Training Your Dog To Play Fetch

So you’re the proud owner of a dog and you love him to death. Now you want to play with him in order to strengthen the bond between you two. What better way than to play fetch with your dog?

Some dogs know instinctively how to play fetch. Other dogs need to be taught. Luckily, dog training for playing fetch is a fairly simple process. You need to stick to a few simple guidelines for a couple of weeks. The three simple guidelines are listed below.

1. Your dog needs to pay attention to a ball that you want him to fetch. After all, if he’s not paying attention, he’ll never chase after it. In order to teach your doggy to become interested in a ball, praise him whenever he sniffs it or pays attention to it in any way. The objective is to teach your dog he will get a reward every time he follows the ball.

2. As soon as your dog has learned to show interest in the ball, it’s time to move on to the next step in his training. Now, he must learn to pick up the ball in his mouth. He might even do this all by himself. If he does not, then you will need to teach him this as well. You can do this by smearing some meat paste on the ball. This will make the ball a little more enticing for your dog. Once he picks it up, praise him and feed him a dog treat. Your doggy will learn to pick up the ball this way.

3. Now that your dog has learned to chase and pick up the ball, he needs to bring it back and then let it go. Throw the ball away until your dog follows it and then picks it up. Now you can lure him back to you by waving a dog treat around. Once he comes back to you, he will likely drop the ball so he can have his treat.

Once you have gone through this simple process a few times, you can do some tests to see if your doggy has gotten it. Toss the ball a short distance away and order your dog to fetch it. Keep increasing the distance with every time you toss the ball away. Once he gets it right, praise him and give him a dog treat.

If you stick to these simple training steps, your doggy should learn to play fetch in a matter of days or weeks. In time, your doggy will likely gain a better understanding of what playing fetch is all about. The game then becomes its own reward and you won’t have to stock up on dog treats anymore.

Everybody knows that a dog is a man’s best friend. They’re great companions and they will always show you unconditional love. Make sure you return the favor by teaching them how to play with you. There’s nothing better than playing with your dog to increase the quality of the relationship you have with him!

Tagged with: dog • Dog Training • Dogs • pet • puppy • puppy training

Filed under: Dogs

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