Have just an really interesting article, although titled "The trouble with Fetch" does touch on an area of dog behaviour which I am interested in...namely the effect of stress on our dogs. https://thecognitivecanine.com/2017/05/24/the-trouble-with-fetch/
Very interesting and thought provoking article Kate. Hattie & Charlie don't do much fetching at all but they do have a lot of off lead exercise with time running through the woods and fields. Maybe that suits them more than I thought, I know it suits me perfectly, less stress all round x
Yes, interesting. Stress is a subtle thing, isn't it? Pongo has just had a week in kennels. It is a really good kennels - huge quarters for the dogs, very well staffed, very conscientious dog-handlers, and the dogs get two exercise walks every day, in a big field and playing whatever suits each dog. Pongo likes spending a day or a couple of days there. But after a full week, he is exhausted. Three days since we picked him up, and he still looks knackered (although loving being home and doing lots of bumtuck runs round the garden). And, even more strangely, they told me that towards the end of his week he actually showed signs of aggression (!) to a handler who was tugging on his lead. The kennels staff were as puzzled as me, because it is so obviously out of character, and we could only put it down to high stress levels. They moved him to another pen that was less exposed to comings and goings (and didn't face other pens) and they said he seemed happier. I think this is a good example of learning the stressors for your dog - Pongo loves other dogs (and LOVES his Severnside Walkies pack pals), but it seems that constant exposure every day to others just gets him too wired. Possibly not surprising, since in his normal life we probably only see other dogs once every couple of days or so. All our exercise is free running through woods and fields, occasionally meeting other dogs but not frequently, and for Pongo it is all about the sniffing - he is a walking nose. He doesn't understand the concept of "fetch" - and he had to be taught how to play with a ball by Harley!
Glad Pongo is home and happy. Maybe the handler was tugging very hard on his lead quite unnecessarily, serves her right Will you kennel him there again @Rosie? x
Yes, I think so. I do trust them, they are very professional and I believe that they know what they are doing and love the dogs. He is happy to go there, and they seem fond of him; very attentive and keen to discuss and respond to each dog's individual needs and personality. So I don't think there was really any fault on their part - at worst perhaps an inexperienced staff member. Pongo pulls like a train on-lead, so I have some sympathy. They also have a good protocol for what to do (so, for example, if a dog is being unpredictable in any way they still provide the same level of attention / exercise but they double-up on handlers - so the dog doesn't miss out, but there is both support and potentially supervision for any inexperienced staff). I think that's impressive and again gives me confidence that it is a professional set-up that aims to get things right for dog and owner. And finally, they shared the information with me in a way that said "we need to let you know this happened but we're not suggesting that Pongo himself is a problem, it is just something we need to be aware of and next time we'll make sure he has a quieter pen rather than being in the midst of the other noisy guests" (rather than "oh, you have a problem dog here, we're not sure we want to look after him any more"). So overall I'm still very happy with them. And they are only a mile from our front door, too, so Pongo can probably still smell his familiar territory across the fields!
Sounds like Pongo was a little anxious but they dealt with it appropriately and discussed it with you which is good. Glad you're back Pongo xx
I must confess: I hate playing fetch with a dog. Really, really hate it. So this article makes me happy. Seriously, this has been a major point in researching Labs as the breed for me. Nearly every Lab person or breeder I've met, I've asked the same question: if I get a Lab, will my dog be unhappy because I don't want to play fetch? I've gotten some interesting answers and alternatives to fetch that fulfil that need to retrieve in a Lab. Alternatives that, happily, I can live with. Does anybody else not like throwing stuff for their dog? I do feel kind of weird, because when I mention how much I do not like playing fetch, I get the strangest looks. I like walking, hiking, agility, obedience, tug of war, doggie dancing, cuddling...just about everything else you can do with a dog, but give me a ball or toy to toss and have brought back to me over and over and over, and I kind of want to gouge my eyes out after about 3 minutes.
Tatze doesn't like 'fetch' or any kind of retreiving - she'll bring it back once, maybe twice then ' if you really want it back then get it yourself' I dislike walks with my niece's dog, Bryan, as he's so obsessed with the ball he doesn't enjoy the walk. In fact - you may as well stay in one spot and continuously throw the ball .
Thing is we were told that playing fetch can help to keep your dog engaged but very difficult if you don't have a dog that likes to Just think of all the bending down we can avoid now! There is a man in our village that has two Springer Spaniels and if he doesn't have time to walk them he sits in his garden with a ball chucker and continually throws the ball until their tongues are hanging out and panting heavily. I have walked with him once, never again it was too difficult and not not enjoyable at all. x
@Emily_BabbelHund I absolutely hate playing fetch too, luckily for me it's not something Mabel has ever played. We do play all sorts of games to keep her engaged which we both really enjoy they tend to involve Mabel sniffing Thanks for sharing the article @Beanwood, this has got me thinking .
We do tend to mix up ball walks on the common and non ball walks along the path unless he chooses otherwise. If we go on a walk without a ball Homer will hunt one out of the undergrowth and find entice anyone who takes his fancy to play with him. He'll stalk them from behind them take his opportunity to run round and drop the ball right at their feet until they pick it up or kick it for him. I've learnt to judge possible dog friendly people from behind hand call him back if they are smartly dressed or look grumpy. Invariably he gets them to play with him.
Harley loves her ball, but isn't necessary interested in it being thrown. She will run around with the ball in her mouth and is happy for other dogs to take her ball and she follows them. She may come back to get me to throw the ball about 5-10 times over 60-90 minute walk, but often just carries it. Her favourite walks are in wooded areas.
@Beanwood thanks for the link, an interesting read, seems to me like well balanced common sense, old fashioned as I am. I like the comment at the end regarding our responsibilities and what our dogs have been bred for. @Emily_BabbelHund , I don't think it matters at all if you don't want to play fetch, Cassie doesn't either! It's ironic that I wanted to do gundog training with her so that she would be able to use her retrieving instinct -- which she turns out not to have much of! Sometimes she'll fetch a ball in the house, but outside it's like whatever did you do that for? Decompression walks -- you can't beat them in my opinion. Me and Cass can do that to our hearts content. Just lately she has been picking up scents in our local woods and I love to see her doing that, she is quite good so far at returning to me even then. Her recall is better then than if we are just ambling along. She always seems satisfied afterwards.
Gosh, I read this with interest. Fetch is one of the games I use to keep Coco engaged with me in the wood. He gets a certain number of fetches at specific locations. He does appear to enjoy it. I take the chuck it in the woods with us. He watches out for the designated spots where we play. I never exceed the number of throws I have set. I'm a bit anal about counting them, and they're different for each spot He also gets 10 fetches at the end of a lead walk, or if the tide is in, 5 ball chucks, 5 swims and 5 ball chucks. I learned this week that he won't do it to exhaustion - it was a bit too warm and he ran after the ball at a 6-throw spot, but decided not to bring it back after throw number 2, and sniffed around instead. I tried another throw & he did the same thing. I took the hint and we walked on. But when we got to our next spot, he was angling for the ball again. I obliged, but less throws than normal (really putting my OCD on edge!). I really hope I'm not stressing him as this game is working so well for us.
@Emily_BabbelHund Stanley is really not a fan of fetch. I've eventually trained him to do it but I think it's more "I'll bring this ball back because I want some chicken" rather than he really wants to play. I don't think it would bother him if I never threw the ball again - he just likes to carry it around and show everyone we walk past his prize Tuggy or chase he would play for hours on end though and he's snuggle central so I think you'll be a perfect lab owner
Me too so when you going to get one Emily? I through a ball sometimes in a very limited way. Im careful no too much and take the ground conditions into consideration One game mine love is walking through a wooded area and me hiding balls for them to find. Rory loves it. I liked the article there's nothing more relaxing than a great walk with my dogs.
What I've loved is finding my dog's "thing", and it turns out that it's soccer. And apparently I really enjoy kicking balls for her and doing a very amateur dribble around the garden. I can't reasonably bring a soccer ball with us on walks so I think it's a good balance - decompression walks in public, and dog soccer at home.
