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From what I understand fetching has to be trained. Mine is sort of trained. He will go after it if he is already excited but ignores it otherwise. He seldom actually returns it to me though, lol.
i will be watching this one as well ..... my red heeler mix has NEVER had any interest in chasing or retrieving a ball or any other toy ..... she just looks at me as if saying: "YOU threw it ........ YOU go get it."
i take her to the dog park in the early evenings after work, and she will play chase with some of the other dogs, but quickly grows bored with this as well.....
her primary interest has ALWAYS been being "on the hunt" ....... the park extends back about another mile and half and during the times she and i are there, she can go off leash for much of the time and loves nothing better than running from smell to smell in the woods........
if she didn't display such herding and heeling propensities with my feline kids and when she does play with other dogs, i would almost wonder if she was actually some sort of pointer mix.........
From what I understand fetching has to be trained. Mine is sort of trained. He will go after it if he is already excited but ignores it otherwise. He seldom actually returns it to me though, lol.
Fetching must be trained? Guess I was lucky with first 3 labs--the trick was to get them to *release*! Hobbs, new dog, just looks at the ball or stick when it's thrown as if to say "go get it yourself, dummy".
Another one I've heard of but never tried is hide and seek. Hide toys and treats around and teach them to hunt them down.
My 2nd lab, who was exceptionally intelligent and a quick learner, enjoyed this game and also playing hide and seek with me. I'm wondering if Hobbs will be like Latetotheparty's dog and just enjoy long walks sniffing everything--problem is he'll roll in anything smelly.
I have a now 5 month old sheltie that I play with...go get the ball, he has volunteered to return it so of course get mega praise...he also likes me to kick a ball so he can chase it. He has a very high prey drive so he's into chasing.
I also play tug with him to help him learn release/out command.
On the other hand my JRT who was an adult rescue has no interest in toys or anything else unless it's the real thing...he'll chase deer and other critters etc. I think if I'd gotten him as a puppy he might have played but now at 17 years he just likes to lay in the sun...LOL.
I have a Labx, two Bostons and a Frenchy - we play all kinds of games.
Lots of fetch with racquet balls and youth sized footballs - right now they're learning weave poles, jumping thru a hoop and over a hurdle (they do not do competitive agility), and we play hide and seek not only with toys but with me hiding. I put them all in a hard sit/stay, go hide and call them with a soft whistle.....they love running all over trying to find me.
I also reinforce training on a daily basis but make it a fun game..sit, stay, etc....I use paper cups and dry cheerios, hiding a cheerio under one cup, moving them around and letting them discover which one the cheerio is under....LOL They love that game. Training can be a game to them and daily reinforcement is good practice.
i think fetching is instinctual with MOST labs..... but not all......
the labbie that lived in my house for 14 months would retrieve a couple or 3 times and then would quickly lose interest.......
Not all labs retrieve--depends much on it's lineage, too. Hobbs won't chase sticks and balls, but he'll chase a rabbit--must be the terrier mixed in. Haven't tried a Frisbee yet. We'll see what happens with that.
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