Hi,
I'd like to teach Oscar retrieve. He loves chasing items but don't know how to retrieve. With my Jack Russell I taught him by attaching a house line and when he ran for the toy and took hold of it I'll pull him back (while saying bring). Then make him drop the toy with a food treat. However I don't think this will work with Oscar. He's not as mad about holding on to toys (short attention span). I tried calling him hoping he'd run to me while holding the toy then I could give him a treat, but soon as I call him he drops the toy and runs to me.

Any ideas? He's a very active boy and I'd love to teach him retrieve. A game that won't get me out of puff and I reckon he'll enjoy (because he gets bored of chasing things around after a while).

Some dogs just really don't like to fetch , showing no interest atall.

I would break it down so that you teach a hold first, then send him to hold an object then a recall. It can be made to work on most dogs. I know of a collie and staffie that even worked on a shoot retrieving. It just takes a little more perseverance.

I agree with you Bluebell. Teach to hold using a clicker. I found this the easiest way. click even just for putting a nose on the dumbell or retreive item to begin with. Then go on to just accepting it in the mouth. click for even the slightest advance and reward for every click. Even if it won't be taken in the mouth yet, still click and reward. You can give the command hold and when thats understood, even if it holds and spits it out straight away, you can then put the dumbell on the floor near your leg, not too far away. Give the command hold, and again even for the slightest postitive reaction click and reward. Your dog will very soon get the message. Gradually progress slowly, by throwing the item a little way until you can throw the item out and command 'Get hold' or similar. don't worry about presents at the moment. that will come. Just to get the item brought nearly to you is very good.
You can work on the actual present as you progress. Until you finally get a good retrieve and a sit in front, holding the item until you remove it.
This is how my 6 year old learnt last year and before that. If I wanted her to get something, well, I could go for it myself, she wasn't getting it. Now she is doing lovely retrieves with almost perfect presents. Just mouthing the dumbell slightly. But I forgive her doing that :) Nothings perfect.

Thanks for the useful advise :)

My puppy(who is now 16 weeks old)learnt his play retrieve in one day,without food or a clicker. I sit on the step of the outdoor kitchen & I use balls on ropes & get them interested in playing tuggy with them for short(very short less than 30 seconds)periods using the command "lets play tuggies"or similiar , once they will play tuggy, I throw the toy a few feet(like two/three)away from me & as soon as they pick up the toy they get the command "lets play tuggies"which tey already know & take hold of the toy & play tuggy. I have a golden rule, the toy doesn't get thrown unless it is brought back & I have hold of it(hence the tuggy playing)

If you click on the webpage in my profile you will see Roy retrieving  his tuggies & also a huge kong that he brought to me to throw.

I have now bought him his training tuggy with a ball on it & I never let him keep it at the end of play, as it will be used in his obedience training so it needs to be special for him. He has lots of other toys to play with & i still use them to throw for him if he brings them to me

I have  found Shelties to be very quick on the uptake too, I know I have taught my friends Shelties "tricks"at shows & training club

I agree with Moonmaiden. Tuggy is a great way to get the dog to come right into you with the toy. Teach 'drop' separately and once both behaviours are fluent, then put them together. Once that is fluent, put a cue to the chain - e.g. 'fetch' or whatever.

You may also want to teach 'hold', as it is very useful in many other instances (depending on what you want to do).

Cheers,
Patty

I am afraid I clicker train the retrieve and as you don't like it it would be pointless to post the method.

There is no breed you cannot train to retrieve using this method. ;)

Heehee I feel teased!

I tell you what... you tell me how to do it and i will do it with the clicker! If it works I'll praise the clicker for at least that. ;)

Now there's a challenge for you Tohme - can you convert Becks? :)

I tried for months to teach my terrier to retrieve using 'play' methods because I thought it would be easier and more fun that way.  But she had no instinct to hold things at all, except to kill them, which she wanted to do in glorious isolation.  In despair, I sat down one night with a clicker, and taught it from scratch ie going to look at a toy which I had put on the ground.  I was prepared to spend the whole summer teaching her (well, the weather was pleasant and the evenings long) but it happened incredibly quickly and she now has a very reliable retrieve.  Sorry Becks!

>In despair, I sat down one night with a clicker, and taught it from scratch ie going to look at a toy which I had put >on the ground.  I was prepared to spend the whole summer teaching her (well, the weather was pleasant and the >evenings long) but it happened incredibly quickly and she now has a very reliable retrieve.

Can you explain a bit more? I am stuck wth my Malinois bitch , we have won out of pre beginners but it's no point going in beginners as she will not retrieve. I tried clicker training her, started off with her looking at the object, then touching it with her nose etc. But then I was stuck. I could get as far as getting her to understand she should touch it, but how to get from there to her having it in her mouth?

Marianne

Marianne, try waiting her out a bit and letting her get frustrated, she may then grab it. Or put some thing tasty on it, she may then put her mouth around it :)

Lindsay
x

It was frustration at not being clicked for really good nosing that made my dog grab it, I think (terrier temper tantrum.)  You'll need to be ready for that split second where her mouth goes down towards the toy.  Fortunately for me, I had my thumb on the right end of the clicker for a change!

Thanks Lindsay, rubbing something tasty on it makes such a lot of sense, why didn't I think of it!!! :)

Marianne

:P

Let me know if it works!

Lindsay
x

LOL Jenni Watson taught one of my BC's to retrieve by putting the dumbell in one of my socks LOL don't ask me why but it worked & in a couple of weeks we have a passable novice retrieve

I do lots of play with my dogs with tuggies, balls on ropes etc & the only rule I have is that if isn't broght back it doesn't get thrown.

I don't throw any toy until the dog is really tugging hard on a toy & when I let them win it they come back for another game.

I don't throw it far at first  & we play tuggy again when it is brought back. I then alternate between throwing again when it is returned & tugging & when the retrieve is reliable go to random throw again & tug on return

I know that method would have worked with my Labs.  I'm looking forward to doing it with my next one.

With the terrier, I found that aborting so many games because the tuggy got taken away and killed or dropped because something else took her attention became depressing.  There was rarely a chance to throw again to establish the right behaviour and I was working against her instinct to take something away, shake it and drop it.  The only thing that got and kept her really focussed on the object to be retrieved was the clicker training because that object was the source of the click/reward in a very precise way.

I don't know much about competitive obedience but I imagine this would be a good method for competition because it gives a deliberate, precise retrieve.  For a fun game/exercise (going back to the OP) you need a dog that's going to find the whole thing fun anyway (not one that says "I just brought that back to you, why have you thrown it again, stupid?) and which will therefore respond well to the tuggy method.

She can try! I'm not a totally closed minded person, I will try my best and see. ;)