I have not given up on having a dog that fetches. Since Marley refuses to retrieve tennis balls, I've decided to try something different. I got her a
Chewber and we started the following training regimen.
- I stored the Chewber in a container of kibble for about a month.
- I started to use it as a food bowl.
- After dinner I would hold it and ask her to "take it" and when she gently took it out of my hand I would praise her and give her a treat.
- I started to gently roll it about a foot and I would ask her to "get it."
- Once she figured out if she returned the Chewber she would be rewarded with a treat I started to gently throw it a couple of feet.
- As she became better at bringing it back I started to feel excited about my future disc dog.
Today, I decided to see if we could translate our Chewber success to our Hurl a Squirrel. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Marley was just as excited about bringing back the Hurl a Squirrel.
At this point I still need to try this in a different location and I need to start withholding some treats. I'm still not sure how to encourage her to focus on the toy and not on the treats.
I welcome any advice or suggestions.
Marley is warming up to this game. She seems to feel it is mean of me to make her retrieve something that is almost her size.
