What I find most interesting about training the wonderful board-and-train dogs and puppies who come through Love Wags A Tail board-and-train dog training is the variety of pet dogs whose owners love them to pieces. Some owners have clearly signed onto one breed and after the lifespan of their dog wanes, they grieve, and eventually find another puppy or rescue of the same breed to share their life with. Some owners find mixed breeds to their liking. So many things can fire up the attraction between human and the breed or special mix they fancy, but when they do find their match, it is love and devotion from both sides of the leash.
Some people find a particular breed fits into their lifestyles. Such as hunters who want a Lab trained to retrieve game on the hunt. Yet that same Labrador can provide another breed admirer years of affection and family enhancement without a single bit of hunting involved.
We love sharing our lives with dogs, and finding the right match makes this process enjoyable. No matter the breed, however, there is one thing all pet dogs, working dogs, hunting dogs, etc. need, and that is training. Dogs of any breed or mixture still have to learn how to be the pet in pet dog. Along with training, dogs need a suitable outlet for their natural propensities at being the breed they are or the mixture of breeds. Play time is very important to engage a dog’s mind and physical energy.
My particular needs in my own personal dogs is an instinct to retreive. There is nothing I like better at the end of the day, or any time of the day frankly, than to take a dog outside to play a round of fetch. Being I have 7 dogs, I’ve got quite a variety of dogs with the fetching instinct. But for 2 of them, they all would also enjoy the game of retrieve with a ball or other mouth-worthy fetch toy just for fun.
Though I’ve taught all 7 of my dogs to retrieve, when playing a game of fetch, the 2 who aren’t naturals would 1) take the fetch toy and run so we would chase him; and 2) watch the toy fly by, wag tail, and resume chasing lizards.
We can’t make a dog love fetch as if it were a talent that can’t be ignored. We can only train that kind of dog to do the deed for an external food reward. The dog who’s intrinsically rewarded by the fetching behavior itself is the dog who is a natural.
I’ve taught dogs to use a ball tossing machine on cue, but the point was the dog would play the game on cue, but when I walked away from the machine, wouldn’t engage in the game with the machine. It was a bonding time to play the game with me, the human. Training anything through humane-based dog training is always bonding time. And so is a good game of fetch with dogs who naturally love the game. If you want a natural retriever who you can play fetch with, choose your pet dog wisely.
In honor of the holidays, I loaded up on a favored brand of sturdy, rubber fetch toys to last the year, or hopefully longer. These are Goughnuts, which started out with a sturdy donut shaped toy, but has since expanded into other types, such as awesome bouncing balls, large solid sticks and medium solid sticks.
Whenever I bring home a new toy, I wash them completely in soap and water and towel them off before I let my dogs put them in their mouths. It’s the sanitary thing to do, especially when toys have been everywhere from factories to wholesalers to retailers. After the cleansing, we have a good time playing fetch with our new toys. I say “our” because I enjoy the toys as much as my dogs do. (Sometimes I take one outside by myself to bounce. It’s just fun!)
As for the dogs who don’t do fetching or catching, they still can have fun with toys, especially when there is friendly competition. My Aussie, Dudley, is the one who grabs a fetch toy and runs with it. He loves to be chased. He’s a great little athlete too, with smarts for figuring things out and a heap of sticktoitiveness as can be seen in this video.
Most importantly, have fun with your dogs when you play. Games you play with your dog last a lifetime. The little gray-faced Golden Retriever mix, Annie, at the start of the video above is 14 years old, and she still can be persuaded to play.
To send your dog to the Love Wags A Tail board-and-train camp for motivational learning with our cast of characters, contact us with your dog training, behavior modification wish list to get started.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
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Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
AKC STAR Puppy, CGC, and Trick Dog Trainer and Evaluator
Your Board-and-Train Dog Trainer for south and southwest Florida, Southwest Ranches, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Broward, Naples, Collier, Fort Myers, Lee county
