# Playing fetch?



## Mwelsh03 (Jul 10, 2013)

Griffey is almost 5 months old now and he still doesn't understand the concept of playing fetch. I have tried throwing a toy three feet away all the way up to 50 feet away, and he will just sit there and stare at me. 

Any helpful tips in teaching a dog to play fetch?

Thanks in advance!!


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## WendyV (Sep 12, 2013)

Mwelsh03 said:


> Griffey is almost 5 months old now and he still doesn't understand the concept of playing fetch. I have tried throwing a toy three feet away all the way up to 50 feet away, and he will just sit there and stare at me.
> 
> Any helpful tips in teaching a dog to play fetch?
> 
> ...


 Have you tried using a ball? I never taught my puppy to fetch but if i throw a ball she just enjoys chasing it and always brings it back to me. She doesnt drop it though. She paws at me until i pry it out of her mouth. Now that i think of it I never did much to train her to fetch the ball but she has trained me to play "get the ball out of my mouth" lol.


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## Diesel_Maminka (Sep 19, 2013)

WendyV said:


> Have you tried using a ball? I never taught my puppy to fetch but if i throw a ball she just enjoys chasing it and always brings it back to me. She doesnt drop it though. She paws at me until i pry it out of her mouth. Now that i think of it I never did much to train her to fetch the ball but she has trained me to play "get the ball out of my mouth" lol.



My dog is 6 and still doesn't do "fetch" lol


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## OttoB (Sep 23, 2013)

A positive training tutorial on teaching fetch, step by step:


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

WendyV said:


> Have you tried using a ball? I never taught my puppy to fetch but if i throw a ball she just enjoys chasing it and always brings it back to me. *She doesnt drop it though*. She paws at me until i pry it out of her mouth. Now that i think of it I never did much to train her to fetch the ball but she has trained me to play "get the ball out of my mouth" lol.


You can try using two balls for this.


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

I never had a German Shepherd Dog that didn't like to play fetch.

Lisl is no different.

The object is to make bringing it back more exciting than chasing it. If you can't do that they will never bring it back. At least not until they learn 'COME'.

You have to make them want to bring it back to you so you (they) can do it again.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i would start slow. leash the dog. attach a treat to the ball. roll the ball a few feet. when the dog picks up the ball reel him in while giving him a command. praise and treat.


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## WendyV (Sep 12, 2013)

Nigel said:


> You can try using two balls for this.


 I actually did that today. I got a pack of squeaky tennis balls. She loves those. I threw the second one instead of trying to get it out of her mouth because sometimes my finger or thumb get bit. She didn't want to put down the first ball, tried to fit both in her mouth, hen started batting the second one around. It was pretty entertaining.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Get bigger toys! (Actualy the tennis balls are hard on the teeth anyway)...perhaps some big cuz toys. They ONLY come out when you play with her.

Make toy 2 just come alive so she will drop toy 1. You may have to start with just trading toys in rapid succession. 

I have put the link here so many times but I like it.
Two Squeakies


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## PixelGalileo (Sep 19, 2013)

My girly would die if she couldn't play fetch.
I too have not taught her she naturally wanted to chase and bring back the ball.
I have a 150 ft garden and I stand in the middle with 2 solid rubber balls (tennis balls get destroyed)
I throw one ball up the garden, she retrieves it and whilst running drops it so it rolls to me
I throw the 2nd ball down the garden and she doesn't stop she brings that one back and I launch the first ball up the garden
We continue this for about half an hour.
She will be quiverring with exhaustion and still dropping the ball at my feet looking at me as if to say come on DAD !!!


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Another trick I've found for dogs that don't like to fetch or refuse to bring the toy back is to teach them how to play catch. Have them sit a few feet away from you and toss a soft toy or ball at them (just in case they don't catch it you don't want it to clonk them on the head), most dogs will automatically catch it. Praise and swap the toy/ball for a treat, when they're comfortable catching and releasing the toy/ball to you then start throwing it farther off to the side so they have to move slightly to catch it and still praise, swap, and treat when they do it. Keep throwing it a little farther and all directions until they get the concept of grabbing the toy/ball and bringing it back to you for a treat.


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## Bequavious (Mar 9, 2013)

It sounds like the OP's dog isn't even interested in chasing the toy yet. When we first got my puppy she was way more interested in being with me than chasing things, so I worked to build her toy drive and did some "assisted retrieves" lol. I would get all excited about the ball, teasing her with it and keeping it out of her reach until she was getting all worked up too. Then I'd toss it (or rolling worked pretty well in the beginning because she could see its path better) and when she just looked at me like I was crazy, I'd be all excited saying let's go get the ball, and I'd start jogging over to it with her bouncing after me. I could usually get her to pick it up by acting like I was going to steal it or if you're using I rope toy you can tug on it a bit. Then we'd run back to the starting spot and start all over.

It only took a few times before she was chasing it on her own, though if she ever missed one again, I'd still go after it and snatch it off the ground like it was the best prize ever lol! Sometimes I could go up to it and just nudge it a couple more feet and she'd pick it up and we could jog back to start together.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

My pup would lose interest quickly when younger but now loves his ball. He doesn't necessarily like me to throw it away though!  He can flat out run to get it back, but he's not sure about giving it to me since I don't seem to appreciate it and keep throwing it away. He doesn't run from me, he just casually walks away, but will stop if I keep going to him. I use a softball. Great size, neon yellow so it's easy to see. He's not allowed to bring it in the house and knows it, so when we get on the deck he automatically drops it by the door so he can pick it back up when he comes back outside. He's so cute.


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## Bequavious (Mar 9, 2013)

Shade said:


> Another trick I've found for dogs that don't like to fetch or refuse to bring the toy back is to teach them how to play catch. Have them sit a few feet away from you and toss a soft toy or ball at them (just in case they don't catch it you don't want it to clonk them on the head), *most dogs will automatically catch it.* Praise and swap the toy/ball for a treat, when they're comfortable catching and releasing the toy/ball to you then start throwing it farther off to the side so they have to move slightly to catch it and still praise, swap, and treat when they do it. Keep throwing it a little farther and all directions until they get the concept of grabbing the toy/ball and bringing it back to you for a treat.


Neither my lab nor my GSD started out catching. We'd toss them treats or toys and they'd just let it bounce off their nose lol! I thought we'd gotten defective dogs, but eventually after enough tries, they started catching and now their both champs 


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## HOBY (Aug 12, 2013)

Play fetch in a long hall with all doors and openings closed or blocked. Start close to the pup and move back at small [be patient] clips. Remain on the floor at puppy height. Us squeaky balls, at least 2. When puppy has picked up one ball after you throw, squeak the other to get his attention. Does the pup carry? If so he's a natural.
As for Hoby I swear fetch is in his blood. He carries his soft ball to the same starting place out in the yard every time we work play. Nice work Hoby.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Bequavious said:


> Neither my lab nor my GSD started out catching. We'd toss them treats or toys and they'd just let it bounce off their nose lol! I thought we'd gotten defective dogs, but eventually after enough tries, they started catching and now their both champs
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's why I specifically stated to start with something soft  lol Better safe then sorry


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## mchcthrn (Dec 26, 2012)

This is me with my pup at 4 months. We went to this park probably 4 times a week to do this. It definitely wasn't over night that he was going that distance . I would start just tossing the toy a couple feet from him then running away and calling him. I built up to teasing him with toys, "tagging" him on his back (like "tag your it!") and running away when he whipped around, and a recall. You actually can't hear it, but I using a whistled recall in this video. Sometimes that does help to get him running back. I found mixing food with toys and bringing a large variety of toys was very helpful when Max was younger. It kept his interest so he wouldn't get bored from just fetching over and over. His attention span was so short at that age that in order to keep it, I had to be FUN! By the end of one of these sessions, especially early on, I would be the one panting from running around, acting like a goof ball, talking to him in a high pitched funny voice, and just trying to be really engaging. I had no choice though, since this was the only place near my apartment to practice and it was near two busy streets! Talk about an incentive to keep him focused on me! 

4 Month Old German Shepherd Fetch - YouTube


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## mchcthrn (Dec 26, 2012)

Oh, and tug! We did lots of tug with the same toys we used with fetch!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Read these thread for lots of tips on teaching fetch: 

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/how-do-i-teach-my-dog/136440-wont-fetch.html

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/training-our-puppy-basic/126978-how-teach-fetch.html


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