LOL, yeah... Nikko was doing fetch off and on by around 14 to 15 weeks (he was pretty sick with intestinal parasites in the beginning, but still played and learned hard whenever he felt decent enough). It started with us throwing kibble across the kitchen for him to chase down, and he would always go after it then bring it back to actually chew and eat it while he was beside us.
So we started "naming" the game by telling him "get it!" every time (seemed more natural than saying "fetch" at the time), and then eventually we figured out he'd return other items - like toys - we threw if we said "get it." Convincing him to place those items in our hand and let go instead of assuming it was tug-of-war time was a different story, but still... hahaha.
From what I understand, "fetching" just comes naturally to some pups, and others aren't as keen on it from the beginning. But it is a fun game if your pup is up for learning it, and it does help with exercise. Sheesh, they have so much energy when they're that young! And the more you can tire them out, the more they sleep... and when they're sleeping, they're not peeing and pooing in your house. So exercise and stimulation, no matter how you manage to do it, is definitely good at this stage. :-)
- Lauren & Nikko |