July 31st, 2008
By Eric Letendre
Teach Your Dog To Fetch
I was on my first lesson with a nice couple that had just adopted a three year old Golden Retriever. We went out in the backyard to do some obedience training and exercise with their dog. At one point, the wife picked up a tennis ball, got the dog excited and threw the ball. The Golden looked at the ball, looked at the wife and didn’t budge an inch toward the ball.
The wife, looking at her dog, looked at the ball and went to get the ball. When she got back I told her that it was all backwards, that when she throws the ball the dog is supposed to retrieve the ball. We both had a good laugh and started to teach her dog to fetch.
Teaching your dog to fetch is a wonderful activity. A dog that retrieves tends to get more exercise than a dog that doesn’t. With a retriever, it’s easy for you to just stand in one spot and throw a ball for your dog. A lot of dogs like to chase after the ball and bring it towards the owner. When the dog gets close enough, he/she starts to play keep away. You can get your dog to give you the ball by having two tennis balls with you.
Throw the first ball and let your dog go after it. When your dog starts to come towards you, ask your dog to “drop it.” If your dog does not drop the ball, stop paying any attention to your dog and take out the second ball.
Start to have fun with the second ball. Toss it up in the air. Act like you’re having a great time with the second ball. Keep doing this until your dog looks at you. If you’ve done this step correctly, your dog will drop the ball that he/she has and look up at the one you have.
As soon as your dog drops his/her ball, show the ball you’re holding to your dog. As soon as your dog focuses on the ball that you’re holding, throw it. Repeat the process when your dog comes back to you. Within a short period of time, you’ll have your dog retrieving for you.
Dogs love chase games. When they have a ball in their mouth and you attempt to take it away from your dog, your dog will play keep away with the ball. You need to outsmart your dog by using the second ball.
Give it a try.
Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States and has been training dogs for over 20 years, teaching regular, average, every-day owners all over the world how to get the training results they want as fast as possible. Eric is also the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Improve Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States. For more than 20 years, he has been developing dog training "hacks" that have worked for dog owners all over the world. Eric operates from a home office or a laptop while traveling and draws on his experience and passion for dog training to show others how to develop a dog that is truly “Man’s Best Friend”.
Eric is the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Hack Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
