Games for dogs: Fetch and Keep-Away

Fetch:    

It is usually easy to get a dog to chase and even mouth things, but it is harder to get them to bring it back to you.  Retrievers, of course, are easier to teach to fetch, but almost any dog will fetch if you patiently teach the skill.  Most dogs prefer to play keep-away, at least until they learn that bringing a toy to you “pays” in that you will usually throw it again for them to chase.  You can reduce the odds of the dog playing keep-away by starting in a low-distraction environment in an area where the dog does not have a lot of room to run.  If outdoors, this is one of those times where it might be a good idea to have Fido on a check-cord or Flexi-leash, so he can’t take off too far.  Unlike some other trainers, I do not recommend you drag Fido back to you with the toy.  Keep the game fun!

Fetch is actually a sequence or chain of behaviors.  The dog has to chase the ball, find it in the grass, pick it up in his mouth, carry it back to you, and release it in your hand.  The most efficient way to teach fetch is to “back-chain,” or work on the last behavior first.  You have already been teaching fetch if you have been diligently working on Fido’s object-exchanges, as described in the “General Training” section.  When teaching fetch, ideally practice the exchanges with a toy that Fido is excited about and likes to mouth.   Once he knows the object-exchange sequence very well, and at a time when your dog is feeling frisky, leave the toy on the ground a couple of feet away from you and ignore it (perhaps along with Fido).  Or try dropping the ball lightly to the ground during an exchange.  If Fido grabs the toy and runs off, ignore him for a while.  If he’s looking for your attention and if he knows you have treats, he may come back.  If Fido brings the item toward you, grab it if he brings it anywhere near your hand.  Give your release word, treat, and jackpot!  Be patient; he may bring the item to hand only occasionally, even semi-accidentally, at first, but with enough of a reward history, even a reluctant fetcher will “get” the game.  If you have an adult dog that is reluctant to retrieve, he may have had a strong history of punishment for chasing objects or picking them up in his mouth.  Donaldson’s book has some great tips on how to teach fetch to dogs like these.

Keep-away: 

This one comes (all too) naturally to most dogs.  You should be the one to initiate this game and decide when to end it.  Donaldson suggests that you wiggle your fingers as you chase the dog, a signal that you are playing and it is OK for the dog to run.