2.5 years lab normally good retrieves sometimes picks up a stick in favour of ball retrieve, and runs off with stick. Any suggestions?
Could be a number of reasons, 1. The ball isn't very exciting..2. Sometimes lack of confidence, due to the game/other dogs around...etc ...3. He knows you are going to take the ball of him and a game of "chase the stick" becomes more exciting! I am not really an expert in this field, so hopefully others will give better advice. With my younger dog Bramble, I am working on building on retrieving games, using toys that she can fetch..and play tuggy with. With a "tuggy" game I let her win, so she is happy that I will let her keep her toys and not always be taking things she values away. Another way to help with bringing things back is building up excitement and interest very gradually. I used squeaky toys to start off with, and keep games short. Sometimes using a toy/ball with a squeaker helps. Indeed I started building drive in my nearly 3 year old using kong squeaker balls. Finally, use two identical balls, or toys,( I love the contrasting black/white balls you can buy from various places, they are soft and larger than a tennis ball). Throw one in one direction..then when the dog runs towards you...blow the whistle, and then throw the other one in the opposite direction.
