TxMom Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Thanks. She's awfully fun -- all that energy and enthusiasm! I was a little extra generous with the treat because balls aren't really her thing (she prefers her rope toy) so part of it is maintaining interest. Plus we had just gone from "bring it back when I roll it across the living room" to "bring it back when I toss it across the backyard." We're going back to more living room practice to get it down more solidly, because I think the backyard is too big a step for now. But I was encouraged to see that it transferred pretty well. I've really been having a ball working with her. The more we do together the more fun it all gets. This time of year is not a great time for me (seasonal affective disorder), but she helps me keep moving along. I've started filming parts of our training most days, partly so I can look at it and see what I miss while I'm in the middle of it and partly to help me stay accountable. I actually set up a Facebook page for her so that I can post stuff daily without spamming my personal page. She has a few followers (friends who think she's cute) but mostly it's for me. I look back at the end of the day or the week or whatever and see that we've made progress, and it's encouraging. And I suspect when she's all grown up I'll be glad I have all these puppy videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I trained a solid retrieve-and-drop-at-my-feet into Jester when I first got him because he acted as if he had no idea what a toy was, and did not know how to play. In a few weeks he decided that retrieving was **fun!!** and he has been a maniac for it ever since. I love to teach a dog to retrieve for fun because that way I know that no matter the weather, or how I am feeling on any given day, I can always without fail exercise the dog by throwing something for the dog to fetch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WickAndArtoo Posted February 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Thanks. She's awfully fun -- all that energy and enthusiasm! I was a little extra generous with the treat because balls aren't really her thing (she prefers her rope toy) so part of it is maintaining interest. Plus we had just gone from "bring it back when I roll it across the living room" to "bring it back when I toss it across the backyard." We're going back to more living room practice to get it down more solidly, because I think the backyard is too big a step for now. But I was encouraged to see that it transferred pretty well. I've really been having a ball working with her. The more we do together the more fun it all gets. This time of year is not a great time for me (seasonal affective disorder), but she helps me keep moving along. I've started filming parts of our training most days, partly so I can look at it and see what I miss while I'm in the middle of it and partly to help me stay accountable. I actually set up a Facebook page for her so that I can post stuff daily without spamming my personal page. She has a few followers (friends who think she's cute) but mostly it's for me. I look back at the end of the day or the week or whatever and see that we've made progress, and it's encouraging. And I suspect when she's all grown up I'll be glad I have all these puppy videos. Have you ever thought about making an Instagram account for her?!? I would love to follow her if you did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMom Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I haven't, but maybe I'll look into it. I'm dating myself, but I was in college when Facebook came out and so I'm on there, but I haven't done Twitter or Instagram or anything else. I guess I should figure it all out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WickAndArtoo Posted February 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I don't use Twitter but I love Instagram because it's all (only) photos and videos and really fun to follow people (and dogs). It's definitely worth checking out! It's way less cluttered than Facebook. It is also a lot simpler and includes photo/video editing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ourwully Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Juno (BC) would always go after things, especially balls. For the longest time she would bring them back and give them back to me in the hand or drop them on command as long as I gave her a treat. Now that she is two she will bring things back almost all the time but only if there are treats involved, or sometimes if I have another ball. I fell into the trap of not getting away from treats fast enough. If I don't have a treat now she just takes the ball away and guards it. What really excites her is snow balls. On the edge of my deck there is hard snow where it has been shovelled. I break the snow into pieces ranging in size from golf ball size to large softball size. I throw these all around the yard or on the deck. She watches me like she is possessed and runs after the snow. To watch her acceleration is amazing. Anyway, sometimes she is so fast she catches them and sometimes she gets them on the roll. Once she gets them she takes them and deposits them on one part of the deck and waits for the next throw. She has quite a collection by the time we finish. She never gets tired of this. She is retrieving, but for herself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Kolt retrieves like a champ. It was one of the first things I taught him. Basically anytime he had anything I pretended like I had the greatest thing ever , he'd come to investigate and I'd find something to reward him with. A couple weeks and and all i had to do was stick my hand out and say "take" and he'd bring it to my hand. He uses it for his own purposes as well. When he's bored and wants attention he will pick up and bring stuff to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RemsMom Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Natasha will retrieve anytime and anywhere. It is her favorite game. We got her at nine weeks and only had her for a short time when my oldest kids wanted to teach her to fetch. Natasha knows "bring", "give", and "put". "Bring" is the command to drop the ball at my feet, "give" means put the ball in my hand, and "put" is the command to set the ball on the ottoman (the way my husband likes to play fetch out on the patio). My husband is a pushover when it comes to a game of fetch and Natasha knows it. Often he will be in the living room attempting to read and will have half a dozen toys next to him on the sofa. Natasha will keep bringing him toys and piling them up next to him in the hope that she can convince him to play. My rescue dog, Mattie, doesn't understand fetch at all. I think I will try CptJack's trick and see if it works with her. I wonder if retrieving is hardwired into a dog. My first GSD lived to fetch but the GSD I have now really doesn't care about retrieving (except that he likes to get the tennis ball and hold it between his front paws just to upset the collie). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 wonder if retrieving is hardwired into a dog. My first GSD lived to fetch but the GSD I have now really doesn't care about retrieving (except that he likes to get the tennis ball and hold it between his front paws just to upset the collie). A hardwired desire to retrieve things exists, as does a hardwired desire to chase things that move fast (which if its strong enough will make retrieving easier because smart dogs figure out you have to bring it back to get to chase it again). That said, any dog can be taught to pick up and return things to hand, regardless of how unnatural it is to them. There is a significant difference between playing with balls and chasing stuff and retrieving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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