Dog Play Styles

[brody_smom]

I think the idea if teaching him to bring the ball back to something other tha. Yourself is a good idea. I think maybe he wants you to throw the ball but he at the same time doesn't want to give it up to you directly. Lol

Try teaching him to bring the ball to a basket or bucket. Start small if course and go for distance.

I know. I was really surprised by this when we got to the field, because he had been doing a really reliable retrieve to my hand in the house. We started with that in the field, short throws and put the ball in my hand. When we got to longer throws, he just stopped bringing it all the way back. Maybe it has more to do with the chucker; he seems to hate it and wants to kill it. We have a long handled shoe horn in our house that kind of looks like a chucker and he hates it too. I could try having him bring it to my hand, then put it in the chucker for the long throw. I just love to watch him run!

 

[srdogtrainer]

Wow, those are awesome videos! I think Brody will love both of those games. I just need to find a big open space with at least two trees. Treiball looks really fun, but I think I could waste a lot of money on popped exercise balls.

Maybe start with a harder plastic ball like a Jolly ball.

 

[brody_smom]

Maybe start with a harder plastic ball like a Jolly ball.

Are those more specific to treibball than pilates? Where can they be purchased?

 

[srdogtrainer]

Are those more specific to treibball than pilates? Where can they be purchased?

No, a Jolly ball is sold at local pet stores (made for dogs). They are smaller, but they won't pop.
You could also use something like a volley ball or any sport ball that isn't too hard.

I've seen exercise balls at five bellow so they would be a lot cheaper there then other stores. Keep an eye out if you go to yard sales you might be able to find them really cheap.

 

[648117]

If your using a normal size tennis ball then I don't think the size would be a problem. I use mini tennis balls with Holly but normal size ones do fit in her mouth and I'm pretty sure she can run fine while carrying them.
Holly is a PugX, weighs 6.5kg and is 28.4cm tall at the shoulders, so a small dog. Your dog looks like he must be bigger than that (much bigger).

Also, I used the slit in the tennis ball to teach Holly to fetch and it worked fine. I just started handing the ball to her and then letting her drop it into my hand so she couldn't run off with it (she is a toy distroyer so I'm pretty sure she would have gotten the treat out herself given enough time). Then small throws inside, then small throws in garden....larger throws in garden (and also phased out the treat in the ball by giving her a treat from my hand).....small throws at park.... larger throws at park (but I still don't throw the ball far because I'm really not good at throwing balls and Holly doesn't love fetch so there isn't much point in getting a ball thrower).

Keep your criteria consistent. Eg, if you want the ball returned to your hand then accept nothing less, if you accept the ball being droped on the ground next to your hand then the distance can easily grow and grow until your back to not having a retrieve.

 

[JazzyandVeronica]

So Brody is really loving the chase aspect of "fetch", but the return part has no value in it for him.

My apologies because I didn't read everything after this (because Veronica wants breakfast) but I had a thought.

Veronica has no interest in balls and she won't really play fetch with balls either...BUT...she loves playing fetch with her Ruffian Octopus and I think maybe because the shape of the toy makes it perfect for a dual game of fetch/tug. We may do fetch a few times, but inevitably we break up the fetch with tug sessions with the same toy.

Maybe something like this would build value in the return?

 

[brody_smom]

Keep your criteria consistent. Eg, if you want the ball returned to your hand then accept nothing less, if you accept the ball being droped on the ground next to your hand then the distance can easily grow and grow until your back to not having a retrieve.

I don't remember if I did this or not. I mean, after I took him to the park the first time after teaching him to put the ball in my hand, I did start him out with bringing the ball to my hand after very short throws. I don't remember if I allowed him to not bring it to my hand before he stopped, or if he just stopped after the throw got to be longer.

 

[brody_smom]

My apologies because I didn't read everything after this (because Veronica wants breakfast) but I had a thought.

Veronica has no interest in balls and she won't really play fetch with balls either...BUT...she loves playing fetch with her Ruffian Octopus and I think maybe because the shape of the toy makes it perfect for a dual game of fetch/tug. We may do fetch a few times, but inevitably we break up the fetch with tug sessions with the same toy.

Maybe something like this would build value in the return?

We do this with his tugging rope, in the house or the back yard. My main reason for really wanting "fetch" to work is to get him really tired from running at top speed. Zac George has a video about how playing fetch for 20 minutes a day can solve 80% of your dog's behavior problems. I know this to be true for Brody, because on the days when I have given up in frustration and not provided him with an adequate workout, he has been a lot more difficult to settle to sleep at night, barking for prolonged periods at every little noise or other dogs he hears barking outside.

There is an older couple in our neighborhood who own three chocolate labs who are tireless fetchers. The man sits on a bench and uses his chucker to throw for these dogs. He never has to stand up. They just keep bringing the balls back to him. When Brody comes along and joins them in their game, he will compete with them for the ball, but then he will pretty much drop it as soon as he gets it. It's a great workout for him, but not so much for them as they will only chase and retrieve their own ball, and they get annoyed with him and stop trying. If they do manage to beat him to their ball, they will bring it back to the man, but just lie down and chew on it rather than risk losing it to Brody. We worked out a system where I would throw Brody's ball in one direction first, then the man would quickly throw for his dogs in the other direction while Brody was occupied. I was hoping Brody might see how the game was supposed to work by watching these experts, but no such luck. I still end up doing the retrieve part myself.