Barney (a VERY excitable 9 month old cocker spaniel) and I have been practicing our retrieve in the house - he has to sit and wait, then fetch the ball, bring it back, sit and give.  He is perfect indoors, so last week we went out into the park to try an outdoor retrieve.  The problem is, when he has the ball in his mouth and is running back towards me he drops it 5-10 meters infront of me, continues towards me and sits.  Can anyone tell me how I can encourage him to hold on to it until he sits.  He does get very excited and is always trying to please, sometimes he runs so fast he trips himself up :rolleyes: :D

Jax

Dogs don't generalise very well - so you need to teach each new place as a new excercise, repeat the steps you did for teaching him indoors.  Very often dogs actually learn the retreive best backwards - so teach him to hold the item first.....

AS digger has said backchain the retrieve I always teach the retrieve this way, in a chair in front of the telly in the present position and teach the dog to "hold" from there, I then move on to moving it around, put it in the floor and then throw it.  Then the dog is always moving from the unknown to the known which is a stress releasor and much easier for it.

It is like learning to play an instrument, it is easier if you learn the finish first then the bit before then the bit before so you ALWAYS end up on a good note...............:D

If the dog is not returning to you as in the house it does not understand the exercise fully and it has not been generalised or proofed in other situations.

Only when a dog will do something any time, anywhere, every time, no matter what the distraction can you honestly say it is trained!