See Milton run. See Milton fetch.

[Heidi & Milton]

Growing up, my dog never fetched.  He dashed, grabbed, and ran.  He did not want to share his toy or ball with anyone.  When this occurs, your game of fetch is dead before it even begins.  Learning from my dog's poor example, we have been hard at work teaching the Milt to fetch.  Our goldendoodle has an abundance of energy, so we need the game to last for longer than just a few rounds.

In the fetch training, Jeff originally took charge and declared Milton's tennis balls strictly off limits unless we were in practice mode.  I gradually became more involved practicing with the Milt, and I can proudly say that I am now a major player in this endeavor.  So, how do we teach this centuries' old game?

Well, after we bought Milton, Jeff would oftentimes return home late from work with a new treat for our boy.  One night he showed up with a "clicker."  Thankfully, it was only a $1.49 purchase.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751377

A clicker allows you to "click" at the exact moment your dog does something right, so he knows what he has done well.  It really has been integral in our training.  First, we toss the tennis ball for Milt and yell, "Bring it!"  Why not, "Fetch!"?  For some odd reason I blanked on that word at the time.  Milton brings the ball back, and I automatically click the clicker and say, "Release.  Good bring."  It is important to give specific praise, "Good bring," instead of just, "Good boy," because he will begin to associate these exact words with fetch.

Ball hoarding

Next, I usually follow up the verbal praise with some form of treat, like a Milk-Bone or pieces of food if we plan to play for a while.  A word of caution is to not give your dog a treat on each and every return, or he will grow too conditioned to working for rewards.  Also, we always try to leave the game on a high note before Milton becomes bored, so he does not run off with the ball and us in fast pursuit.  Likewise, we do not leave his fetch toys in his toy box because we want them to be more exciting whenever he sees them.

Recently we discovered a creek within walking distance of our apartment that is ideal for some splashing and of course, fetch practice.  See the below YouTube video, or watch it more easily at www.goldilocksandherdoodle.com:

http://youtu.be/wJ1ydHCE0V8

Milton is progressing.  As you can see, he didn't really want to part with the ball in the above video.  He is not spot on just yet, but that is okay with us.  We don't pressure the Milt; it's a dog's life.

To read more about Milton, visit www.goldilocksandherdoodle.com

[Pat and Traveler]

Awww,,,Milt...you're a champ!

[Heidi & Milton]

Catch!  We have tried it a little bit but not much.  That will have to be next on our list.  Thank you for the idea!

[Gail and Bailey]

Wow, that looks like such fun!  What a wonderful creek to have so close to home!  Milt is doing great!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I was so lucky when I first got Sasha it was day #2 in my house and in the morning I rolled the ball into the kitchen from my living room which is straigh thru and she ran and got it and brought it back to me - I was like woooow.... you sure do have retriever in you. So of course I constantly did this with Sasha and she never wavered from the task. I threw and she retrieved !!! I consider myself lucky :) Good luck with Milt, he will get it :)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

He will probably figure it out, but not all dogs (even doodles) like retrieving. Peri will do it for hours. Literally....

[Bonnie and Kona]

The only dog we have owned who has figured out that fetch is a fun game that includes returning the ball to the thrower is Kona. Every other dog we have owned thinks the name of the game is Keep Away. It has everything to do with our poor training techniques. Kona just happens to be completely in tune with what we mean when we talk to him. As much as he enjoys fetching, he really loves to catch. Have you tried that yet? It doesn't provide as much exercise but tons of focus!