p.s. - in my opinion, i think even for retrievers who naturally know how to fetch, if you don't refine it and teach them, they don't possibly know what fetch is, right?Would you say ';fetch'; is a game or something fun you play with your dogs? if not, then what is it?
To me there's ';fetch'; - the game and ';retrieve'; - the exercise. With fetch there are no rules, it's just play. My fetch cue is ';got get it!';, I throw the ball/toy, say ';go get it!'; and the dog gets it and brings it back, I throw it again etc. Sometimes we chase each other with the one without the toy being ';it';.
Retrieve is different. The dog sits on my left side, her front paws parallel to my leg. I throw the dummy. The dog waits until I give her the ';retrieve'; command. Once the command is given she runs out, gets the dummy and comes straight back where she sits straight in front of me and holds the dummy until I take it and give her the ';release'; cue. Then she circles behind me and comes to sit on my left side again.
Many dogs will play ';fetch'; instinctively and then it's just a matter of adding a cue. In fact, ';fetch'; is one of the methods used to mental test 7 week old puppies. The tester will throw a scrunched up paper ball and if the puppies fetches it and brings it back, it's an indication of a puppy that's willing to cooperate. Even my fetch-disinclined second dog scored top marks on this one.
And of course training should be fun, even with adult dogs. I only train with praise, treats and motivation, but once my dog knows a command, then I expect her to obey it.Would you say ';fetch'; is a game or something fun you play with your dogs? if not, then what is it?
I think that this is an instinct for most dog breeds. They're used to hunting for food and bringing it back to the cave, that kind of Instinct. Also, I think that dogs like to bring their ';master'; gifts. They get excited b/c WE get excited that they bring us back the toy and tell them they're a good dog.
some dogs naturally 'fetch' others you have to teach.
my friend has a cocker and a aussie both her dogs since day 1 would go get a ball/toy and bring it back to her feet.
of course she praised them like crazy because it is the wanted behavior..
so i guess fetch is kind of 'taught' because you reinforce it with praise ect..
but i also know dogs that have been chained all their lives and will play fetch with you even though no one reinforced it.
my two aussies i had to teach to play fetch..my puppy would chase the toy and not pick it up..it took a while to 'teach' him to get the ball/toy and bring it back..
my older aussie i rescued at 5 would get the ball but would run in circles and not bring it to me. so i had to 'teach' him to bring back the ball.
i think it's half and half. some dogs are natural and will do it by themselves..others you have to teach and reinforce it.
There are retrieve commands involved in canine sports, so you certainly could consider it to be an obedience command.
And you're right that a lot of breeds have an instinct for it, but you'd have to choose a word to pair with that behavior and use it consistently for the dog to understand what you want.
When mine was a pup. she got the chasing part and the returning with the item in her mouth right away. That much was instinct for her. She had to be taught that run, bring it back and drop it were all linked into one big command called 'fetch'--she wanted to play keep away or tug when she came back!
I have two girls from the same litter. One will return a thrown ball, the other won't. No training.
My dogs love to play ';fetch';. 1 is a real ball hound, he would rather play ball than have a treat or do anything else. So much more ball motivated than food motivated and because of this, I trained him in obedience %26amp; agility using mostly the ball (the ball must squeek).
My young dog, had to learn to play fetch, she happens to be more food motivated, so I used a clicker to teach her. So when she's touch the ball, I clicked %26amp; treated, picked it up, I clicked %26amp; treated, walked 3 steps with it in her mouth, clicked %26amp; treated. Now that she's figured it out, its'a competition between the 2 dogs and she will bark at me to throw it.
BTW, I own standard dachshunds :) Not one automatically thinks of when thinking of a ball crazy dog but I have seen some real ball crazy dachshunds. My male dogs' ';uncle'; would drop it at your feet and stare at it until you thru it, non stop, my male dog does the same and my little female is showing that same behavior too.
Just as a side note, mine do not retrieve sticks. I usually say nothing, sometimes I'll say ';Take It'; and if it's lost in the grass and we can't find it, I'll say ';Find It';. I never take it from their mouths, they always drop it at my feet automatically.
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