Daisy wont fetch. :(

[DAISYISMYDOG]

My daisy is 9 weeks old. The first time I tried to play fetch with her it went so-so. She was playing with a toy squirrel and I took it and tossed it. Not far, maybe five foot. She went and brought it back and continued playing with it. I let her go at it for a while and tossed it again to see if it was a fluke, this time about ten foot. She returned it between my legs and kept playin. five minutes later I wanted to try again. Tossed it about six foot away and pretty much her eyes said "Hey cut it out dude I'm playing with that". How should I go about training her to fetch? Comments are encouraged. THANKS!

PS id like to add that ive tried gettin her to fetch a day or two later and so far I fail.

[ezzy333]

Lets see. Daisy is 9 weeks old. Take that times 7 to translate that into human time and she would be 63 weeks old or a little over a year. You know, A lot of human babies don't fetch well at a year either. If you really want to work with her for about five minutes at a time then put a light CC on her and throw a balled up pair of socks or what ever you choose down a hall way and then make her come back with the cord and praise the heck out of her. A couple of repetitions and quit till later. Maybe do that a couple of times in a day or evening.

But she is a baby so don't try to push her. She will catch on.

Ezzy

[AzDoggin]

Check out the video in the upper right of these videos. http://www.malinoispuppies.com/pupps.html
The trainer is Ivan Balabanov - multiple time world champion Schutzhund trainer and breeder.

He just makes retrieving into a fun, repetitive game for the pup. The tennis ball has "action" so is a good choice of an item. Watch how he just rolls it a few feet, ensuring that the dog is successful every time. He sort of pats his leg each time to refocus the dogs attention on him after he picks up the tennis ball. I would bet that a few SHORT sessions like this a few times a day would get your young one excited and feeling confident about retrieving.

This really isn't training - more like structured play. I agree with Ezzy - he's just a babe. If he doesn't want to play your game, move on and find something else fun to do with him.

[jimbo&rooster]

sounds like time to put daisy on the table and force fetch her.........

all kidding aside Id be shocked if at 9wks she was retrieving much as has been said she is just a baby. make it fun maybe one or two times a day. dont be in a big hurry.
jim

[birddog1968]

remember dogs retrieve for themselves....some will naturally bring to hand if they arent messed up by us (which is what happens alot).

She's too young to judge....if she does bring something back dont be grabby or even reach for the item right away. Better for the dog to bring it back to you and hold the item without dropping. Let
the dog have it at this point and prance around with it...its the hold thats more important right now.
Did i mention , dont be grabby or overly quick to take what the dogs retrieved.

As said before keep it light and very short. Two or three successes is a great time to stop.

One last thing , retrievers generally have the retrieve naturally dont throw the dog a million bumpers even if its doing perfectly.....you will create a "bumper idiot". The retrieve is a reward and should be used sparingly as such.

[daniel77]

I agree with all of what's been said. You need to lower your expectations a bit. If she retrieves twice from 5 ft. well, be happy. Don't immediately go for 10 ft. Accept what she will do and don't ask for any more than that for now. Just build it slowly. If she'll only retrieve twice today for a 5 ft throw, and five times next week for an eight foot throw, you'll be able to throw it as far as you can twenty times in a couple of months. Build slowly. If you keep going till she quits, that's not her fault.