How can I train my dog to bring back the ball when I throw it?

Question

She will do it once and then just bites it.

Answer 1

You have to teach "come" first, and make sure she's really good at that, and "drop" or "give"..where she basically spits out anything she has in her mouth. THEN, you can teach "fetch".

Answer 2

A lot of people don't realize that they have trained their dog NOT to bring the ball back. When she brings it back the first time, don't take it away right away, let her keep it and play with it for a minute or two, and praise her the whole time. Why would she bring it back just to have you take it away? Then, when she's had that chance, trade her the toy for a bit of food.

Teaching her to come reliably and then calling her once she's got it is a good idea too, just don't be upset if she drops the ball and comes back to you empty-handed! If you praise her heavily and give her a food treat when she comes back with it, and just say "Good girl." or something low-key when she comes back without it, she'll learn pretty fast. Make sure she is good at the come command before you try to do it in the midst of a distraction such as playing with the ball.

But always let her play with her "catch" before you take it away, and always give her a treat for giving it up, until she is reliably and happily bringing it back. Sometimes you might want to even take it, give her a treat, and then GIVE IT BACK TO HER instead of throwing it. Let her know that bringing the ball back isn't going to result in her losing it!

Answer 3

Throw the ball and run to it along side of you're dog. Once both of you get to the ball, try and get her to pick it up by putting it in her mouth or something and then running back with her, at the same time, call her name and tell her to come.
Once she has mastered this, do everything the same, but instead of placing the ball in her mouth, try and get her to pick it up off the ground by either tapping it with a finger or pointing at it. Once she has got this, then do everything the same again but this time, tell her to get the ball without touching it or pointing at it, and run back with her. Soon you will beable to throw the ball for her, and she will retrieve it on her own without you even having to move. It may take from a week, to a few weeks, to a few months. It all depends on the age of the dog and how much human contact it has had. (The more contact, the faster it will learn commands).
Taking "baby steps" is good, to ensure that you aren't missing anything out.

Answer 4

A friend of mine suggested this. If you use tennis balls (or whatever you use) get 2 of them, but only show her the one you are going to throw. When she brings it back show her the other one you have, she will be force to release the one she has on her mouth to go get the other ball. And give her treats and lots of praise when she does it right.
If she does no release the ball don't follow her or try to get the ball because then she is going to think that that's the game, and that she does not need to give you the ball to keep playing...

It takes some time to do it, but in time she will get the idea, and it really works.
Hope that helps...! =)

Answer 5

Some dogs like to retrieve and others don't. If she does it once then she's probably wondering why you keep throwing it. I had a wonderful German Shepherd who did the same thing. She would retrieve it once and after that I was on my own. Very smart dog.

Answer 6

have you tried treats, or put the ball on a long string and get him to familierise that the ball has to come back to you then throw the ball after you have done that a few times.

Answer 7

Try a bit of hotdog.When she brings it close to you offer the hotdog and a lot of praise

Answer 8

let your dog throw the ball and YOU catch it.