help with the distraction problem... Thanks everyone. kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan&Max Posted April 4, 2000 Report Share Posted April 4, 2000 another method that works if they won't give up the toy is to ignore them. They will soon realize that they have to give you the ball if they want to keep playing. I learned to do this because Max isn't interested in treats when he is playing fetch. He only wants to do one thing when retrieving and that is to get whatever I am throwing and bring it back to me as fast as he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Licky Posted April 7, 2000 Report Share Posted April 7, 2000 Hey everyone, I'm 13 and I've had a Border Collie for two years. Me and her, we're partners in crime and we have equal personalities. She's alot of fun. I have two other dogs too. One of them is a Border Collie mut and he loves to play when he has the energy but once he has the ball, go buy another one! Your not getting it back. My Border Collie Licky though wants to play catch so incredably bad, she just wants to keep playing that she can't get the ball into my hand fast enough. Sometimes she wants to play tug but if I clearly say, "Drop it," she will because she's learned that unless she drops it without a fight, I'm not going to throw it. Hope I was a little help. Bye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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