Some dogs are obsessed with balls. They can chase a ball for hours and hours. Drop the ball for a drink of water, then walk around or lie down with the ball in their mouth and wait for someone to play fetch. One of Jake’s Dog House’s favorite balls is made by Orbee. The Planet Dog virtually indestructible ball is made from 100-Percent recycled material … Reuse, Reduce, REWOOF!
Some dogs will look at the ball as it rolls by with little or no interest. They will look and see who threw the ball and hope they don’t do it again. A bouncing ball can be disturbing, if you’re not in the mood!
For many dogs, fetch is an instinctual trick. A dog owner throws a ball or dog toy and your dog will return it and do all over again. Herding dogs and retrievers tend to enjoy fetching a ball and many are also quite talented in catching a Frisbee as well. Actually the correct name is Disc Dogs.
The Border Collie and German Shorthaired Pointer are two of the best Disc dogs. They have a sharp alertness that helps to estimate the path of the Frisbee. Disc Dogs are skilled with the physical agility to easily jump to catch a Frisbee in mid air.
A dog doesn’t have to be a pure bred or come from a line of disc dogs to be an accomplished disc dog. Many mixed breeds, dogs from animal shelters and rescue groups have been trained to be World Champion disc dogs. In many cases, dogs have overcome abandonment, aggression and various trauma issues via their disc training.
Steps to training a dog to play fetch can be a dog owner/dog bonding experience. Begin by throwing a ball or favorite dog toy and running with your dog to retrieve it. Sometimes dogs need a little extra coaxing. Putting a dog treat inside the ball adds a little incentive to fetch the ball. When your dog picks up the ball take the dog treat out of the slit and reward your dog with the treat, words of praise and a belly rub.
Using a Frisbee as a food and/or water bowl is a subtle way of making your dog comfortable with a disc. Begin throwing the Frisbee in the air next to your dog. Do not reward your dog with a treat unless the disc is caught in the air. Fetch is retrieving an object from the ground, catching a Frisbee in the air requires different training and rewarding.
Dog training, whether fetch or disc training requires trust. Never throw a ball or disc directly at your dog. Playing ball and Frisbee is great exercise and skill training for dogs. It also brings dogs and their owners closer together through lots of attention, praise and treats.
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