How to Train Your Dog to Find Golf Balls

Hello Marcriv, I suggest looking into a Vizsla. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizsla Either way look for a sporting breed that can handle retrievals even if it is not specifically a retriever. A Vizsla fits all of your criteria, but dogs that would also be worth considering are: Nova Soctia Duck Tolling Retriever Miniature Poodle (from a line with good hunting instinct still) English Springer Spaniel Brittany Spaniel Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

March 25, 2019

Hello Mark, Whether or not your dog can be trained to watch and locate your ball on the course will depend a lot on your dog. Locating a golf ball on a course is a lot like regular fetch and duck hunting combined, but harder because of the size of the ball and the distance. Duck hunting dogs have to be able to mark where a bird falls, often even in water, and then use their nose to locate the bird when they get close to the general area that they remember seeing the bird fall in. Sometimes those birds even drift in the water, a lot like a ball rolling further on a course after landing. Because golf balls are much smaller than a duck and go much further than a regular tennis ball during a fetch game, your dog will need exceptional vision, focus, and memory. Many of these natural skills can be improved upon with practice though, and in fact will have to be improved for your dog to succeed. Duck hunting dogs learn how to mark where a bird falls by practicing. If I were you, I would start by adding scent to your balls, something that is very strong to your dog. It does not have to be something that bothers you, but it will need to be something that your dog can use to locate your ball when he gets close. It will also need to be something that he will not smell on the golf course somewhere else, so that he will not be confused. Teach him to locate items with this smell around your home first. When he can locate something by that scent, then teach him how to alert you when he finds it, but not to pick it up. You can teach him to alert you by commanding him to do something like "Speak", "Sit", "Down", "Stand", or another similar responds, whenever he finds the the golf ball during practice. When he alerts you by doing something like sitting, then praise him and rewarding him. To teach your dog to find something by scent check out these articles: https://wagwalking.com/training/search-and-rescue-1 https://wagwalking.com/training/detect-drugs https://wagwalking.com/training/find-by-scent After you have taught him how to locate the ball by scent, and you have taught him to alert you when he finds it, then work on teaching him how to mark the ball's location, similar to the way you would train a hunting dog to mark a falling bird's location. You will need to start with small distances first, and gradually work up to larger distances. Expect this to take a lot of time. Bird hunting dogs do not learn how to hunt overnight. Depending on what type of dog you get, your dog might naturally be good at this, but it will be a difficult skill for some dog's to learn. More visual breeds, such as Sight Hounds, Retrievers, and Herding breeds will be able to learn this more easily than certain breeds. At the same time your dog will also need a decent nose, so something like a Retriever, mix of these breeds, or herding breed may have an easier time than some dogs. To teach him how to mark, go somewhere with lots of open space, and practice throwing the scented ball into the air. Start by throwing the ball only a couple of feet away, and as soon as your dog goes over to it, praise him and reward him. Once he learns that he will be rewarded every time that he goes to the ball, then begin to tell him "Find ball" as he walks toward the ball. The will later become his command to communicate to him what he should do on the golf course. As he improves, gradually throw the ball further and further, practicing at each distance until he has mastered finding the ball at that distance. Do this until your dog can find the ball when you drive the ball. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Feb. 18, 2018