ok couple things... dont expect to much....
to teach a retrieve first never yell or scold your puppy for bringing you something no matter what it is... this is the mistake that most folks make... if it your dirty underwear your sock whatever... you need to praise praise praise... anytime your puppy brings you something you praise...
never chase your puppy for a game of keep away.... that behavior will continue forever and for a puppy its cute and fun.. it won't be when they are an adult with something dangerous so no keep away... my dogs know that I won't play that game so its a non issue at our house.. if you think your puppy is going to do that outside... then put a long line on him/her so you can reel him in... I tend to use a long line alot and let them drag it behind them so I can step on it if necessary.....
start with your retrieve in a small enclosed area... not outside... you might want to find a toy that you only play with for the retrieve... they sell small puppy bumpers ... eventually once your dog understands the game you can move to other things... but to start find one highly motivating toy....
go into the room... often a hallway with doors closed around it work great cause its narrow and there is no place to go that is not back to you sit on the floor and get your puppy all excited about the toy and toss the toy... a couple feet .... then send puppy to go and get it which he will.... then look down or slightly away from the puppy (looking straight on will discourage pup from bringing it back) so look slightly away and get all excited and call puppy back to you.... if puppy doesn't come back get the leash do the same thing but gently pull puppy back to you telling him how wonderful he is the whole time.... you can give a small treat if you want when you take the toy and do it again.... the puppy will learn that bringing the toy back gets the game started all over again....
do this for a while... when he consistently brings it back you can lengthen the distance... or take off the leash and work from there... but that is the start....
once the pup understands the game... and is consistent... then the game continues as long as he brings it back... as soon as he doesn't bring it back the game is over .....
i hope this helps...
s
The thanks button wasn't enough... I totally second this.
The only thing I would add is that when you are on your feet and standing tall, your puppy may be more inclined to look at you and go "AHA Come get me!!!!"
Make yourself REALLY inviting and FUN to come back to.
I started retrieve games with my guy when he was 8 weeks old.
1. I would toss a toy (cat toys were awesome for puppy mouths + puppies are obsessed with the crinkle balls and feather balls).
I would toss this toy down a hall where it was a straight path to the tossed toy and straight path back to me.
2. While I tossed the toy, Jacks was held at my side so he had to watch the toy go flying and land. Then I would send him with a "go get it".
3. As soon as he gets to the toy, I'm dropping with a loud THUD to the floor and getting down to his level. Even dropping my head down so he could eat my hair when he got back. This imitates the "play bow" behavior and at least with Jacks it had him galloping back as fast as his little puppy feet could carry him.
As soon as I was ready to take the toy, I would tell him "give" and give him a treat from my pocket in trade. The important thing is not grabbing the object right away. You want to build your dog's desire to come right back to you + make coming back to you the most awesome thing ever.
^^^ Over time, this turned into him returning to me and sitting with the toy before I asked for the give and trade the toy for a treat.
Meaning we got more formal with the retrieves over the next few months. At the beginning you are building your dog's desire to retrieve and return to hand, so you make it as fun as possible.
Ideally, you want your dog's retrieves to be SOLID and completely reliable before you start adding distractions and multiple retrieves. Or going out to other places to play.
If you are doing retrieves in class or public places before your dog is completely solid - keep the distances short and have a leash on your dog. You do not want him learning bad habits.
Never ask for a come or a retrieve if you are in doubt of your puppy coming back to you or bringing the object back. Once they pick up bad habits or learn that it's more fun to be chased by you or to go off somewhere to shred the toy, it's a pain fixing that.
