Dumbbell training teaches your dog to retrieve any object you might need. Dumbbells are awkward for a dog to hold in their mouths. Some dogs’ instinct might be to pick a dumbbell up from one side causing the other end, which is as heavy, to fall out of their mouths. Other dogs might be inclined to chew on a dumbbell as a chew toy and be hesitant to bring the dumbbell to you. Teaching your dog to hold the dumbbell properly in his mouth and not mouth it or chew on it is the first step. Once your dog has this down, you can teach him to retrieve any shaped object by starting with dumbbell retrieval first.
You will need a few items at the ready for training.
I have just introduced the dumbbell to my silky terrier and already he is holding correctly and retrieving it on command and bringing it back to me, however he is dropping it about 10 cms away from my feet and I think for trialling competition purposes he is meant to bring all the way and I take from his mouth? How do I encourage him to bring it all the way and allow me to take it from his mouth? He is quite smart and has amazed me that he has learnt the dumbbell retrieval in about 10 mins of training. I have also hidden it all around the house and asked him to find it and he brings it back every time with a sit in front of me.
Hello Jenny, It sounds like he is doing great. Check out the article I have linked below. Specifically check out the sections on Come and trouble shooting. I would use either a long training leash or check cord that drags behind pup that you can pick up and reel pup in with, or when pup starts to drop it, run toward pup a little to get their attention and close the distance then quickly backup to get pup to chase you back to the original spot you called from before they drop it. You could also teach the Hold command, which is included in the article below as well. Fetching article: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-to-fetch/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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Jessie will not even open her mouth to hold the dumbell. How can I help her do this. She shows no interest in it.
Hello Betty, Start with something similar to a dumbbell that's easier for her to hold- like a rubber toy that shaped similarly. Tell her to "Hold" and dab a little peanut butter on it. Let her lick the peanut butter for a second, then gently put the tasty toy into her mouth and then take it back out again (it should have a little peanut butter on it when you do this so that it will taste good). Repeat this until she willingly opens her mouth for the toy because of the peanut butter taste. When you can tell her to "Hold" and offer her the toy and she will open her mouth on her own, then transition to the dumbbell and practice the same training with the dumbbell instead- putting peanut butter on that at first also. Practice with the Peanut Butter and the "Hold" command with the dumbbell until she will open her mouth and take the dumbbell even without the peanut butter. When she gets to that point in the training, you can transition to what you want to teach her next. Make sure any Peanut butter that you choose does NOT contain Xylitol - it's extremely toxic to dogs. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Here I don’t find Peanut Butter: may I use “ ham or liver pate?
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