8 month old pup lost interest in retrieving

Question
Our 8 month old pup use to retrieve balls, dummies, toys but lately has lost interest in retrieving anything. She still carries things in her mouth constantly, but won't chase and retrieve anything right now.  What can we do?

Answer
That isn't typical. Is it possible she has a vision problem?  Try moving your hand in front of her face and see if her eyes track it.  You may need to hold a treat in it.  If her eyes don't follow it, have the vet check her.  Dogs cope well with blindness, and she could be hiding it.  

If her vision seems to be OK, start with something attractive, perhaps a tennis ball.  I wouldn't allow a Lab to have a tennis ball unsupervised.  Play with it yourself, bouncing it and catching and acting excited to show her you value it.  Ignore her and focus on the ball.  Perhaps even play catch with somebody else or bounce the ball off a wall.  I spend 4 nights a week right behind the backstop keeping score at the local youth baseball.  My 9 month old Golden is very excited every time the catcher comes scrambling back after a passed ball or foul.  Treat the ball like the catcher does with a man on third.  In that league, I think more runs score on passed balls than anything else.  She should develop a great interest in the ball in response to yours and resume retrieving things.  Be sure and praise her for any improvement.