Having already got a CKCS who is quite an elderly lady now and was more interested in sitting on your feet than playing fetch, I dont know how to teach it to our new 9 week old Jack Russell Terrier bitch.  She loves chasing after a really soft small squeaky ball, sometimes picking it up and running around with it, but other times she just touches it and runs back to me.  If I praise her when she has it in her mouth she drops it, if I call her to me she drops it and runs back to me (she does a perfect recall, even away from our loose chickens :D)  She obviously hasnt got a clue what I am asking her to do, and Im not sure how to teach it to such a tiny pup.  But she seems willing to learn and managed to learn to 'sit' in two five minute sessions, so she we are doing something right.  What are the stages that I can teach her 'fetch' , even though she hasnt learnt any other commands other than sit or come.  She is only tiny (we weigh her in an ice cream tub) so I dont want to overstress her joints by running about too much, but it would be fun to do in our small kitchen.  Thanks for any help.

hmm, when i taught fetch to my pup, i had her on a stretchy lead in the garden or wherever, and she wud chase the ball, once she had it in her mouth i would praise her like crazy, it took her a while to get used to holding onto it, and then to get her to come back, id ask her to 'come' and gently tug on the lead so she got the idea and gave her a treat when she got back to me.
I actually found playing fetch is alot easier if u teach catch first, cos i found that she didnt always come back with fetch.
To teach catch, i would place the ball in her mouth over and over for about 5 mins praising everytime she had it in her mouth and put a cue word to it 'catch' as it happens...
I then threw the ball for her, took her a few times to actually get the idea to catch it, but ever since she has now brought the ball back for me to throw again :D

hope that helps, not sure how else to explain it, but if u can teach ur pup to hold the ball in his mouth, then he is less likely to drop it

Puppies catch on very quickly - possibly the easiest way to teach it is using a method called 'back chaining' - so the pup gets the hang of the last movement first - ie giving you the item, which you teach by presenting it to her, and rewarding her each time she takes it.  Then place it on the floor at your feet - and reward her when she picks it up and presents it, then toss it a little distance from you and so on, she'll soon get the hang of it if she's getting a small reward each time she's successful :)

Digger

I notice you speak often about rewards for the pups in various situations, what reward would you use

What ever turns your pup on ;)

If using food it's got to be small, and preferably something your dog doesn't get often - for small pups you should look for something that's going to be gentle on their tummies - chicken is good, and roast chicken is often appreciated (I use chicken roll from the supermarket deli - it's soft and very tasty)  With food you don't want you pup to be chewing and chewing, so you can move on quickly to the next thing if necessary.

Toys can be used, and should be rewarding for the dog - Raggers are probably the best, especially for terrier types who like a good tug.  When using a toy YOU should remain in charge, so tennis balls on ropes are also good as they are easiest to take a hold of and remove when necessary.

When you have a really good relationship with your dog, often they will work for simple fuss and some congratulations from you.

Many people don't like using reward saying it's bribery - but would you stretch yourself if you knew there was nothing in it for you?  Once the behaviour is established the reward is dropped using a random reward theory - so you slowly reduce the frequency of the reward, but at the same time introduce a 'jackpot' reward of several treats all at once - this encourages the dog to keep repeating the behaviour 'just in case' this is the time that produces the jackpot.  Jackpots can also be used to modify a behaviour, such as an obedience style presentation so it is 'spot on' ;)

HTH

Hi Janice,

when training in a restricted area I simply position myself in the general area that the puppy is heading back to - give them lots of praise when they come back and offer a treat to get them to drop the toy - they pick up on this really easily.  It's ideal if you're simply toy training in the hall or front room (not so sore on the knees if you do it on a carpeted area either ;) ) Then as suggested "back chaining" is a great alternative when in a larger space or garden etc.

HTH, Teri :)

At the moment we have two 21 week old pups and the way that i have done it has worked on both of them. I sit in the my hall which is narrow and sit so they cant pass me. Them with one of them I throw a toy for them to run after and the when they are coming back to me i give lots of praise. Then when they reach me i give lots of fuss and stroke them everywhere apart from round their head and neck. I then let them play with there toy for a while and when they lose interest i will pick it up shake and swing it to get them interested in it and the throw it for them, then repeat the game. It is important not to touch round the heard to start of with until you build their trust and they know that you are not going to take away there fun. Once you have got the trust in you, you should be able to take the toy of the dog as soon as they come back to you. Remember not to take the toy of them all the time, as they will soon learn to avoid coming back to you. I have been playing with my two like that everyday for about two week and by about the third time i played that game both of them were coming back and sitting on my lap to play with their toy. Good luck with the training.

sarah xxxxx     

I agree with Digger. Back-chaining is the easiest & fastest way to teach a retrieve.

Hi all i did was throw a toy for my pup then retrieve it, now he thinks its a good game with everything.
mind he is 6mths old and he wants to fetch everything he plays with. i think its all repertition. But like dolly says give them lots of praise, im sure your pup will soon get the hang of it

Thanks for all that - I tried getting her to sit in front of me when i was kneeling on the floor, which she did.  And I held a nylabone in front of her nose and asked her to 'hold' but she just looked at me, so I moved it so it was touching her mouth, but she didnt open her mouth to take hold of the bone.  She just looked at me a little strangely.  I did it several times, and I even rubbed a treat on the bone to see if she would even attempt to open her mouth (I was going to reward the slightest try) but she just ran off and started jumping all over my legs lol - I'll try again in a couple of days.  One of the problems is that a Raggy toy is bigger than she is, and a Nylabone is obviously not exciting enough. But balls and things are too big.I have even got a tiny rubber ring, but its too heavy.  Anyone got any suggestions of what would make a fun retrieve toy? Now I know what Ive got to do, I cant wait for us to have fun with it. 

A small knotted cotton sock (child's sock)is what I start my cavaliers on but they are never left with it dor the obvious reason

The Nylabone may be a bit hard on her mouth - maybe you need something softer to encourage her to make contact with her teeth/mouth?