Training Questions

SarahSassy

My pup is a retreiver and he is very good at retreiving However, he is slow to drop the ball, toy etc when he brings it back to me and he tries to get into a tug of war with me. I want to teach him just to drop it - how can I do this?

Also, how much exercise (time running round the house etc) should a 14 week old Lab have?

TrapperChamonix

SarahSassy wrote: »

My pup is a retreiver and he is very good at retreiving However, he is slow to drop the ball, toy etc when he brings it back to me and he tries to get into a tug of war with me. I want to teach him just to drop it - how can I do this?

Also, how much exercise (time running round the house etc) should a 14 week old Lab have?

I've somewhat of the opposite problem, if he brings anything back then he gives it up very quickly. My GR is 6 months old and the way I trained him to let go was

• when he comes back make him sit before you do anything else, it takes the energy out of it
• never get in the tug of war as thats way too much fun for him. What I did was hold the ball or rope he had in his mouth untill he let go, i never tried to force out of his mouth.
• Treats (small ones) when he lets go.
• If I was trying to get someout of his mouth in a hurry, say like a beer can he picked up on his walk, I'd push his head down towards the ground, gentle but firm and he would release

The problem I have is that he won't retrieve when we're outside, in the garden or park. He'll chase the ball, then sniff it and either run on or come back to me.

gypsygirl

When he retrieves the ball/toy, do not interact with him until he drops it, you will have to do this indoors at first, throw the ball and ignore him and the ball until he brings it to you, be really casual about it too, act as though you're bored with the game, he'll get the message pretty quickly. My rottie did and rotties are no match for retrievers in this game, Do NOT get into a tug of war with him, thats a whole other game. As for excercise, roughly 5 minutes per month of his life, ie, 3 months = 15 minutes, 6 months = 30 minutes, a little more or less won't do any harm, just don't over do it. Best of luck and most of all, Enjoy your puppy.

SarahSassy

I just cannot tire this fella out... He is mental today and yesterday - any ideas?

gypsygirl

I walk my pup with a friend and his dog, the dogs tire each other out

SarahSassy

He gets plenty of running round and people here have indicated 20 minutes (5 mins per month) - is that per day or per session?

andreac

Thats per day Sarah, he shouldnt be getting much more than that in total. You can break it into 2 sessions so 2 10/15 min walks at a time.

SarahSassy

well he is getting that at least from retreiving but is still mental.