# playing fetch, he gets bored



## Stevensondrive (Jul 20, 2010)

Brutus just turned 5 months old. Took him to the park to play fetch with the ball. I got him excited and he retrieved it 3 times. Each time I rewarded him and lauded all over him. but the 4th time just looked at it. as I walked towards it he ran over and got it. 

How do I keep him excited enough to keep retrieving it?? is it an age thing? he is still puppy. He is EXTREMELY laid back. 










I have learned so much searching thru previous posts. This site RAWKS!!


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## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

When Molly was younger she lost total interest in playing fetch until we bought her a "Cuz" (a rubber ball with feet and she loves it. Have you ever tried a flirt pole Molly goes super crazy for it?


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

If he is very laid back, that just might be his energy level. Also, some pups are just slow to develop. So he may be just lukewarm for now, but develop more drive and energy as he gets older.

A few things you can do for now:

- Find a special toy he just goes gaga over, and save it for retrieving games. He never gets this toy otherwise. 
- Build his drive, let him really get worked up and excited for the toy. A tug or a ball on a string works well for this. Tease him with it, just have it out of reach, don't let him get it unless he is really over-the-top hyped up, then reward him by letting him "win" the toy. 
- Stop before he gets bored, keep him always wanting more. 

Maybe the park was new to him, and after burning off some energy with a few retrieves, he was more interested in exploring. See if he gets more into playing with you once the novelty of the place wears off.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

3 times might be his limit for now.
cut it back to 2 times but several times a day.
5 months old and retrieving that's impressive.


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## Stevensondrive (Jul 20, 2010)

he is still teething, so I haven't done any tugging yet. He just lost one of his K9's yesterday. He loves playing with the wife's Soft Coat Wheaten Terrier. she panicked the first time she saw her dog covered in blood from his teething. She thought her dog was bleeding. you probably had to be there. lol


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## Stevensondrive (Jul 20, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> 3 times might be his limit for now.
> cut it back to 2 times but several times a day.
> 5 months old and retrieving that's impressive.


thanks for the kind words


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

Last night I went and bought some new tennis balls. Karma is already retrieving well @ 11 weeks but I have been using small stuffed toys that do not have any bounce or WOW factor. She will bring them back and play around with them a bit and eventually come to me and hand it over - probably about 6-8 times before she loses interest. 

The tennis balls were a different story altogether ! I sat down in the living room
( tiled) , tossed the ball with a bit of a bounce the entire 20m length back into the house and she was onto them like lightning and then bought them straight back into my hand. I then switched ends and tossed it out the front door and into the front garden and she went out,grabbed the ball and brought it back up the 3 stairs and inside. Karma was good for about 15 throws and then switched off.


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## Stevensondrive (Jul 20, 2010)

sounds like Karma was in a mood to play!! I think I'll head to petsmart and see what we can get. I wanna get him into playing fetch so when he gets a little older we can transition to frisbees. I am amazed how smart he is!!


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## Veronica1 (Jun 22, 2010)

We hold a tennis ball in one hand and throw a 2nd ball. When Panzer brings back the first one, he drops it so we throw the 2nd one. We do this with assorted toys - he has a couple of bouncing squeaking cows that we squeak & toss - the squeaking might get your pup interested for a change of pace.


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## crisp (Jun 23, 2010)

Lots of good advice already. I'll just add to have fun with him. Get really goofy and excited yourself. Chase him, run away, etc. My dog doesn't have great ball drive at all, but she plays fetch because I get her really amped up before.


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## Stogey (Jun 29, 2010)

We live in Texas where the summers average 90 to 100 degrees and 98% humidity most of the time. We have to be careful not to over work or over heat DJ cause he will chase tennis balls, kongs, frisbees and sticks till the cows come home and his tongue is draggin three feet behind his butt end ... :shocked:


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Maybe it's the tennis ball- Stosh could care less about fetching balls but is a fiend for frisbees. Try a variety of things, bounce the ball, run away from him with the ball in your hand and see if he wants it then. I agree that fetching at 5 mos is great- Stosh didn't really get the concept until closer to 6-7.


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## VChurch (Jun 14, 2010)

Minna loves fetching! Well for the most part. I have one toy....it looks like this:









And it's designated "fetch" toy. We take it outside with us and have a 5-10 minute fetch session, depending on how focused she is on the toy. Sometimes she'll want to play for a couple minutes and sometimes she wants to chase it 20 times or so. And we'll play fetch in the house, which usually only lasts for 5 minutes.
I thought it was only my dog that lost interest in fetch after a few minutes -- I am glad to hear that it's just because she's a puppy (She's about 19 weeks old).

She'll do tennis balls too. And I'm hoping she likes frisbee when she's older.


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## Stevensondrive (Jul 20, 2010)

I got a squeeky red ball from Petsmart. it seems to do a better job of getting his attention. each time he returns with it I give him a small treat. we are gonna make this work. lol


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## Hunter's Papa (Aug 24, 2010)

Veronica said:


> We hold a tennis ball in one hand and throw a 2nd ball. When Panzer brings back the first one, he drops it so we throw the 2nd one. We do this with assorted toys - he has a couple of bouncing squeaking cows that we squeak & toss - the squeaking might get your pup interested for a change of pace.


Yeah, I think having two balls/toys/frisbees is key. Only using 1 with Hunter sometimes turns into a game of "keep away."


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## VChurch (Jun 14, 2010)

Hunter's Papa said:


> Yeah, I think having two balls/toys/frisbees is key. Only using 1 with Hunter sometimes turns into a game of "keep away."


Thankfully Minna loves food; so the fact that she gets a treat for bringing me the toy keeps her motivated to not play keep away -- although I'm sure sooner or later she'll figure that game out.


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## Stevensondrive (Jul 20, 2010)

you advice is working!! we take a trip to the neighborhood park and play for 3-4 tosses and then put it away. he is loving it.


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## VChurch (Jun 14, 2010)

^That's great news!!!

I'm working on MInna playing fetch other places, right now she's too interested in what's going on around her to want to play fetch anywhere besides our neighborhood...but I can see the potential. She will chase sticks anywhere though!!


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## Stevensondrive (Jul 20, 2010)

I've created a ball chasing machine!!! I think my arm will fall off before he tires out. Lol. 

He has tested me a couple times by walking past me instead of handing me the ball. No ball, no treat. 

Brutus is awesome!!!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Ha! Be careful what you ask for!! He's a cool looking dog


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## CeeJayKay (Apr 16, 2020)

Castlemaid said:


> If he is very laid back, that just might be his energy level. Also, some pups are just slow to develop. So he may be just lukewarm for now, but develop more drive and energy as he gets older.
> 
> A few things you can do for now:
> 
> ...



Thanks for the suggestions. Jackson learnt to fetch at 5 months also, but looses interest in it after maybe 4 or 5 retrieves. If I keep his favourite toy for this, he will go get it, but then sit down and chew it! It has been great reading through this conversation as I was beginning to think there was something wrong with Jackson's enthusiasm when he seems to loose interest so quickly. What he will do forever, is run, and chase me, or I him. And sniff, and explore. I limit the running due to his age. He is a GSD.


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