Retrieving

[bunn]

I'm going to have (yet) another go at getting Mollydog to retrieve. She can do everything else we've tried. Most dogs do it without any training! She should be able to crack this!

Plans
1) Take ball on rope wherever we go, and I will play with it myself so it looks exciting and fun.

2) Take clicker on walks (I have been remiss with this -have now attached a clicker to the lead so I can't forget) and reward her for any interest in ball.

3) Bought clicker training DVD (The Motivation Movie - Joanna Hill) for tips - am I missing something? I may buy more clicker DVDs too (if in doubt, shop!)

4) Continue to train the 'nudge ball with nose' behaviour. Try to get her to open her mouth to take the ball (use doggy toothpaste on ball to make it yummy??).

5) Try to remember when playing 'fling the cuddly toy' in the mornings, to introduce a 'hold' command to help her understand about holding things in her mouth. I don't really want her only retrieving fluffy toys, as they get too soggy and are hard to throw far, but it could be a start.

Comments

[chainmailmaiden]

1) Take ball on rope wherever we go, and I will play with it myself so it looks exciting and fun.

I'd so like to see that *giggles*

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, now I read it back it does sound more suggestive than I meant it to!

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

Only three of our dogs (11 in total) ever had the slightest natural interest in retrieving. Chica would get as far as getting the object but then keep it, where as Angie would bring it but then play catch-me-if-you-can in the most brattish manner. Gala, bless her heart, still scoots energetically after sticks and frisbees despite apparently having no control over her hindquarters any longer, kills them for a while then brings them back to be revivified and thrown again.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

People keep telling me that their nonretrieving dogs 'got it' in the end, so I am ever hopeful.

All our family dogs have been ball-maniacs, but then they were all mostly-collies. I'm beginning to realise just how many of the things I thought were standard dog were actually just collie.

(Worn out now from racing excitedly after the ball every time I flung it on our lunchtime walk. She raced too, though I fear she was after me, not it.)