Teaching Old Dogs to Retrieve

[houtsdg]

OK, I admit, I am a bad dog owner; I never taught my 2 lab-golden mix to retreive or even play fetch as puppies. I would like to get them to at least play a little ball, and maybe even hunt a little. Right now, they have no interest in even chasing down a tennis ball. Any suggestions to get me started?

[johnch]

If you love your dog and take good care of it then you are not a "bad" owner . As for teaching it to fetch , good question ,Maybe have a freind with a dog that will fetch come over and let your dog see how it works and maybe get into the game .

[Doc E]

Most dogs have an instinctive desire to retrieve, but there are a few that just don't have it. I'd suggest that the best way to "fire your dog up" would be to use a wing-clipped pigeon. Hold the pigeon, let the dog smell it, wave the bird around in front of the dog to get it excited, toss the bird out 10' - 15' in front of the dog and see what happens. If the dog has any genetic desire to retrieve (retrieve is merely an extension of the "chase" gene), you will find out in short order. If the dog shows no sign of wanting to chase/grab the wing-clip, then that would be a sign that the genetics just aren't there.