Does your puppy grab a toy and run off with it instead of bringing it back to you? You should be able to play catch *with your dog* and having your dog fetch the ball instead of playing “catch the dog” and having to fetch her. Fetch should be exercise for the dog, not for you!:)
If your dog will already chase after and pick up the toy, you’re almost done! If your dog won’t pick up the ball, the job is a bit harder. I like clicking and treating for any attention to the ball, and building up joy and interest from there. You might even try hiding treats inside the ball.
But let’s say your dog is already getting the toy, but running away with it instead of fetching the ball back.
For new behaviors, I use the clicker to tell the dog when it’s doing something I like. If you are new to clicker training, you might want to read this clicker training article first. Another great warm-up is the clicker tricks article in the blog.
A final option is just to click, then treat several times in a row. Pause every so often so that it’s clear to the dog that each click causes a treat, not the other way around. Once your dog understands that, you can teach your dog to drop the ball or toy during fetch.
To teach your dog to fetch, start with you and your dog or puppy in a long narrow area with few distractions, like a hallway. Toss the toy for your dog and walk away from the direction your dog is now running. He should get the toy in his mouth and try to zoom past you. When your dog is about 4-5 feet away, click. He’s likely to drop the toy. Show him a treat, throw it a few feet away from the toy, then grab the toy and get ready to throw it again. If your dog doesn’t drop the toy, walk away from the direction he’s now running, and get him to chase you again. Click again just before he zooms past. If that isn’t causing the toy to drop after a few times, you either need to “charge up the clicker” a bit more (and use tastier treats this time) or use a less valuable toy.
So now your dog brings the toy back and drops it at your feet, but only because the click is causing him to drop the ball. Here’s how you fade that into real fetch:
At first, you’re clicking as you dog comes up to you with the ball – even if the intention was to run past you with the toy, your clicker goes off right when he’s arriving, so that’s what the treat is paying him for. Gradually start to click as he arrives with the ball, then after he’s dropped the toy. After a while, you can click less frequently (about every other time), and fade it even more after that. For most dogs and puppies, the toy and the fetching itself become reinforcing, once the dog figures out the game. For some dogs, you may always need to pay for fetch. 🙂
Always stop playing fetch with your puppy before the dog loses interest in the toy. When you want to stop, give a few extra treats for him fetching the toy back, and put the toy away while he’s eating.
