# Fetch



## Cigar (Feb 19, 2021)

Maggies' favorite thing is to chase any ball, but in trying to teach her to play fetch with me, it's slow going. 
What she does now is LOVE me to throw the ball, but seems to really, really not want to give it back. She brings it closer to me, drops it & looks at me - but she grabs it away from me before I can pick it up. 

Soccer with her is more fun, because she will stop & let me try to kick the ball away, as much as I want. I wish I were 20 again & could run more & better.

Why is she so reluctant to letting me have the ball back & what can I do about it? 
She knows "leave it" when we're walking & I want her to ignore other dogs. She gets better every day with impulse control over dogs.
But, when I say "leave it" with the ball - she'll drop it then snatch it back. 
I sure wish i could just explain to her that we could spend a lot more time playing fetch, if she would let me have the ball back willingly.


----------



## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

It is fun to play keep away. That is how dogs often play with each other. Somehow you just have to convince her that Keep Away means the end of playing. You may want to keep her on a long line so that she can't just walk away with the toy for a good chew. Reel her in and trade the toy for a high value treat and then put the toy away. 

You could also try 2 ball, where they run up to you and as soon as they get to you, you toss a 2nd. Once they learn the game they drop one ball in anticipation to chase the next. This works really well with balls on a rope. My gal dog loves this game. My big-boy, even though I bought 2 identical balls, preferred one over another so this game didn't work as well for him. 

I also play "on your mark, get set, go" with tug toys indoors. I sit on the floor and have my dog front and center facing me. I put a tug on the floor. Remove my hands and the dog MUST wait. Then I say "on your mark, get set, GO" and we both go for the tug. At first I let the dog win all the time. We wrestle a little. I have my dog OUT and reset the game. The day I grabbed the end and got the tug first my dog was startled. But it made the game more fun. Now sometimes my big-boy, when I say GO, will pounce on my hand as he reaches for the tug with his mouth. Cheeky fellow, clever.


----------



## drparker151 (Apr 10, 2020)

My girl is the same. I do two ball with her, however if I pickup the 2nd ball too soon she will drop the first ball and come running. She has a solid drop it. 

I leave 2nd ball on the ground, she will come back and try to pick both up. I make her drop it, then issue a sit command and then pick up and throw the 2nd ball while saying free.


----------



## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Dogs LOVE being chased for the prize much more than even chasing it/playing fetch. They get to show off re how much faster they are than you. Of course, they do it together too, often around and around a garden we have in the middle of the yard. I do both with my dogs; 2 ball fetch and chase them down.


----------



## cagal (Sep 3, 2013)

We had exactly the same issue. We use a ball and a Kong Bounzer. Django brings the ball, drops it then grabs the Bounzer. Once he drops the Bounzer I’ll throw the ball again. I’ve been able to teach a good recall, drop it and leave it using the 2 toys. Once he got the idea of drop it, I put the Bounzer between my feet so now he comes directly to me and drops the ball right at my feet. It took a few weeks as he used to grab the other toy when I threw the ball so I got a lot of exercise going across the lawn to get the ball but with daily practice he started to learn to drop and leave the Bounzer. Practice, practice practice with the benefit of getting my own exercise lol.


----------



## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

German Shepherds don't fetch. They are too busy trying to figure out why their human threw the ball away in the first place. You have it, you keep it. duh. Every dog knows THAT. But seriously, you are trying to teach a dog that is a herder to run after prey and be distracted from his breeding to stay and guard the flock/family etc.


----------

