Can't get Mason to fetch, he'd rather chew the ball than bring it back!

Hi there this is Mason my 7 month old Staffy, he's great in every way but one thing I can't get him to do is play fetch! He retrieves the ball no problem then he starts running back to me but when he gets close he rears off to the side to lie down and chew the ball & whenever I get close he runs away again and lies down again to chew the ball again. I've tried the usual techniques e.g offering him a treat for bringing it back which doesnt work or taking 2 balls to play with but he's not interested in the other ball if he already has one I'm hoping that its because he is teething and he just loves chewing and when he gets older it will stop but any advice would be great! Thanks in advance

I know that well !! Daisy is getter better at it now so I'd just persevere, not all dogs like playing fetch

Darcy is a bit like this too, lots of patience is required

I'm not much help, I'm afraid because Dempsey doesn't do 'fetch'!

Have you tried doing some training at home first? You could start by getting him to sit in front of you, on lead, and give him the ball (or whatever you want to use) saying "Fetch", then take it back saying "Leave" and give him a treat. Build up the amount of time he's allowed to hold it, but don't let him move away.

Once he'll hold the ball for a minute, try again, but this time step back a pace once he's holding it & say "Fetch" and pull him gently towards you. Then "Leave" & take it. Once he has that off pat, you can step back two steps & build it up. The trick then is to use a long lead outside & start all over again!

By the way, I don't think Mason will be teething - he should have got all his adult teeth a couple of months ago!

Moo loves a game of fetch! Always has so not much help

Some dogs just don't like fetch. I taught Loki to play fetch, but it was a very long-winded approach, so probably no use. I taught him to identify a certain toy (a toy stick), so I'd tell him to get the stick and he'd pick it up, then I'd hold out a treat and call him back to me. He kept dropping the stick, but I kept repeating it and he eventually brought it back and got a yummy treat. Then eventually he learnt to bring back all his toys, not just the stick. Not that it works 100% but he enjoys it.

No help here either Steffi does not fetch

No fetch training expert, and no idea if it was the technique or just sheer luck that I managed to teach this one but here is what we did

I taught 'drop it' first with his toys while we were playing inside, then I started throwing the toys a short distance and getting him to bring them back to his bed and drop them before I threw them again (made use of the nightly 'mad' half hour to do this) .. once he got the hang of that we moved outside and started doing the same, increasing the distance I threw the toy each time and giving a treat/lots of big pats when he brought it back (even if it wan't quite all the way back at first). I ignored him if he didn't return with it, and when he got bored and walked away I would go and retrieve the ball and start again

We do have designated 'fetch toys' that are only used when we are playing fetch and aren't for general play/chewing - I always 'get excited' when I get them out and he runs outside to the grass when sees them now. I don't chase him when he has a toy I want back (he just thinks that is the best game in the world ), I just find something more interesting to give my attention to and he usually gives up pretty quickly to come and see what I am doing.

Doesn't work every time, though he is getting more and more consistent and playing for longer each time we do it.

Hope you find something in there that helps Good luck!

No help here either I'm afraid, my two love "catch" but don't do the bringing back part either

Bacchus loves to have his favourite throw toy launched as far as possible but never brings it all the way back. I always have to go a short distance towards him to get it. Sometimes he will walk away when I approach him and in that scenario I NEVER go after him as that turns it into a game of chase which one can never win. Funnily enough when we play fetch in the house he WILL bring it back and even pester me with it. I also find that if any of his friends are around there is no way he will " give ". It's as though he is afraid the other dog will get it.

I can't help either. Suki will chase after things but won't bring them back

Thanks for all the advice, I guess the main problem is tha he is more toy motivated than food motivated so he would rather chew a ball than get a treat for giving it back to me and he doesnt really have a favorite toy either as long as he has a toy that becomes his favorite for the time being

Lol im not much help either ... i throw the ball jenson runs after it then once he gets to it he runs the other way and leaves the ball where it is lol ive tried with sticks .. now he runs for those picks it up for about 10 secs then drops it and does somthing else

Heyy, Blue sometimes does something similar where he lies down and starts chewing the stick/ball. as a kind of preventative measure as hes coming at me I back away so he tends to run all the way up to me ( i guess so i don't get away).

also try a long training line so you can reel him in (hopefully he will only need a little tug to remind him to return), this is a good way of ensuring he allways comes back to a command as it makes it easier to get the timing right.

My girl does that sorry im no help, ive yet to teach her.

GJN wrote:Thanks for all the advice, I guess the main problem is tha he is more toy motivated than food motivated so he would rather chew a ball than get a treat for giving it back to me and he doesnt really have a favorite toy either as long as he has a toy that becomes his favorite for the time being

Start off with a toy that you think is the least valuable to him, the least fun to play with, then use a new toy, one he hasn't seen before or one he doesn't often play with, to bring him back. Worth a try

Our instructor gave us a tube with a pop off top and what you do is you put treats inside it and then ask the dog to get it and bring it back and give it to you once they have done this you open up the tube and give them a treat... I thought it was brilliant idea to teach them to pick it up and give but the only problem was that the tube was no match for Otis' jaws lol!

We have been given another one to try now, hopefully this one will last longer!!