How to Train your Australian Shepherd to Fetch
Apart from the usual jump, sit, stand and stay commands you can also teach your Australian Shepherd another interesting command and that is to go and fetch something you throw. Playing fetch with your dog not only gets him his daily dose of exercise but even you will have a lot of fun.
Teaching your Australian Shepherd is simple but what you would need is a lot of patience. So if you’re wondering how exactly you can teach your Australian Shepherd to fetch below I have provided a few steps that will help you out. Just follow the below steps and soon you would be playing fetch with your dog.
The first and foremost step is to start early but not too early also. When you start training your dog early you will find out that it is much easier and quicker. Once he grows up it won’t be easy if not impossible.
Now choose a toy your dog likes. Choosing anything won’t help because dogs can often be choosy about they would like to play with. Some dogs prefer a tennis ball and some a Frisbee.
I would suggest you use a squeaky ball because that would make it easier to grab their attention. Just make sure you use something that is neither to small so that your dog does not swallow it and neither too big to fit in the mouth.
Once you have made the choice the next step is to grab the attention of your dog. Call out his name or throw the ball or toy at him to get his attention.
Once you have his attention, throw the ball away and ask your dog to go and fetch. If your dog goes and fetches well and good if not then you will have to work a little harder. What you can do is play a little tug of war game with him, snatch it away from him and then throw it away. If even that does not work try throwing away something he loves eating like a biscuit or some chewing bone. One of these methods will definitely work.
Well once your dog starts to run to fetch he may bring it back and give it to you. But some dogs tend not to do so in fact they either keep it with themselves or tend to run around with it. To tackle this you can use another toy or probably something he loves eating as bait. Another problem you may face is your dog maybe to slow to bring it back. In that case you can try running away from him.
Once your dog fetches the ball and brings it to you tell him to drop it and reward him and praise him. This would encourage him and he would go and fetch it again.
Repeat this exercise for 5-6 times each time you train him. When you begin I would recommend you to keep these sessions short and once your dog seems to get a hang of it you can raise the time and the number times you throw the ball. But don’t overdo it. Also remember to stick to the routine, don’t confuse your dog.
See Also :
Australian Shepherd Training Tips
How to Teach your Australian Shepherd to Jump
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