Help!!! I can't fetch!

[Maddie23]

I have taught my Maddie several commands/tricks. The one I can't master is what I thought would be the simple one... fetch.

I throw.
She runs.
She picks it up and after thrashing it side to side to make sure it is dead and safe to come to momma, she brings it to me. Sometimes she will even drop it. (most times, not)
I reach to pick it up to throw again, the fun begins. Before I can get to it she snatches it up and off she goes. She thinks it's chase time!

I have tried using treats.
I throw.
She runs.
Thrash, kill, etc. back to momma.
Momma shows treat, Maddie drops dead squirrel/rabbit/hippo, etc. and takes treat.
Oops. Maddie now knows mommas has treats.
Momma throws squirrel.
Maddie looks at obviously dead squirrel/rabbit/hippo, etc. dead in other room and looks back at momma waiting for next treat.

What am I doing wrong?

[toke]

Boy, do I feel you. Zoey fetches very nicely...then drops it juuuust out of my reach and waits for me to come get it. If I call her to me she comes right away, but leaves the toy behind. If I ignore her or ask her to bring me the toy (with great excitement on my part)...she will do a frustrated little dance, talking to me all the while, and then simply give up, eventually. And, trust me, she loves to chase her toys. Dunno if it's a con, but I'm beginning to believe she just doesn't understand.

[friscomom]

My thoughts are that if it doesn't get retrieved "all the way", then it doesn't get thrown again. Game over. Doggie lose. Shouldn't take long, if they want the ball thrown. Tell them it's a new game.

[mickey3696]

Fetch our style.... LOL I get 2 toys I throw one then when they bring it back I throw the other that way I always have a toy to throw. I only do this till they get the game down after that they want to play so bad they bring it back. Hubby also tought Muffy to drop it in his hand. Its cute when he is asleep and she wants to play. She will put it in his hand a cry trying to get him to throw it. I hope this helps.

[QuickSilver]

I taught Thor Drop It first. He would chase the toy, Drop It, then come back for his treat. He got a huge reward if he dropped it near me. Now he only gets a treat if he drops it into my hand.

I also would play with him in a hallway so he didn't have a chance to run away. If he tried to get past me, I'd take the toy, and then praise and reward him like he meant to give it to me.

We still play Keep Away sometimes, and he definitely tries to game the system. When he gets hungry, he loses interest in Keep Away, and relentlessly fetches.

I agree with others too that not rewarding your dog for Keep Away if you want Fetch. Don't play unless the toy comes back.

[jeanm1963]

It took me MONTHS to teach Laci to give it to me, and she will only do it outside, she will drop it right at my feet.. My kids made the BIG mistake of playing chase with her inside the house... I went outside with 2 little squeaker balls, I would ONLY throw the ball if she let go of the other ball.. as soon as I squeaked the ball it got her attention, she would drop the other ball in her mouth at that second I would say drop it .. praise with good girl then squeak and throw the other ball... Now we are down to just one ball and I dont even have to ask her to drop it , she just does it or I wont play anymore. Im actually so proud of her , she really can play fetch now, only problem is she can play for hours

[Chloes dad]

Originally Posted by friscomom

My thoughts are that if it doesn't get retrieved "all the way", then it doesn't get thrown again. Game over. Doggie lose. Shouldn't take long, if they want the ball thrown. Tell them it's a new game.

I couldn't agree more! Chloe loves to play fetch all day long. But when she first started she would bring it back only to drop it a few feet from me. I just had to stop getting it because, I realized I was the one playing fetch! So when he drops it a foot away or so you just need to continue using the same phrase. For example when I threw it, with out fail while training I always said go get it, seems redundant, but she knew what it meant after awhile. And when she got it in her mouth instantly id say bring it here, over and over if i had to. So when she dropped it and I said bring it here again shed eventually do so only to be rewarded with another throw which for her was the treat. eventually with patience: no more trying to get if from her. no more having to verbalize the commands, and now thats all she wants to do..lol

[YorkieTherapy]

Our little guy is treat motivated but has very little interest in toys.

To teach Guinness *fetch* when he was a pup I used a Kong squeaky plush toy called Dr. Noys. It has a velcro opening in the back where you can replace a distroyed squeaker. I took out the squeaker and made it very obvious to Guinness' it was being filled with treats and gave him one from the toy before I sealed it. It did not take him long to figure out -it was alot easier and quicker to bring me the toy to get a treat than trying to get it out on his own.