In This Chapter
- Discovering retrieving basics
- Retrieving with your help
- Retrieving on his own
- Retrieving with distractions
Many dogs like to retrieve, or at
least chase, a variety of objects. For them, it’s a self-rewarding activity.
They do it because they enjoy it. Some of them actually bring back the ball,
Frisbee, or stick just so you can throw it again. They continue so long as it’s
fun. When it’s no longer fun, they stop. They also retrieve only articles they
like. For example, your dog may happily retrieve a ball, but turn up his nose
when you want him to pick up a glove.
The well-trained dog has been
taught to retrieve and has learned to do it for you and not just himself. Of
course, he can have fun in the process, so long as he understands that it’s not
a matter of choice.
In this chapter we take you
through the necessary steps to make a reliable retriever out of Buddy. Most
dogs, of course, already know many of the different component behaviors of
retrieving, but few know them all. Even though Buddy may know how to retrieve,
you still need to go through the progressions of teaching him this exercise,
just to make sure he knows all of its parts.
Taking the Steps to Successful Retrieving
As a part of mastering how to
retrieve on command, your dog learns to take, as well as to give, an equally
important lesson. If it hasn’t happened to you already, it will. Buddy has
picked up something he thinks is edible, but which you don’t think is a
suitable dietary supplement. Having taught him to retrieve, you’ll be able to convince
him to give it up.
There is another practical side
to teaching your dog to retrieve. One of our students wanted her Golden
Retriever, Sunny, to bring in the morning paper, preferably in readable
condition. So we first had her teach Sunny the formal retrieve. We then told
her go out with Sunny, have him pick up the paper, bring it in the house, and
reward him with a dog biscuit.
It only took Sunny two
repetitions until he figured it out and from then on, every morning he
dutifully brought in the paper. After several days we got a frantic phone call.
It seems that Sunny was somewhat of an entrepreneur. In an effort to garner
more biscuits he started retrieving the neighbors’ papers as well. Fortunately,
that problem was easily fixed — a biscuit only for the first paper. When he
realized that, he stopped bringing home other papers.
The Retrieve sounds simple, but
it consists of many separate behaviors, some or all of which the dog has to
learn:
- Going to the object
- Picking it up
- Holding it
- Walking with and carrying the object
- Bringing it back
- Giving it up
Remember
For the dog that already retrieves on his own, teaching him to do it on command is a cinch. For those dogs who don’t, you need to have a little more patience. Your dog’s ability to learn to retrieve depends on what your dog was bred to do and how many prey drive behaviors he has (see Chapter Understanding Your Dog’s Mind).
The object we use for the Formal
Retrieve is a wooden dumbbell. You can buy one at your local pet store or
through catalogs. You need to get one that is commensurate to the size of your
dog and the shape of his mouth. You want the bells to be big enough so your dog
can pick it up off the ground without scraping his chin, and the diameter of
the bar thick enough so he can comfortably carry it. The bar’s length should be
such that the bells just touch the sides of his face.
You can also purchase plastic
dumbbells; they last a lot longer than wooden ones. In the teaching process,
however, we have found that dogs take more readily to wooden dumbbells than to
plastic ones.
To get started, you need the
following equipment:
- Enthusiastic handler
- Hungry dog
- Small can of cat food
- Metal spoon
- Wooden dumbbell
- Chair
Tip
For some reason dogs can’t resist cat food; it works well as a reward. Because many dogs aren’t fond of retrieving metal objects, use a metal spoon to get them used to the feel of metal. We also let Buddy lick out and play with the empty can.
Retrieving on command
Although many dogs retrieve a
variety of objects on their own, they don’t necessarily do so on command. To
teach them to retrieve on command we begin by creating an association with the
command and what we want the dog to do — take an object in his mouth. The one
object few dogs can resist is food, so that is how we start.
Tip
The ideal time to start teaching Buddy to retrieve is when he is hungry, before you feed him.
1. Place the food, spoon, and
dumbbell on a chair.
2. With Buddy sitting at your
left side, face the chair.
3. Put a small portion of food
on the spoon and offer it to him with the command “Take it!”
4. Give the command in an
excited and enthusiastic tone of voice to elicit prey drive behavior.
(Check out Chapter Understanding Your Dog’s Mind for information on the basic drive behaviors.)
5. Repeat this exercise ten
times or until Buddy readily opens his mouth to get the food.
Few dogs can resist this treat.
Introducing the object of retrieve
As soon as Buddy has an inkling
of what the command “Take it” means, you’re ready to introduce him to his
dumbbell. But going from food to a dumbbell is quite a transition, so you need
to be patient with him.
Remember
When you’re teaching Buddy any of the behaviors associated with retrieving, your body posture is important. You want to be at his right side without hovering or leaning over him because that posture would put him into defense drive when you want him in prey drive.
You now also need bite-sized
treats, such as TOTs (Training Opportunity Treats made by Kong [kongcompany.com]),
Bribery Bits (thedog8it.com), or liver treats. You may have to experiment with
different treats until you find one Buddy really likes. Put a dozen treats on
the chair, and you’re ready to start.
1. With Buddy sitting at your
left side, again facing the chair, put your left palm lightly on top of his
muzzle and place your left index finger behind his left canine tooth. (See
Figure 15-1.)
Figure 15-1: Gently opening
your dog’s mouth.
2. Gently open his mouth and
with your right hand place the dumbbell in his mouth with the command “Take
it.”
3. Rest the thumb of your
right hand on top of his muzzle, fingers under his chin, and cup his mouth
shut. (See Figure 15-2).
4. Praise enthusiastically,
immediately say, “Give,” and take the dumbbell out of his mouth.
Tip
Hold the dumbbell by the bell so you can easily put the bar in his mouth. After one second, take it out with “Give.”
Figure 15-2: Putting the dumbbell
in your dog’s mouth.
The goal of this progression is
for your dog to accept the dumbbell in his mouth voluntarily. It’s only an
introduction and you don’t want to close his mouth over the dumbbell for longer
than one second. When Buddy readily accepts the dumbbell consistently, you can
go on to the next sequence.
5. Reward with food.
6. Repeat this process ten
times each for five sessions.
When we teach one of our dogs to
retrieve, we practice this exercise once a day on consecutive days. If you’re
the ambitious type, you can practice more frequently, as long as your dog
remains interested and will actively work for the treat. What’s not a good idea
is to practice sporadically because your dog will forget what he has learned
during the last session and you basically have to start all over.
Helping your dog retrieve
After Buddy has become accustomed to having the dumbbell in his mouth, you’re ready to tackle the next step. The goal is for Buddy to take the dumbbell voluntarily in his mouth when you give the command.
1. Have Buddy sit at your left
side, have the chair with treats in place, and put two fingers of your left
hand through his collar, back to front, palm facing you, at the side of his
neck.
2. With your right hand, place
the bar of the dumbbell directly in front of his mouth, touching the small
whiskers.
3. Say, “Take it,” and when he
takes it, briefly cup his mouth shut and tell him how clever he is.
4. Say, “Give,” take out the
dumbbell, and reward with food.
At this point in the training, your dog may not yet take the dumbbell but will open his mouth. In that case, just put the dumbbell in, cup his mouth shut, and so on.
If he sits there like a bump on a
log, watch for signs of intention behavior. Intention behaviors are
those actions that tell you what the dog is thinking (see Chapter Recognizing
Why Dog Training Is Important). They
range from the subtle, such as bringing the whiskers forward, to the overt,
such as sniffing the dowel, licking his lips, or intently staring at the
dumbbell. Buddy is thinking about taking the dumbbell but isn’t quite sure he
can.
When you see intention behavior,
take your hand out of the collar, open his mouth, put the dumbbell in, and
briefly cup his mouth shut. Praise, remove the dumbbell from his mouth, and
reward with food. Repeat until Buddy readily opens his mouth and accepts the
dumbbell. Praising him while he has the dumbbell in his mouth is important.
Tip
Be patient. Sometimes it can take several minutes before the dog makes a move. If absolutely nothing happens and the little wheels have come to a grinding halt, review the preceding step five times and then try again. Some dogs appear to be particularly dense about taking the dumbbell voluntarily on command, but with enough repetitions, they’ll get it.
Learning to hold on
Before you proceed with the
retrieve part of this exercise, you need to teach Buddy what you want him to do
with the dumbbell after he has it in his mouth. You want him to hold the
dumbbell in his mouth and not spit it out before you give the “Give” command.
You may think this concept is obvious, but it’s not to Buddy until you teach it
to him.
Your goal is to have Buddy firmly
hold the dumbbell until you say “Give.”
1. Start in the usual
position, with Buddy at your left side and the treats on the chair.
2. Put the dumbbell into his
mouth and say, “Hold it.”
Keep the upper part of your body straight so you don’t hover or lean over him.
3. Make a fist with your right
hand and hold it under his chin. (See Figure 15-3.)
If you hold the palm of your hand
under his chin, Buddy may construe it as an invitation to spit out the
dumbbell.
Figure 15-3: Holding your hand
under the dog’s chin.
4. Smile and count to five.
5. Praise, remove the
dumbbell, and reward him with food.
6. Repeat 20 times, increasing
gradually the time you have him hold the dumbbell in 5-second increments up to
30 seconds.
If Buddy starts rolling the
dumbbell around in his mouth or looks as though he will open his mouth to spit
out the dumbbell, give him a gentle tap under the chin with “Hold it.”
Then remove the dumbbell with “Give,” praise, and reward.
Learning to reach for the retrieve
As soon as Buddy understands that
he has to hold the dumbbell, the next sequence is to teach him to reach for it.
1. With two fingers of your
left hand through his collar at the side of his neck, back to front, palm
facing you, hold his dumbbell two inches in front of his mouth.
2. Say, “Take it.”
3. If he does, cup his mouth
shut with “Hold it,” count to five, praise, remove dumbbell with “Give,” and
reward with food.
4. If he doesn’t take the
dumbbell, lightly twist his collar by rotating your left hand a quarter
of a turn toward you, which will bring his head forward and toward the
dumbbell, until he reaches for and takes it.
5. Cup his mouth shut with
“Hold it,” count to five, praise, remove the dumbbell with “Give,” and reward
with food.
Don’t twist his collar for more than 30 seconds or try to increase pressure more than a quarter of a turn.
6. Put the dumbbell in his
mouth, cup shut with “Hold it,” praise, remove, and reward.
7. Repeat until your dog
voluntarily reaches for and takes the dumbbell.
Increase the distance Buddy has to reach for the dumbbell in two-inch increments to arm’s length.
If your dog shows signs of
noticeable stress during this sequence, the following will happen:
- If he is a negative stresser, he’ll clamp his mouth shut and turn inward when you apply pressure on the collar. Pressure on the collar won’t make him open his mouth. Stop, put the dumbbell in his mouth, praise, reward, and try again.
- If he stresses positively, he’ll try different behaviors, one of which will be to grab the dumbbell, at which point you praise and reward.
Walking after retrieving
The next step in the retrieve
progressions is teaching Buddy to hold onto the dumbbell while walking with it
in his mouth. Okay, you’re probably saying to yourself, “For Pete’s sake, is
all this really necessary?” The answer? It depends on the dog. At this point in
the training, the majority of dogs understand the concept and are perfectly
able to hold the dumbbell in their mouths and walk at the same time.
(Hey, even some people have difficulty walking and chewing gum at the same
time, so give your dog a break.) If your dog does it, you can skip this step.
Still, we’ve seen dogs, including some of our own, that couldn’t make this
transition and had to be taught. So when we devised this approach to teaching
retrieving, we included the walking-while-holding sequence just to make sure
that all eventualities are covered.
1. With Buddy sitting at your
left side, facing the chair with the treats on it from about six feet away, put
the dumbbell in his mouth with “Take it,” followed by “Hold it.”
Encourage him to walk toward the chair.
2. To give Buddy confidence,
put your right hand under his chin when he starts to move.
3. When he gets to the chair,
praise, remove the dumbbell, and reward him.
4. Repeat until Buddy walks
with the dumbbell without you holding your hand under his chin.
Then gradually increase the distance to 20 steps in 5-step increments.
Teaching the pick-up
You and Buddy have arrived at the
final progression of teaching him to retrieve — the pick-up. Resist the
temptation to just throw the dumbbell and expect Buddy to pick it up and bring
it back. He may actually do it, but he also may not. He may just chase it and
then stand over it, not knowing what to do next. In the long run, make sure
that he knows what you expect by teaching him.
1. Have Buddy sit at your left
side and place the chair with the treats on it behind you.
2. With your fingers in his
collar, hold the dumbbell about two inches from Buddy’s mouth and say “Take
it.”
3. When he does, praise
enthusiastically, say “Give,” remove the dumbbell from his mouth, and reward
him with a treat.
Your goal is to lower the dumbbell in two-inch increments toward the ground and have Buddy retrieve it from your hand.
4. When you get to the ground,
place the bell of the dumbbell on the ground and hold it at a 45-degree angle.
5. Say, “Take it,” and
when Buddy takes the dumbbell, take your hand out of the collar, say, “Hold
it,” and back up two steps.
He’ll quickly come to you to get his reward.
6. Praise, remove, and reward.
7. Repeat until he is
comfortable picking up the dumbbell with you holding it at that angle.
8. Place the dumbbell on the
ground but keep your hand on it.
9. Have Buddy retrieve the
dumbbell several times while you have your hand on it.
10. Hold your hand first 2
inches, and then 6 inches, and then 12 inches away from the dumbbell until you
can place it on the ground and stand up straight.
11. Each time he retrieves the
dumbbell, back up several steps, praise, remove, and reward.
12. If your dog doesn’t pick
up the dumbbell from the ground, lightly twist the collar until he picks it up.
If this sequence becomes an issue and your dog continues to refuse to take the dumbbell, review the prior progressions. Make sure that you followed them religiously and that your dog has mastered each progression before you went on to the next.
13. Say, “Stay,” and place the
dumbbell one foot in front of your dog.
14. Say, “Take it,” and when
he brings it back, praise, remove, and reward.
15. Repeat by first placing it
three feet and then six feet in front of your dog.
Your dog will tell you how many
times in a row you can ask him to retrieve. If he has many prey drive
behaviors, you can get in quite a few repetitions. If not, he’ll quickly lose
enthusiasm. You’re better off stopping after five repetitions and picking the
game up again at the next session.
Remember
For the dog, picking up a dumbbell that you placed on the ground isn’t terribly exciting, and if it weren’t for the reward, it would be an absolute bore. Still, this sequence is necessary because you want your dog to learn he has to do it for you and not for himself.
Chasing to retrieve
Sometimes dogs get carried away
by the fun of it all and don’t come right back with the dumbbell. They might
make a detour, or just run around for the joy of it. If that happens, say,
“Come,” as soon as he picks up the dumbbell, and praise and reward him when he
gets back to you.
Gradually increase the distance
the dumbbell is thrown. As he gains confidence, introduce the Sit in front with
“Hold it.” When he gets back to you say, “Sit” and “Hold it.” Because he hasn’t
done this task before, you may have to hold your hand under his chin to prevent
him from dropping the dumbbell. Praise, remove, and reward. From now on make
him sit and hold the dumbbell every time he gets back to you.
Testing your dog’s patience
Buddy also has to learn to stay
while you throw the dumbbell and until he is permitted to get it. Making him
wait gets him all the more excited about getting to his dumbbell. Trying to
teach your dog patience is almost like teaching your two-year-old child
patience, but you can do it. Just follow these steps:
1. Start with Buddy at your
left side.
2. Put two fingers of your
left hand through his collar, say, “Stay,” and throw the dumbbell about 15 feet.
3. Very, very gingerly let go
of his collar, count to five and say, “Take it.”
4. When he returns, praise,
remove, and reward.
5. Repeat until your dog holds
the Stay without having to hold him by the collar.
Tip
Remember to give the command in an excited and enthusiastic tone of voice to put the dog into prey drive. Never use a harsh or threatening tone of voice because your tone of voice may put the dog in the wrong drive and make it more difficult for him to learn. If at anytime your dog needs motivation, throw the dumbbell at the same time as you say, “Take it,” letting him chase after it.
Congratulations. You now have a
dog that retrieves on command — at least a dumbbell. To play the game of fetch,
however, most people probably use a Frisbee, a ball, or a stick. Few dogs have
any difficulty making the transition from the dumbbell to one of these objects.
Usually, it’s the other way around. The dog will happily retrieve a ball but
will turn his nose up at the dumbbell.
You can also use the “Retrieve”
command to have Buddy bring in the newspaper, carry his leash, and — size
permitting — carry your handbag. We taught one of our dogs to open the
refrigerator door and retrieve a can of pop. Unfortunately, we were unable to
teach the dog to close the fridge door and had to abandon that trick.
Retrieving with Distractions
After Buddy knows how to
retrieve, he’s ready for distraction training.
Introduce your dog to
distractions as follows:
1. The distracter stands about
two feet from the dumbbell.
He assumes a friendly posture, not threatening to the dog.
2. Send Buddy and as soon as
he picks up the dumbbell, enthusiastically praise.
Look at the exercise as having been completed as soon as your dog picks up his dumbbell.
3. As the dog gains
confidence, have the distracter stand a little closer, and then over the
dumbbell.
The distracter also hides the dumbbell by standing directly in front of it with his back to the dog, and then lightly puts his foot on it. You can use a chair as a distraction by putting the dumbbell under the chair and then on the chair.
During distraction training, you
see the following responses, or variations thereof:
- He starts going toward the dumbbell but then backs off and fails to retrieve, meaning, “I don’t have the confidence to get close enough to the distracter to retrieve my dumbbell.”
Remedy: Without saying anything, slowly approach him, put two fingers of your left hand through the collar, back to front, palm facing you, at the side of his neck and take him to the dumbbell. If he picks up the dumbbell, praise, remove the dumbbell and reward; if he doesn’t, put the dumbbell in his mouth, and then praise, remove, and reward. Don’t repeat the command.
Try again. Remember your dog’s learning style and how many repetitions it takes before he understands. You may find that you have to help him several times before he has the confidence that he can do it by himself. As soon as he has done it on his own, stop for that session.
- He leaves altogether and doesn’t retrieve, saying, in effect, “I can’t cope with this.”
Remedy: Same.
- He does nothing, meaning, “If I don’t do anything, maybe all of this will go away.”
Remedy: Same.
- He permits himself to be distracted, meaning, “I would rather visit than retrieve my dumbbell.”
Remedy: Same.
- He takes the dumbbell to the distracter.
Remedy: Slowly approach your dog without saying anything, put the leash on the dead ring of the training collar and, with a little tension on the collar, show him exactly what he was supposed to do by guiding him to you. No extra command is given.
- He anticipates the Retrieve, meaning he is catching on and wants to show you how clever he is.
Remedy: Without saying anything, slowly approach him, take the dumbbell out of his mouth, put it down where he picked it up, go back to the starting point and then send him. Whatever you do, don’t shout “no,” or do anything else that would discourage him from retrieving after you have just worked so hard to get him to pick up the dumbbell.
- He does it correctly and that is when you stop for that session.
Continue to use food rewards for
Buddy on a random basis, that is, not every time, and not in a predictable
pattern but often enough to maintain his motivation.
When your dog confidently
retrieves under these circumstances, introduce the next level of distractions.
The distracter crouches close to the dumbbell and tries to distract him by
saying “here puppy, come visit for some petting.” The distracter doesn’t use
your dog’s name.
After Buddy has successfully
worked his way through that level, favorite object distractions are added, such
as offering the dog food or a ball or toy. Of course, the distracter never lets
the dog have the food.
Technical Stuff
Distractions add an extra dimension and take training to a higher level. Distraction training builds your dog’s confidence and teaches him to concentrate on what he is doing. This type of training is especially important for the shy dog, providing the confidence he needs to respond correctly under different conditions.
During distraction training, keep in mind that anytime you change the complexity of the exercise, it becomes a new exercise for the dog. If Buddy goes for the food, you would treat his response the same way you did when you first introduced him to distraction training. No, your dog isn’t defiant, stubborn, or stupid, just confused as to what he should do and has to be helped again.
You’re now ready to work with
different objects. When you do, you may have to review the first few sequences.
Just because Buddy retrieves one object doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll retrieve
others. He may need to get used to them first.
By challenging Buddy to use his
head, you can increase the strength of his responses and increase his
confidence in his ability to perform under almost all conditions.
Remember
When using distraction training, giving Buddy a chance to work it out for himself is important. Don’t be too quick to try and help him. Be patient, and let him try to figure out on his own how to do it correctly. After he does, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the intensity and reliability with which he responds.by Jack and Wendy Volhard
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