how do i get my dog to bring a ball back and give it up to me? she loves to fetch but will not give the ball

Answer 1

The secret to this one is the same as the secret for teaching so many tricks - patience. Here's what you do:

1. Throw the ball, the dog gets the ball.
2. If the dog is not coming back to you, move into a position where you are near your dog.
3. Wait. The instant your dog lets go of the ball, say the command you want your dog to learn (release, drop it, give me the ball, whatever) as you grab the ball.
4. Immediately praise your dog profusely. Get all excited, scritch her ears.

Repeat the whole process (don't work on any given trick for more than about ten minutes at a time).

Before long, she will associate the command with the action of dropping the ball, and associate the action of dropping the ball with your praise and approval. Once she's made that association, you may have to teach her another command ("hold it") to keep her from dropping the ball until you're ready to take it.

Notice you don't have to use any treats or scold your dog or pry the ball away from her. All it takes is a little patience on your part and showing lots of affection and approval when she does it right.

You can teach her all sorts of tricks using this approach. Just be patient until she does something that you want her to do, then immediately say the command you want her to learn and praise her. Someone out there has even written a book called "How to Teach Your Dog to Talk" that uses this technique. The author says to play with your dog and get her to make various sounds. When she makes a sound that you think could be useful, give it a name and praise her. She will even learn very quickly to associate that particular sound with the name you're using for it (and, of course, the praise you give her). The final step is to string the commands for several sounds together so that the sounds your dog makes actually sound like a word or phrase - you can literally teach your dog to talk!

But whether you want to teach her to let go of a ball or to say "Hello", the secret is always the same - patience. And the reward is always the same - praise and affection, not treats.

Answer 2

I used treats to teach my dog (granted, she's a lab, so it was probably easier for me). She would bring the ball back, but not give it up.

So when she refused to drop the ball, I would show her a treat bag. She would immediately drop the ball so she could have room in her mouth for a treat. At the instant she dropped the ball, I said "Drop it" and then praised her and gave her a little treat (I cut them up into small pieces so as not to overstuff her). Before I repeated the exercise, I put the treat bag behind my back or away somewhere before I threw the ball again. Eventually, she was coming back with the ball and looking around for a treat. I gradually weaned her off the treats and now she drops anything on command and plays fetch for the pure joy of it. I think it's her whole purpose in life.

Answer 3

Is your dog a retrieving breed, some dogs like chasing things but not fetching them. If your dog is a retriever and has developed bad retrieving habits ,start him again on a leash (so he's under your control) and repeat the fetching with it make sure he comes to you and generously praise him every time he retrieves. As he improves , lengthen the leash. When he seems ready try him off leash (with short retrieves at first). It can be a long process, he'll learn.

Answer 4

Don't chase her for the ball. Only throw the ball if she drops it for you. Also, teach her a command like drop. This command is not only helpful when playing fetch, but if she picks up something nasty on the walk, you can tell her to drop it.

Answer 5

Try using treats. Everytime you get the ball away from your dog, give it a treat. The dog will soon learn that it wants the treat more than the ball. Eventually you wont have to give the dog a treat.

Answer 6

tell her to come when the ball is in her mouth and then give a command like give or drop and take the ball out of her mouth

Answer 7

You throw it to her act like your not paying attention to her. She will give you the ball. Then you take it out of her mouth while your taking it out say release, give, let go, and so on

Answer 8

Refuse to play with her until she drops the ball. When she does drop it, praise her a lot!

Answer 9

some dogs just don't fetch. you can try having treats with you when you play and praise her when she comes back...

Answer 10

try using two balls. throw one and when he has it in his mouth show him the other one and then make him drop the other ball near you before you throw the 2nd one.