# Having a hard time teaching the retrieve



## Sri (Apr 25, 2013)

Hi everyone.

So far I have used two balls for doing obedience and little bits of heeling, fronts, prolonged downs, sits, impulse control. etc.

This is indoors or in a fenced yard. Outdoors, its been mostly food and once in a while tug on a long line. 

I would really love to teach him retrieve, so on a long line I can reward with chasing a frisbee or a tug. 

My problem while teaching the retrieve, is no matter which kind of material I use, he wants to keep the object and chew on it. I've tried to keep him hungry so he can be more focused on food, but no. Also all I have done so far is shaping. Point to an object and say 'take it' which he does. If I click right away, he drops it because he knows there is a treat. if I wait for him to drop it before I click, he just lies down and chews on it.

But perhaps I am going about this all wrong. This is what I saw on shaping the retrieve videos though. 

A hand delivered retrieve would be nice to achieve.

Any advice for me?


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

In my particular situation with my current shepherd, she was tougher than the past two teaching the retrieve. I read up on the subject and one article ( which I wish I could find again ) described the "right of ownership" in a dog's world....or at least their interpretation. It described how dogs claim ownership to certain items and depicted all of a dog's body postures, positioning of claimed objects, reactions of the dog if it senses some other entity might be making a play for it's prized possessions and of course a dog's reluctance to relinquish such claimed items......it was a good read and helped me deal with the same problem you might be experiencing.....

I started small.....really small and slowly shifted the dog towards a direction where she didn't have 100% claim/rights to objects she guarded...including the objects for retrieval. I remember working in the living room ...a foot away from her and progressed from there...all that good cheery stuff upon successful completion..as small as it might be.

I also recall taking a position similar to how a dog might have "claim" to an object...whether a dog is laying down or standing tall over a prized possession with the object between their front two legs...they supposedly are letting the world know this object is mine....When my dog took this position with her prized tennis ball, I ( on hands and knees with head high..no playful bow posture on my behalf ) crawled over to her slowly but surely as she stood proud over her claimed tennis ball and lowered my head toward the tennis ball to take it.....I knew what most likely would happen and it did...she reacted to my attempt to dethrone her from "owner" of the tennis ball....and I gave her a response which squashed her attempt....yes, it was a perilous moment since her teeth made contact briefly with my head but I knew it was coming and as I said ...I stopped her dead in her tracks......After this one encounter...everything changed...there was little if any resistance going forward from her to claim ownership again..since this one instance laid down a new law of sorts that the ball was mine....and I don't mind sharing.

Anyway, I did this with my 4-5 month old pup...would I do this a full grown GSD or a dog I am not familiar with?...no way...I would have taken stitches most certainly and I counted on my pup making a half-hearted attempt to stop my advance for ownership....I will say, it was more formidable than I thought it would be. But I was dealing with my dog which already had a sense of "who's who"..but she was still vying for position at times with me and she was well within her rights to do as she did.

Would I suggest what I did to others without knowing them..such as in this forum...no way. I am simply describing what I did and here's why...I am a believer in dealing with a dog in a dog's "language" rather than expecting my dog to interpret my human "language" at many times. I have taken much criticism and joking at times for "acting" like a dog at times to get a message across to my pup at times...but that's okay...it has expanded my understanding. And yes, I know....the dog knows I am a human not a dog but at times "dogspeak" works wonderfully.

Sorry to burn your eyeballs with this novel...but it's a free forum full of free advice...and the old saying is pretty true at times.


SuperG


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## Sri (Apr 25, 2013)

SuperG said:


> In my particular situation with my current shepherd, she was tougher than the past two teaching the retrieve. I read up on the subject and one article ( which I wish I could find again ) described the "right of ownership" in a dog's world....or at least their interpretation. It described how dogs claim ownership to certain items and depicted all of a dog's body postures, positioning of claimed objects, reactions of the dog if it senses some other entity might be making a play for it's prized possessions and of course a dog's reluctance to relinquish such claimed items......it was a good read and helped me deal with the same problem you might be experiencing.....
> 
> I started small.....really small and slowly shifted the dog towards a direction where she didn't have 100% claim/rights to objects she guarded...including the objects for retrieval. I remember working in the living room ...a foot away from her and progressed from there...all that good cheery stuff upon successful completion..as small as it might be.
> 
> ...


haha.. thanks for the lesson. You might be right, mine is 14 months old and he has always had trouble relinquishing objects. Doesnt object to my taking them as of yet, and he does drop them when I ask.. The best way to keep him away from anything I dont want him to have is just to put my hand over it and he understands he is not allowed to have it. So I am able to train with a pile of trreats on the floor that he ignores as he walks, runs by or lies down next to while we train and I treat him out of that pile or reward with a toy. 

That said, his favorite game when I am chasing him just for fun, is to quickly look for any object to carry in his mouth. He will probably be okay if I did like you did, and claimed ownership. But I am still not sure how to teach him to give me the object voluntarily.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Sri said:


> But I am still not sure how to teach him to give me the object voluntarily.



You're half way home in my estimation.....you can "take" objects from your pooch .....the goal is to have your dog make it it's job to retrieve objects "voluntarily"...and most certainly surrender this object with no protest....with an attitude that in doing this, outweighs the benefits of "ownership".....makes my master happy...it's my job/task...etc...

"Taking" still implies a bit of internal struggle on behalf of one or both parties.
Once the taking becomes voluntary without the full retrieval completed you have set the wheels in motion. I assume you have or are working on a verbal or visual cue for a simple release of once prized possessions...if not, I would accomplish that first before expecting a dog to retrieve an object it is reluctant ( or needs to be taken from it ) to release in the first place....i.e. needs to be taken from.

SuperG


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## Deno (Apr 3, 2013)

I had the same problem with Dex not wanting to give up his ball

while playing fetch, he would bring it back, lay down in front

of me and tease me with it while chewing the snot out of it.

Then he would drop it, hoping I would make a play for it before 

he could snap it up. Being the simple man I am I slapped the

ole trusty e-collar on him. Problem solved.

This is one of the few areas where he needs a refresher 

course every now and then. He loves that ball and I think he

likes teasing me with it more than he likes chasing it.


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

Dex does not bring his ball back, my sheps love bringing stuff back and putting it right in my hand, dex will go get it and then proceed to take it too his man cave underneath the bushes in the backyard. 

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