What's the best way to teach an old dog to play fetch?

Question

Jade is about three years old, but my mother never taught her to play fetch properly. The dog just keeps the stone in her mouth, and if you throw another stone, she will keep that in her mouth as well, and it continues until she can't hold anymore... a while ago I tried giving her a treat every time she brought the stone back, but as soon as I stopped giving her the treats, she went back to her old ways...

Are there any tricks I can use to get the dog into playing fetch? I'm worried that she will never know how to play it properly because she didn't learn when she was young.

Answer 1

Hi Buzz , the best way to get her to play fetch it`s to start over again with the treats when she comes back with the stone or stick , but then replace 1 treat with lots of clapping , petting and "good girl " remarks , you will be amazed at how quickly you can stop the treats and just get her used to getting praise each time . gl

Answer 2

I have a 9 month old lab and he can't get enough of playing fetch. I got him when he was 4 months old and he loved to pick up sticks so what I would do is take it from him and trow it and tell him fetch Diablo(that's his name). Diablo would run to get it then I would praise him and give him a treat. Now he loves to fetch Frisbees @ first he would just fetch it after a week he started fetching it in the air. All dogs are different so the best thing is to have Patience and be persistent. GOOD LUCK.

Answer 3

To teach your dog to fetch, start with the object he loves most. With your dog on a long leash, give your dog the command “sit.” Take the object and toss it a small distance from the dog. Give the command, “fetch,” and let your dog run after the toy. Once he has it in his mouth, gently draw him back to you by means of the lead. Show him a tasty food treat and give him the command, “release.” It is very important that your pet give the object to you willingly. This is not a tug-of-war. Retrieving breeds will learn this trick quickly, and may play for hours. Other dogs may not be so enthusiastic about surrendering their favorite toy, so make sure you reward success exuberantly, lavishing your dog with praise and treats.

Once your dog reliably brings the object back to you, remove the leash and have him fetch the object on his own. For a more advanced “fetch,” teach your dog the names of different objects. Once he understands the concept of “fetch,” work with one object at a time and call it by name until he can identify the object by name. For example, if you want your dog to get the morning newspaper, start by throwing a paper. Give the command “fetch paper.” Your dog should bring you only the paper to receive his reward. As your dog learns the names of different objects, give him some mental exercise by laying out 3 or 4 different objects and asking for them by name. See how smart your dog is.

Continue to practice this over and over. Always use a happy singsong voice and lots of positive reinforcement. Eventually, your dog will understand and will begin fetching all kinds of things.

The keys to success when teaching your dog tricks are patience, practice, praise, and persistence (the 4 P’s). Every step in the right direction should be rewarded as though your dog had just won the lottery. Tricks are fun – and learning how to do them should be fun, too.

Answer 4

A well-trained dog makes everyone happy, including his owner. Take a little time training him, and you'll never regret it; you'll always have an obedient dog by your side. Find more https://tr.im/dYN6o

By their nature, dogs are pack animals with a well-defined social order. Through basic training, you need to consistently make sure your puppy understands that you are the leader, not him. So in teaching him the basic rules, you take on the role of pack leader.

To fit into the family circle, your dog must be taught to recognize his name and such commands as come, heel, lie down and sit.

Answer 5

Hi Buzz
I rescued a dog and i called her lady (she was like a TRAMP when i got her) Hence The name..... i got her on Jan 20th and i had to teach her from scratch. What i done was every time she did something right i would give her a treat, Now the fetch part was hard to master but i got there in the end. I HAD TO GO AND PICK THE STICK UP MYSELF. But i still love her

Answer 6

Hi i would keep on with the treats and teach her to drop the stone, be very enthusiastic with her and make i big fuss of her every time she drops it, i have a lecher cross German Shepard, and she was very hard work to get her to drop things, she would run after things but i would have to fetch them back my self,eventually she got the gist of things and started to bring things back to me with the aid of treats now she does it all on her own its very rewarding in the end.i do not use treats at all now.
please stop using stones though as this will chip or even break teeth use a toy or a ball instead.

Answer 7

give Jade a little more time until she tunes into your ways so that she can read you and she will eventually get it right some dogs are a bit slow in learning tricks other than the normal things She'll get there i promise and don't always give her a treat but be stern and a pat every-time she does it correctly

Answer 8

Had a dog that had never been played with and it was a challenge to get her to see the purpose. We finally just relaxed and let her take the lead, she was running after tennis balls in no time. She never would bring sticks back to us though. I think she didn't like the feel of them in her mouth, she preferred soft things.

Answer 9

this may seem harsh but get the favourite dogs toy your dogs like throw it hopefully it will fetch it when it gets it tell it to come here if it doesnt then you will have to smack it i did it and it worked out on my give it a try if it does not work out at least it was try

Answer 10

You can't just expect compliance from your dog, you have to make it fun for her as well. Play with her so that she looks happy and is joining in she will get the picture after you do. If you can't get to grips with it why not try dog training classes. They don't just teach how to walk with your dog.