Advice on Improving our Game of Fetch!

[CvilleC]

I watched a man play fetch with his lab the other day and feel inspired to improve game of fetch with Maya, my one year old German Shepherd. His dog would always bring the item right back to him, and didn't drop it unless the owner asked him to.

Fetch right now with my dog involves her sometimes bringing the item directly back, sometime doing a little victory lap around the yard. If she does come right back, she sometimes will stand there with the frisbee or ball in her mouth, not wanting to release it (she looks like such a do-do standing there gumming on the ball). She'll turn her head quickly or trot away if I reach down to get it. And usually before she finally drops it, she takes a couple jumps backwards before doing so.

I'd like to train her to come back to me and hold onto the item unless I say drop (she knows the drop command, but doesn't always follow it). Ideas? I feel like this might be a little more tricky since I am not starting with a blank slate. She also loves fetch and is really intense about it, so it's sometimes hard to break that focus to listen to me, although she will sit and stay if I ask her to when throwing it.

[Adele_Mommy]

I think it's important to remember that a Lab is bred to be a retriever, whereas a German Shepherd is not. This is not to say you won't be able to improve your dog's fetching, just that the man you saw may not have done anything special to get his dog to do that. I have a Golden Retriever now and he fetches and always brings the ball back to me and I did not have to put any real effort into getting him to do that. I had a Bernese Mountain Dog before and he didn't really like to play fetch. He would much rather play keep-away or tug!

Anyway, you can try keeping a bunch of very small treats in your pocket. Throw the ball and when your dog brings it back hold out one hand to receive the ball and hold out a treat in your other hand and give the drop command. The dog should release the ball to get the treat - hopefully into your waiting hand. Don't give a treat if the dog leaves the ball in the middle of the yard rushing back to you to get a treat, or even if the dog drops the ball a few steps away. And don't reach for the ball, the dog should bring it right to you. A few sessions like this should improve your dog's fetching.

[Ola_]

Honestly, I think I would stick with romping with the ball for now. Fetch puts a lot of torque on their joints which is not good for a breed prone to hip dysplasia. Wait until her joints have matured, which is around 2 years of age.

However I think you can do a lot of the "foundation" work of having her bring you items and that "drop" command. Since you've probably told her to drop many times and she didn't, I would go back to lower value items and get it really solid there. Make sure you don't say it more than once or she will just learn to ignore it. To bring you items you can get her to go get all kinds of things if you teach her the names of them. I would probably practice this outside of the excitement of playing first and praise/reward like she's the most brilliant dog when she gets the item and brings it to you.