Teaching retrieve

[SimonandMandy]

Does anyone have any tips on teaching retrieve?

Our lad (show type) is just over 4mths old and is pretty good at chasing after thrown items, be it into water or the middle of a field and fetching them back in our 'general' direction.  He just hasn't grasped the idea of bringing them back to us yet.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated.


Simon

[jacnig]

Hi

I have 5 working cockers and I always start my basic retrieve and recall in the kitchen then garden then out on walks and I also always have hard baked liver in my pockets cut up into tiny pieces to start with sure fire they will return for it!!!

If your pup is more toy driven then carry his fav toy in your pocket and reward him with that, mine love tennis balls but still prefer the liver!!!

hope this is of some help.

[jacnig]

Hi

Me again, forgot to say loads of prasie when he does come in and let him jump all over you and give you loads of cocker kisses.

I recommend waterproof trousers!!!  Particularlly given our great weather!!!

[SimonandMandy]

Many thanks, we have been trying in the house a while now an he thinks it is a great game - big smiles as he tries to run past with the toy, in these circumstances he is good at dropping and then rechasing.  Take the game out the house and he will chase and find but not return, he will recall though just never with the toy.  I think we are potentially resigned to having a dog that will find but not return... unless any other ideas of moving this stage on??

[Nicola]

To stop him running past you with a retrieve stand with your back against a wall/fence/hedge when you throw the ball which makes it impossible for him to go past you. Crouching down to his level makes it more inviting for him to come back to you as well. You need to be really enthusiastic about getting him back to you, call his name in a high pitched voice and be really silly and excited about it, run in the opposite direction or along the wall/fence calling him if you have to.

If he has problems bringing things back and can't get the hang of it then you're probably throwing them too far and he's not sure what he's supposed to do. Start off with him beside you, show him his toy and encourage him to take it in his mouth using whatever word you use for fetching, and then ask him to give it back to you, giving him huge praise and making it really fun for him when he does. Then throw it about a foot away and encourage him to go for it and bring it back and gradually increase the distance as he catches on that bringing the toy back to you equals loads of praise and fun. If he doesn't bring it back don't react, just get it yourself and start again with him right beside you and lots of encouragement.

The hallway of your house is a good place to teach retrieving, close all the doors and position yourself at one end, it's like a tunnel so there's nowhere else for them to go and nothing else more interesting than you and the toy in there so it helps them to concentrate on what you're doing and once they've got the idea of it you can start to take it out into other environments with more distractions etc. I never use food or another toy as a reward as this can make the dog spit out the ball/dummy they're carrying in anticipation which is not what you want in a working dog but if you're just teaching for games of fetch then that's not so important. He's still very young though, you need to remember to keep it fun, keep sessions short and make things very clear for him so that he builds his confidence in what he's doing.

[Sian P]

One thing that worked for us is that whenever I did have the ball or item I wanted murphy to fetch, I would act really excited that I had this brilliant ball and I was SO pleased to have it. Then I'd throw it and be not so happy as it was gone so Murphy's reaction would be to 'find' it for me to make me happy again. Sounds ridiculous now I've written it but like I said, it worked!

[chickrockguitar]

Can I please ask, a couple of questions.

I've been thinking about getting Marlee into this kind of thing. At what age is best to get them into the sport, and start looking for a club, or events etc? I have been told to wait until they are a year old and know basic commands, before taking them into the gundog world.

Also, when teaching a retrieve, is it better to have one toy (like a Dummy) for this "game" as it were, only? Or is it better to use their own toys? I did get Marlee a Dummy (before I got him), as I did intend to do some gundog work when I got a Cocker. I've used it once for a few games of fetch, then put it away, giving him one of his toys to play with, as I didn't want it chewed to bits, lol.

Thanks.

[kalami]

When bella was young she used to love finding little plastic balls that we hid in the house, it was her favorite game (until 2nd teething stage and she chewed them all up). We progressed used to throwing or hiding the ball in the garden, I have never gone to collect the ball from her always let her bring it to me, she soon learnt that if she didn't return it it wouldn't get thrown again.
Now Bella has her 'dummy' - for walks only, we throw it on the straight, in heather, in bushes - she much prefers it when she has to 'go find', she comes and drops the dummy at my feet, if not i just point to the floor then cross my arms, until it's at my feet - she always gets praise for returning it, whether straight away or not. I think she's great at it and often get people watching us - almost every other day someone will make a comment about her, some gentleman was telling me i needed to make her sit and wait for it to be thrown - now i do that also - work in progress! - when we get home the dummy gets put away.

[Angels of Fur]

Ive got 2 cockers, at 19weeks and 21weeks.
Alfie who is pure working absolutely LOVES to retrieve a ball, Honey who is half show half working, usually picks up the ball and runs the opposite way, looks at you and runs off to play on her own.

So last night after getting tired of finding this funny!!  i decided to Shut alfie in the kitchen (puppy gate so hand) and throw the tennis ball through the hallway/living room and she has finally started to retrieve and bringing this back to me, although its a step closer, she does not want to let go!!

[Beth]

I don't think it's ever too early to teach retieving, this was one of the things i worked on with Jarvis from 8-12 weeks before he was allowed out, and it really paid off. I worked on his "drop" command as something completely separate from the retrieve first of all, and he then knew he'd get a reward for dropping, so bringing things back to me became second nature.

[MegandMolly]

I managed to get the girls to retrieve at about 12 - 14 weeks, 'leave it' was a useful command too (handy when you see a sock dangling from a mouth, and Meg did give the hamster back on this command!)

[Nuffi]

It really seems to also lie in the individual dog's disposition. I've really tried everything with Jerry, from using short and quick throws, running away from him, using two balls...he just doesn't feel like it. And he knows what I want, because he does  bring stuff back inside the house, and once every 100 years he even brings back a ball in the yard ...for a treat. But usually he just doesn't see the point in the game 

Now I also have a BC mix, and it took me just a few weeks to teach her (she's around 7 months old). She simply enjoys it.

[Nuffi]

I managed to get the girls to retrieve at about 12 - 14 weeks, 'leave it' was a useful command too (handy when you see a sock dangling from a mouth, and Meg did give the hamster back on this command!)

What??!   

[JoBangles]

Hiya,

We have this same problem with Boz ,our 1yr old working type. He's very enthusiastic- generally I'm just throwing toys in the backyard or on walks, but he wont give them back, he blatantly wants you to chase him and will dance around you with the toy or drop it nearby and as soon as you reach for it he's gone again.

The only way I've found to get around this is to have two toys, once he's picked one up and come back to me, I make it very obvious I'm going to throw the other, and then he'll drop the one he's carrying and run after the 2nd one, allowing me to collect the first.

However, I'd really like to be able to train him to return to hand- how can I make this more appealing than playing chase?

Thnx,

Jo

[Cotswold Girl]

At the moment with Wellie ANYTHING he puts in his mouth I call him in ... fuss him alot and only after he has had alot of fuss to I take it away. I want him to keep hold of his retrieves so that he delivers to hand because Broc always spits his out looking for a treat and try try try as I can he will not keep hold of them.

So even if Wellie picks up something I don't really want him to have I am not telling him off as I want him to bring it to me without fear of being told off. So far I have had manky half chewed toys, a sock, a pair of pants, a tea towel. a nylabone and his lead 

For training we will use a tennis ball, dummies ... plain, fur and one I preparing with feathers and I have also prepared in the freezer a bunny and a pheasant for when he moves on ....... but we are a long way off that ... that's for Broc as so far he refuses to pick up game!!