Fetch?

[Phoebe's Mom]

I have failed Phoebe. My doodle is fetch-impaired. I naively thought that my doodle would be innately able to fetch. I soon Iearned the error of my thinking and started about to teach my Phoebe to fetch with yummy treats as the reward. Did anyone ever mention how smart our doodles are (ha!). Phoebe learned from the get-go that I had those treats and it would be really silly of her to pursue that ball/Frisbee/other airborne object when I had the treats in my pocket. I mean, seriously, what if I dropped one and she missed it while she was 'fetching?' Adding insult to injury, not only to we live in a fishbowl with our backyards abutting each other but our neighbor has an uber-trained lab (hunting fanatic). The dog is trained on voice command, whistle and SIGN commands. I mean, really now, it is disgusting (I am so envious!!!). His owner cracks up when he watches Phoebe and I play 'dog fetches, lays down, owner cajoles, dog ignores, owner gets exasperated, goes to dog and dog runs away." You should all try that game, burns tons of calories.

I know I failed her. I need to bite the bullet and come up with another strategy. Any ideas? On the upside, Phoebe is having a blast and getting lots of good running time in but I want a pup who can fetch. I need a trainer...for me...I promise I will work on this because we all don't want that lab (I think I heard him chuckling, too) to be the only doggie on the block who can retrieve!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Uh, Ned and Phoebe must have spoken.... Ned does not fetch. Ned does not catch treats in his mouth.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This is really funny. Guinness will run and get the ball, but then he takes it and hides (so his brother doesn't take it away). Murph is pretty good at this. He does his best to catch it in his mouth, and often does if not too far away. He'll bring it back and stand in front of me. I ignore him completely, and then he'll drop it. He'd rather I play the game by chasing him and trying to get it out of his mouth, but I wasn't "born yesterday".

[Carol and Banjo]

Oh that's the funniest post!! LOL! Look at it this way....you're getting wonderful exercise! Banjo loves to chase and catch the ball and will most often bring it back...but he doesn't like to let it go....SOOOOO.....now we use TWO balls.....I hold on to one, toss the other...when he retrieves it and brings it to me I throw the other ball...he drops what's in his mouth and runs for the "new" ball....it sort of works..most of the time. : )

[Linda and "Toby"]

Well we certainly can't have the neighbor's dog snickering at Phoebe! Maybe you could start by throwing the treats instead of the ball? Of course, getting her to bring them would be impossible, but at least it will get her started on running after an object. (lol)

[Adina P]

None of my dogs have been natural retrievers...you know the kind that are born to go get balls and bring them back TO YOU (vs. drop them half way back, stop and chew on the ball, or end up chasing each other after one gets the ball).

The formal retrieve (the obedience version of fetch that may or may not be done for fun and games) can be taught to any dogs--including beagles! But even dogs who LIKE fetching need concerted work in this area. It's not an easy thing to teach...I would recommend the help of a trainer who can give you a very step by step plan to teach all the parts: picking up, holding in mouth, bringing to you, releasing the item in your hand. It can be complicated and tough to figure out where you're going astray without someone with experience guiding you.