Help! My Kiddoodle Will Not Fetch

[Barbie]

So, I go outside with the kiddos today and throw the tennis ball. Zeus excitedly runs after it, takes a nose dive at it, sniffs it, then races back to me – yes, without the ball. I tried repeatedly, to no avail. I know the ball is not too big to fit in his mouth because he carries it around inside the house and plays with it by himself. What can I do to show him he’s supposed to pick it up and bring it to me? At this point, I’d just be happy if he’d pick it up.

BTW, Hercules is not a good teacher on this. He’ll go get the ball for sure, but he won’t give it back.

[Jane Smith]

My husband feels jipped.  He wanted a dog that fetched and our girls are lacking the Retriever gene.  He keeps trying though.

[Barbie]

Ha-ha, and you have Goldens. That's so weird. Your poor hubby. Zeus has no Retriever in him (1/2 SP and 1/2 Chow), but from his appearance, he tends to have more of the Poodle genes. There's probably more Chow in him than I think. He was the only one out of the litter of 5 pups that had a spotted tongue.