Fetch

[RobDiTo]

hello, this is my first post. let me apologize now if this question has already been addressed.
i have a 5 month old boxer, she is a very good dog and responding well to the basic obedience and tricks i have been doing with her, however one if the biggest things i would love for her to do is play fetch. i just love the idea of taking her to the park and throwing the ball as far as i can and watching her go running after it comming back with the ball from more of the same. sometimes she goes after the ball but usually just runs up to it and comes back to me empty handed. or she gets the ball runs around with it, drops it and comes back to me. i was looking for some tips on teaching her the desired behavior of retrieving the ball over and over a gain.
just so you know, she is healthy, running around is not the problem. when i take her to the dog park she is very active with the other dogs. she runs around in my back yard with no problems as well. i think it is simply a problem of me not properly expressing what i want from her.
thanks ahead of time for your input.

 

[MrZed]

i have the same problem with my 11 wks old boxer! She will chase the ball until it stops then turn around and runs back to me empty handed.

 

[Please Work]

Try with a different toy their favourite stuffed toy or even a frisbee. Our girl has to be "in the mood" to chase a ball but she will always fetch the frisbee or her squeeker chicken.

 

[Please Work]

Forgot to add if they run off with it instead of returning it use a second toy to entice them back - one with a squeeker worked best for us. I would throw her squeeky chicken and when she picked it up I would squeek say her ball and she would return to investigate so I would praise her give her a treat and throw the squeeky ball and use the chicken to get her back.

 

[Baileysfam]

Teaching fetch is definately one of the most tricky things to teach a dog. Mostly due to the dog being far away when it performs the desired behavior so it's difficult to reward. Good news is most boxers have a natural retrieving trait so with persistance yours will get it. Haha bad news is they are also a little moody so they might just watch you throw the ball and look at you with an, "I hope you don't expect me to get that" face.

Start very short, your first good retrieval will be from only a few feet away and then you wil gradually increase the distance untill you can chuck the ball across the park. Toss the toy out a few feet and watch her chase, lots of verbal praise if she picks it up and lots more if she runs back towards you. When I was teaching Bailey I would throw the toy and be silent until she picked it up and once she did I would clap and praise and shout the come command so she knew she was doing it right. Then I would continue praise if she ran towards me, until she ran off course, at which point I would turn my back and say "ahh, no good". Then you have to go to them and get the toy and try it again.

One of the things that helped the most in the begining was to play fetch from the same spot, she associated me standing in that area with the game and knew what I expected of her. Once you get the behavior established you can change it up. The other thing was to get a toy she was crazy about, she didn't really like tennis balls but if i threw a her stuffed monkey thing she was all over it. Eventually she retrieved properly and got more praise than ever. She still runs off course occasionally but she still gets the "ahh, no good" if she does, it will never be %100.

 

[haydenboxer]

like stated before, short distance is key. you will not loose as much control and she will appreciate the reward more than if she was wearing herself out.

I dont know exactly how i did it with my boy, but he is a fetch pro, runs for the ball and then runs back with it (with the occasional catch me if you can).

 

[LILYLARUE]

I tried all the techniques to get Lily to fetch, finally giving up after she was a year and a half. When she turned two, she all of a sudden figured it out on her own. All I say is "git yer ball" and she will run around til she finds it and bring it to me. When she's done fetching though, she's done. She just walks away and does something else. Such a smart girl with such a mind of her own.

 

[Caney Creek]

Good news is most boxers have a natural retrieving trait so with persistance yours will get it.

They do?? I think Caney got shorted that gene

Haha bad news is they are also a little moody so they might just watch you throw the ball and look at you with an, "I hope you don't expect me to get that" face.

Yup, that sounds more like it!

Start very short, your first good retrieval will be from only a few feet away and then you wil gradually increase the distance untill you can chuck the ball across the park. Toss the toy out a few feet and watch her chase, lots of verbal praise if she picks it up and lots more if she runs back towards you. When I was teaching Bailey I would throw the toy and be silent until she picked it up and once she did I would clap and praise and shout the come command so she knew she was doing it right. Then I would continue praise if she ran towards me, until she ran off course, at which point I would turn my back and say "ahh, no good". Then you have to go to them and get the toy and try it again.

One of the things that helped the most in the begining was to play fetch from the same spot, she associated me standing in that area with the game and knew what I expected of her. Once you get the behavior established you can change it up. The other thing was to get a toy she was crazy about, she didn't really like tennis balls but if i threw a her stuffed monkey thing she was all over it. Eventually she retrieved properly and got more praise than ever. She still runs off course occasionally but she still gets the "ahh, no good" if she does, it will never be %100.

Great advice! Maybe I'll work harder with Caney on "fetch." I've always just accepted her non-fetching habits :D but it's about time she learned something new!

 

[RobDiTo]

thanks

thanks for the input on teaching fetch. i've been working on it in the house within one room. luring her once she has the ball or toy just results in her dropping said ball or toy and coming to me. but i'm going to keep it up. i'm loving just playing with my girl.

 

[JokersSoul]

Too funny. I think I was lucky. Cooper just about taught ME how to fetch!! He has just been natural with it. I was so amazed. Now my non Boxer is another story. I think he has OCD and won't learn to fetch. LOL