fetching

Question
I have a 3 yr old female standard poodle.  She is very obedient and loving and I have gone through Delta Society training with her and for the past year we have been visiting nursing homes and hospice patients.  She is great at this, and extremely well behaved and smart.  I will be starting to do therapy work with her in a pediatric therapy clinic.  I would like to have her fetch things, but this dog has absolutely no interest in fetching.  She just doesn't seem to connect.  I can throw something and she will go to it and pick it up, but just leaves it there when I call her back to me.  I have used treats (she is food motivated) I have tried everything.  I can tell her to "go get the monkey" which is the toy we use to teach fetching.  She will happily run after it, then lay down on it to chew it a little, but then will just leave it and come to me when I try to get her to fetch it.  I don't use her normal recall command..I use "bring it".  It is just like she doesn't get it...or she just doesn't really want to do it.  She does love to play keep away with the other dogs...but we don't do that with her.  Is she just not a good candidate for teaching this particular trick?  She is a wonderful, wonderful dog in all other respects.  Thanks for any suggestions.  Sincerely,  Arriss

Answer
Just wanted to say that if you ever want to swap Poodle Tails or Pics etc, you can contact me at MsTopkdog@yahoo.com  Like I said, I love Std Poodles and nothing makes me happier than sharing Poo News with another Poodle Lover.



Hello Arriss,
Sounds like a Wonderful Std Poodle girl to me.  I have a wonderful male Red Std that does the Therapy work and he just loves it.  Goes around to each person, gives them a bit of love, then moves on to the next person.  He also loves hugs from children.  I just love the Std Poodle breed :)

As for teaching your dog to fetch toys for you, don't throw the toy very far from you at first.  Get her excited over the toy, wave it in her face, act like you are going to give it to her then hide it behind your back, whatever you can do to get her to want it SOOOO bad.  When she is very excited toss it a couple of feet away and as soon as its in her mouth, call her to you. You can even put a leash on her so you can reel her in when she gets it if it won't make her drop it. Make it a very fun experience, but don't say anything if she drops it.  Just go through the motions again and try to encourage her to bring it to you.  As soon as she does, even if she just turns around and drops it in your lap, give her a treat and lots of praise.  When she goes to get it but doesn't bring it back, don't say anything to her but go over and pick up the toy again.  Get her excited over it again and throw it.  Repeat until she gets the idea that you will give her no reaction if she doesn't bring it back, but you will go crazy with food, pats and praise when she gives it back.    

You can also teach her to *"Take It", *"Hold It".  This teaches her to take something when you tell her to even if she doesn't want to.  With this, start with something easy for her to hold such as a piece of tubing, paper towel core, rolled up sock or a dog dumbbell.  Place it in her mouth and tell her "Take It".  Tell her "Hold It" and have her hold it for about 5 sec. then tell her to *"Give".  If she doesn't give it to you, TAKE it out of her mouth then praise.  If she drops the object before you ask her to "Give", put it back in her mouth and repeat the commands.  Continue until she will start to take it without you making her take it.  When she will take it good when it is in front of her mouth (don't rush this stage, let her take as long as she needs) you can move the object a few inches from her mouth.  Encourage her to move forward to take it.  Big praise when she does.  Keep moving the toy further away from her making her have to move to take it.  You will also want to move it closer to the ground as you move it away from her so that she learns to eventually pick it up off the ground when you tell her "Take It".  
When she will take it off the ground or will at least take a couple of steps to reach out and grab it, you can move on to having her hold it while she is sitting, walking, or on a stay.  This is where the "Hold It" command comes in handy.  If she drops it, put it back in her mouth (telling her "Take It, "Hold It") and if needed, you can hold your hand under her mouth.  You want to get to the point that you can point to anything and tell her to "Take It" and she will reach down and grab it, carry it around, or do a stay command with the object in her mouth.  
* Commands with () around them are just the commands I use, feel free to make up or use your own commands as you see fit.
PLEASE DON'T RUSH HER WITH THIS COMMAND.  YOU CAN TURN THEM AGAINST WANTING TO RETRIEVE AT ALL IF YOU MOVE TOO QUICKLY.
With time and patience, she will surely become a great retriever.  Poodles are a natural at retrieving and love to please.  

I hope this has helped you some.  If you have other questions or need more info, please feel free to ask me.  

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim