The joke's on me!

[Java]

I've mentioned elsewhere that Boomer has a 3/4 fetch, that he drops the ball several feet (or yards) away and barks at me a lot. When I first got him, he thought fetch was run-away/chase him, he had zero recall, and he was incredibly mouthy (ow, ow, ow) if my hand got near the ball at the same time as his teeth. I also said I'd weep if he ever did a full fetch.

Ha! That faker!

It turns out he's VERY specific about what he'll retrieve completely. Boomer has standards - standards I failed to meet for the last 14 months. When there's a medium Chuckit ball and a launcher involved, Boomer brings the ball back to MY FEET. So far, he's batting a thousand.

Now that combo may sound ridiculously obvious to you but early on, he destroyed a Chuckit Zipflight and Chuckit Amphibious Bumper. Made me steer away from the rest of the Chuckit line which, of course, includes the Chuckit Ultra Ball. What have I been throwing instead? Oh, stuffies, a Kong Stuff-A-Ball, a Kong Safestix, Kong Wubba toys, frisbees (all kinds) and bumpers (various), and a lot of road hockey balls. So how, you might ask, did I happen to have a Chuckit ball yesterday in my Teach-Boomer-Fetch (trademark pending) kit? He found it earlier this summer during paddle boarding. Boomer spotted it in the water, jumped in and retrieved it. I didn't use it after that because I thought, Chuckit, bleh - better to stick to the tried and true road hockey ball, but yesterday I didn't have enough as backup and brought the Chuckit one along just in case.

After three Chuckit-sponsored fetch outings later, I can report Boomer runs way far away to get the ball, runs directly back and lays the ball gently AT MY FEET each time! Whenever I switched to the road hockey ball, he switched back to his classic 3/4 fetch & barkaroo. So back to the Chuckit ball we went. Even when he preferred to hang onto the ball, he flopped down AT MY FEET to chew, chew, chew. When he'd caught his breath and was ready to go again, he got to his feet, backed away a bit, looked at the ball intently and waited for me to throw it.

I can't even... I mean, seriously?

What else does he know how to do that I haven't figured out yet? Cook?

[Rosy]

What a great story I enjoy reading it. Thanks for sharing this.

[barry581]

Isn't it funny how they have their favorites!!

[tims229]

I personally use certain bumpers for training and other toys for play. When training I have a couple bumpers and leo is always on check cord so he learns that a full retrieve is the only option. Then I guide him to a heal position,then let him hold it for awhile before I take it with release command. Leo is young, so at this point training is short, but I'm very clear what I want while we "work".

[Java]

What a great story I enjoy reading it. Thanks for sharing this.

You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed the joke!

Isn't it funny how they have their favorites!!

I know! Boomer's the 2nd adult dog I've adopted. He came so beautifully crate-trained and wonderful in the kitchen (zero counter-surfing) that I couldn't understand how fetch and the recall were so bad! Sometimes I even wondered if he'd been trained in a different language. Or maybe I just don't know the right commands or "way" to ask him to do things. This particular thought drives me a bit nuts because what if he's an amazing retriever and I haven't a clue how to tap into that? Probably not though. I think.

I personally use certain bumpers for training and other toys for play. When training I have a couple bumpers and leo is always on check cord so he learns that a full retrieve is the only option. Then I guide him to a heal position,then let him hold it for awhile before I take it with release command. Leo is young, so at this point training is short, but I'm very clear what I want while we "work".

I want a solid fetch so I can have Boomer off-leash in the soccer fields nearby and at the dog beach. He's nine. I love his nutbar ways but I'm a little envious of you and everyone else here who are starting with a puppy. I suspect it's easier to train from puppyhood than it is to undo an adult dog's bad habit and replace it with a good one (but I only have one puppy-to-adult to compare with two adopted adult dogs). When you say you use a check cord, do you mean a long line to bring Leo to you if he looks like he's going astray? Right now, Boomer's playing fetch while wearing a light 20' line. This full fetch thing is too new for me to trust just yet.

[MySprockette]

He's got the same standards as Sprockette, when we played fetch, it could only be the Chuck it ball, nothing else. Now, we don't do a lot of fetch due to a bad knee, but in the pool at my mom's house, it's still all about the chuck it ball.