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.
I would backchain this behavior--teach it in reverse order. In fact, I backchain most complex behaviors that are actually chains of smaller behaviors. First I would teach "give" and "take" behaviors with the dog directly in front of me. I would use a second ball or toy to achieve this. In this case the second toy is the reward for giving up the first toy. I'd attach a verbal cue and fade the second ball rather quickly (move to food rewards) so that the dog doesn't learn to depend on the sight of the second toy as the cue for the behavior. I would also use a consistent hand signal (mine is to snap my right hand down by my right leg with my hand cupped right next to my thigh).
Once the dog has a reliable "give" to your hand, I would work on adding the "picking the ball up" part. Place the ball on the floor in front of you and the dog should investigate. If the dog takes the ball in its mouth, you can jump right to cueing "give". If the dog doesn't willingly take the ball in its mouth, you can reward for any interest in the ball at all. Gradually increase the amount of interest you require the dog to have in the ball before you reward until he eventually picks it up, then move on to cueing the "give". (This is where clicker trainers might have a bit of an advantage because the click is an extrememly easy way to communicate incrementally small increases in the criteria they reward for. This method would be called "shaping" for anyone interested in searching the internet for details.) Practice lots of times placing the ball on the floor in front of you and cueing the "give". Reward highly. I use food for training this part of the behavior. I make sure to keep it off my body and not present it too early. Early presentation of a food reward usually causes the dog to drop the ball prematurely. Keep the treats within an arm's length so you can reward quickly, but on a table or shelf somewhere out of the dog's reach.
Now you are ready to add the retrieve. Really, your dog has already been doing it--of course it has been the world's shortest retrieve, but it is still the same thing. You just need to start adding distance now. Place or toss the ball a couple of feet away from you and cue "give". If your dog goes to get the ball, cue the give. If you've trained the close work enough and rewarded highly enough, he should come to give you the ball. Reward highly. If he is hesitant, try backing up a few quick steps and cueing again to entice him to you. If he still doesn't come with the ball, go back to training a stronger "give & take". As long as your dog is successful, gradually increase the distance you toss the ball out. Don't reward unless he brings it all the way to your hand otherwise you will end up with a dog that drops the ball early or one that "tosses" the ball at you. Eventually, with practice, you will have yourself a nice game of fetch.
This is how I taught my non-retrieving male boxer to retrieve. (Someday I should upload some video.) It's how we teach retrieves in our beginner flyball classes to dogs that don't already know how to fetch or that don't have huge ball drive. It's also how we re-teach flyball dogs that drop their ball too early. It is an informal retrieve. If you are interested in competition obedience or Schutzhund, you may want to skip the game of fetch and teach a more formal retrieve. It is basically the same but includes the dog staying by the handler's side until released to get the item, returning to the "front" position with the item, and a "hold" of the item until cued to release it. You also need to make sure your verbal and hand cues are legal.
