How to Train Your Dog to Retrieve His Toy

My dream as a young boy was to get a dog that retrieved, yet when I got my first dog, she wouldn't retrieve anything. The problem that I was experiencing was that my dog was interested in the toy, but her enthusiasm would fade immediately after I threw it. So I finally had enough, and started to research how to train my dog to retrieve, and I've found the answer!

Here is exactly how I've taught my dog to retrieve:

=> The first thing that you want to do before you attempt any type of training is to get your dog a toy that he absolutely loves. There are dozens upon dozens of different types of toys being sold on the market and in pet stores. Your dog will most likely prefer one type of toy over all of the others. Think about what type of toy your dog loves the most. Does he prefer squeaky toys, fuzzy toys or rubber toys? By choosing a toy that your dog loves, he will be much more enthusiastic to retrieving it.

=> Once you've gotten your dog a toy that he loves, you will need to associate massive pleasure to playing with it. You can achieve this by praising him with high energy whenever he plays with the toy. But in order to create a meaningful association, your level of energy and enthusiasm must be through the roof. By doing this, your dog will see his toy as something that makes you happy and interact with him and he will want to play with it more each day that goes by.

=> The final piece of the puzzle is to train your dog to retrieve. The best way to do this is by rewarding your dog for partially retrieving his toy. That's right! You don't need to wait until your dog actually retrieves the toy before you can reward him. Start by rewarding your dog for biting and picking up the toy. Then as your dog becomes more enthusiastic about picking up his toy, wait until he walks with it. Then as your dog learns what is required of him, encourage him to walk over to you with the toy. Once he's accomplished this, give him a big jackpot of four to five treats in a row.

To summarize, the goal is to create a positive association to retrieving. This is accomplished by your dog feeling your enthusiasm and getting yummy treats. The only way your dog will ever retrieve anything for you is when he thinks that it will be pleasurable to do so.

This method has proven to work with my dogs and my friend's dogs. Remember to be persistent, cheerful and enthusiastic when training your dog to retrieve.

Practice this with your dog every day, and sometimes several times a day. This will work as long as you keep practicing it! I hope you will have lots of fun with your dog and that you teach him to retrieve lots of different toys.