Stupid question I know, but when do puppies usually start catching balls. My 10 month old beardie tries to catch balls with her paws. If you try to throw a soft toy to her it bounces off her nose then she jumps up with her paws clapping them together trying to catch it.
Is she just stupid, or has she some growing to do before she can catch with her mouth?

Try with food first, it is a bit more natural to catch food in the mouth. 

If a dog has difficulty I use popcorn, it is lighter and spends a bit more time in the air for the dog to focus on. (make sure it is the sweet type and not the salty one)

Sandra

aim for just in between the eyes as it makes it easier for the dog to catch, but...
my lab bitch can catch food no problem, throw her a ball and she catches it with her front feet before picking it up with her mouth
hth
tanya

Do persevere :) Mine would just sit there and let the ball etc bounce on her nose - she also would try to catch it with her legs - now she's 2 and is pretty good at catching :)

Daisy

One of mine always looks at the floor when I toss anything to her - she knows it will land there so why bother expending the energy in trying to catch :)

Smart dog, Christine!!! :D

liberty

My youngest BC couldn't catch to save her life, so I sat with her in the garden one day chucking her pieces of sausage, and everytime it landed on the floor quickly picked it up before she did. Eventually she twigged it, she attempted to catch it but missed, so I still let her eat the sausage. Didn't then take her long (well probably 50 throws!) to actually manage to catch it, and since then she's never looked back and can catch toys from all angles, although she'll only catch food if she knows what type it is!

Char

Try making sure the hair is out of her eyes that helped Cava a lot at flyball. Other than that repetition and it'll come :D

Cava always seemed to be going up as the ball came down and vice versa.
                                                                                            Anne