[spookiesmom]

Frustrated does not begin to describe ME! I have never, ever had a dog like this.

Dogs like to play fetch, right? And will either bring it back to your hand, or drop the ball, toy, at your feet, close to you to throw again. Right?

Not Spookie.

She loves running after a toy, brings it towards me, then drops it anywhere from 10to 30 feet from me, lays down and whines and squeeks, wags the entire butt for me to throw it again.

I just tried tying a string on a toy so I could pull it over to me, thinking she might "get it". Nope.

Fetch would sure burn off this puppy energy, but I'm at a stand still here.

Any ideas?

 

[Matilda's mommy]

when Matilda was younger she use to do that with her ball, I just refused to go after it and would say I can't reach it, it took a couple days for her to catch on, but now she will drop it at my feet or if I put my hand down she will bring it right to me. Are you sure you want to play ball with her Matilda never stops:w00t::HistericalSmiley:

 

[spookiesmom]

My 2nd min Poodle was SO ball oriented when she died at 15 1/2, her canines were worn to nubs.

I've tried the I can't reach it, cause I really can't!

 

[Matilda's mommy]

just keep saying it to her, she'll catch on, they have us trained soooo well:HistericalSmiley:

 

[CrystalAndZoe]

lol...she really does have you trained well! Seems to me if you tried the "I can't reach it" approach and the game stops, this would not be so frustrating. I'm guessing you give in due to her cuteness level and she still gets to play fetch 'her way'. All of mine do this to a degree. They will bring the toy back to me once or twice but then they start to no longer bring it all the way back. No biggie. I figure the game is over when they stop bringing it to me. Some dogs just aren't that into fetch. If she is food motivated, maybe try a treat dispensing toy to help with that puppy energy. Mental stimulation is just as exhausting as physical exercise for our fluffs. There's a video of my Callie with a Nina Ottoson Cat Pyramid Toy in this thread.

http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/73-...nt-tell-but-callies-favorite-toy-cat-toy.html

Do you do positive reinforcement training like clicker training? That is exhausting to them and builds such a great bond between you and your baby. I did that with Zoe but I do have to admit that now with 3, the youngest one doesn't seem to get nearly the same amount of training as my first one did. :blush:

 

[maltlovereileen]

Maybe you could try keeping a little bag of treats by you...she gets one when she brings the ball ALLLL the way back to you...

 

[allheart]

Oh try and not get frustrated. My sweet Kara (RIP) loved to play bally with me. Buuuut I had to chase her, and I did, and we had a blast. Mia and Leo really are the only malts that bring their toys back to me to throw so they can run and catch. As a matter of fact, that is how I taught them to sit and stay. I wouldn't throw the toy until until they sat, stayed and waited.

Probably not the right thing I did with Kara, chasing her, but she loved it so much, it was just her way of playing.

Hang in there.

 

[jmm]

Not stubborn...smart. She trained you to do it!
You can try trading the toy for a cookie and putting that on cue. So toss the toy a foot away, offer the cookie, "good bring" as you trade. Once she is getting it, extend the toss further and further. Eventually the reward is switched to throwing the toy.

 

[Snowbody]

Frustrated does not begin to describe ME! I have never, ever had a dog like this.

Dogs like to play fetch, right? And will either bring it back to your hand, or drop the ball, toy, at your feet, close to you to throw again. Right?

Not Spookie.

She loves running after a toy, brings it towards me, then drops it anywhere from 10to 30 feet from me, lays down and whines and squeeks, wags the entire butt for me to throw it again.

I just tried tying a string on a toy so I could pull it over to me, thinking she might "get it". Nope.

Fetch would sure burn off this puppy energy, but I'm at a stand still here.

Any ideas?

Barb - Spookie wants you to burn off some of that human energy :HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley: What a thoughtful pup. LOL.
I've been working on tyler bringing his toy and dropping it. I had some treats to reward the drop it behavior and he seems to be getting it. I really wanted him learning to drop it in case he gets anything in his mouth he shouldn't and it's been working lately with his tissue treasures. He's giving them up for the treat They really do know how to train us sooo well.

 

[sadiesmom]

That is HER game and she doesn't know better. Hang in there and like the earlier post.."are you sure you want to do this" because it becomes a neverending game. Sadie wants you to throw it and then she teases you by bringing it near but never really lets go, when she sees that i won't play like that, she eventually will drop it right by me and then the game is on....again....again.....again

 

[volito]

Awesome
Just to comment on the fetch. Positive reinforcement will always work as a few post above mentioned TREATS. You can also try two balls throw one and then show your having fun with second ball and she will drop first. Then throw ball two and get ready with ball one again.