Can you direct me please?

[George]

Good evening. I'm a newbie here. I have a 6 yo Black Lab that is a family pet. He comes from a working line, but his job with us has been to be loved and spoiled. I know it's late to start working with him to be a "retriever", but he has the instincts and I'm just doing this for exercise with him. I'm using two of the throwing sticks with the rope attached, playing fetch, but half the time he stops 30 feet short of bringing the stick back to me. I don't mind the exercise, but having a knee replaced 2 years ago and back surgery last month, I'd like to get him to come back to me if possible. Any ideas?

[Labradorks]

Try running away so he come after you or trading him for food. When you get it don't get all grabby. Give him praise, take it, throw it again. Teach him that bringing it to you is a good thing.

[swanska]

When I first started fetch with my dog, I did it in the house: I sat on the couch and just threw a soft toy a few feet -- called him ("Bring it, Bring it") and rewarded with treats, pets and excited praise when he returned with the ball. As his success grew so did the distance -- bounced the toys off the walls so they went down the hallway to the kitchen. Then we moved outside so that we could do further throws.

Because he is good for only about 5 outside fetches (his boredom), I have termed Shadow a Labrador Non-Retriever unless we are near water. Then he puts on his superdog fur and turns into "Labrador Retriever Dog" -- the ultimate non-stop fetcher on both land and water -- he gets the zoomies while fetching and either races along the shore or over land with the toy so he never gets bored.

Hope you are recovering well from your recent surgery. Couch fetch is nice because it nice because it is several tosses done during a short period time with lots of rewards and you can rest your back.

[Snowshoe]

That's pretty similar to what my boy was doing when we were working with a local hunter/field trialer. Lots force fetch their dog, send them away to a trainer but this guy didn't like it. I found North/South fetch on a UK gundog site and this is what they did:

Snowshoe's Album: North/South Fetch

[BaconsMom]

That sounds like your dog has hit a wall. That comes from too much throwing to a certain distance. I would post this in the Hunting section. Also, if you can talk with Irishwistler he is a trainer and has a lot of experience in this area.

[George]

Thank you all for your input. We started in the house with treats when he was just a pup. He did really well. We graduated to "real" sticks outside, which worked well. Once I mistakenly bounced one into the woods behind the house. He retrieved a dead ten foot tree. We did "North and South" with the "chuck it" balls for the last several years. I found I'd have to holler "drop" when he was 30 feet out, on the retrieve, because he anticipated the opposite throw, charged past me, and half the time I'd end up walking 30-40 feet in second direction to get the ball. Jake is a 96 pounder and sometimes he'd inadvertently hit the ball with his chest and he'd knock the retrieved ball further than I threw the second.

As we're both getting older, I was trying to find a more controlled way to exercise him where I'm not running all over the place and he gets a break in between balls. When he was 2-3 he could play "North and South" for 45 minutes. Now at 6 after being sedentary for three months while I get over the back surgery, maybe 20, that's why I went to the throwing sticks with the rope attached.

I'll give the walking away and only using one stick at a time try and then try some more suggestions. Thanks again for the responses!

[POPTOP]

You've been given some excellent suggestions. Wanted to hop on and say Hello and Welcome.

Would love to see some pictures.

[barry581]

Welcome to the board. Personally I'd put him on a long line to you can enforce the recall. The issue you're going to have to face is he's an older dog, and will get bored after a few retrieves. You mentioned you are throwing sticks. Please tell me you aren't throwing real wooden tree branch type sticks. These can cause horrible injuries, possibly death, as they can get rammed into the dogs mouth and down their throats. Go and get some regular bumpers, chuck it balls, kong wubbas, or even Dokken ducks for him to retrieve.

[soberbyker]

[SCLAB]

Welcome