Dog Training For Playing Fetch

If you own a dog and you love him very much, you may want to take some time to strengthen the relationship between you two. Playing is a great way of doing this. Especially playing fetch.

In order to play fetch with your dog, your dog needs to understand how the game is played. Not all dogs instinctively know how to play fetch. In this case, you'll need to train him to play fetch. Below, I explain in three easy steps how to do this.

1. To start with, your dog needs to learn to pay attention to the ball. If it isn't even paying attention to it, you can forget about the rest of the fetch play. You need to hold the ball in front of your dog's eyes and nose. Whenever he pays any attention to the ball, by sniffing it for example, you need to praise him. Keep this up long enough, and your dog will start paying more attention to the ball and follow it around.

2. After your doggy learns paying attention to the ball, he needs to learn to pick it up. Should your doggy pick up the ball all by himself, simply continue petting and praising him. If your doggy doesn't pick up the ball by himself, smear some peanut butter or meat paste on there. Then, every time he picks up the ball, continue praising him and give him a dog treat.

3. After your dog knows how to follow a ball and pick it up, it's time that he learns he needs to take it back to you and drop it. You can do this by throwing the ball ten feet away until your dog follows it and then picks it up. Now you call him and show him a dog treat in your hand. This will make him run back to you with the ball still in his mouth. He will probably drop the ball in order to make place for the dog treat.

After about a week of repeating these simple steps, you can try a few fetches out in the field. Take your dog into the yard or any other area with enough open space, and throw the ball a short distance away. If your dog has understood his fetch training, he will eventually chase the ball, pick it up and take it back to you. Every time he gets it right, praise him and give him a dog treat. Then, throw the ball a little further.

If you repeat this whole process often enough, your dog will learn to play fetch for sure. It's usually a matter of a few weeks. After a few weeks, your dog will have comprehended the whole game of playing fetch. From hereon, playing fetch becomes its own reward. You can still tell him is a good boy, but you won't have to stock up on dog treats anymore. You can save those to teach him another game in the future.

Dog owners all over the world know how fantastic it is to have a dog around the house. Dogs are very loyal creatures that are good company. If you love your dog, chances are you are always looking for ways to get closer to him. A good way of doing this is to play fetch with him. So follow these guidelines and teach your dog how to play with you!