Object Retrieval 101 for Your Dog

Dogs can be taught to retrieve just about anything. Impress your friends by having your beagle bring you the remote while you are watching a football game.

Teaching your dog to retrieve is different than teaching them to play fetch. You want your dog to retrieve the object you want brought to you not the objects they wish to play with. You do not want your dog to think your remote or your slippers are play toys. To start training your dog to retrieve start with objects your dog is likely to be interested in. Use a variety of different objects and textures to train your dog to retrieve. To make your initial training sessions easier , use a number of different sized objects to see which ones illicit the most natural attention of your dog. As a general rule most dogs like to retrieve objects that fit easily into their mouths. Your dog will want to avoid objects at first that require him to smooch his nose against the floor to pick up. Good retrieval lesson training objects are terry cloth rags , small dolls( with no small parts) or a small Tupperware box shaped container.

You will not want to use a rubber bone or ball as this will confuse your dog and make him think you are playing a game of fetch. The more novel the object is that you train your dog to retrieve the better. It makes your dog more likely to retrieve odd shaped objects in the future.

Steps to teaching your dog to retrieve are simple. The key is to repeat the steps often in the same sequence with many different objects so your dog connects retrieving with your verbal command and not just a specific object. Place the object you wish the dog to retrieve a few feet in front of your dog. Your dog should be in a sitting position and focused on you and not the object. Encourage your dog to moved toward the object by gently moving the object and calling your dog towards it. When your dog comes near the object reward your dog with a positive voice and a small treat. Reward the dog again when they put the object in their mouth. Retrieve the object from the dog's mouth with the command ,"release" or "release it." Follow the same steps when the dog picks up the object again in their mouth. You can label the retrieval command when the dog picks up the object 'take it'.

Repeat this process increasing the distance of the initial placement of the object a little further from the dog each time. When you dog grasp the concept of retrieving you can drop the treats as the positive reinforcement of your voice will be enough to get most dogs to retrieve. Keep your training objects separate from your dog's other toys so the dog associates the objects with training sessions. Most dogs love to break the monotony of the day by having special training sessions with their owners that are apart from play.

Patience is a necessity when training your dog to do anything. If your dog is tired or distracted during a training session cut it short and put the retrieval object away for another day. This will cut down on frustration for you and your dog during training. Keep you attitude positive when training your dog to retrieve and you will get the retrieval reponse you are looking for. Teaching your dog to retrieve mail or newspapers takes special consideration. If you have a mail slot your dog may already be inclined to want to shred the mail when it is deposited. To stop this behavior , use junk mail or empty envelopes to train the dog to bring the mail off the floor only to you when you command it. This takes practice and you need to not mind the occasionally slobber covered letter.

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