Bert doesn't have much endurance. He's good for a dozen or so ball retrieves but then will lose interest. I use different toys, some get more enthusiasm than others ,which i expect in normal. The warmer weather doesn't help , being a black-lab. He looks to roll on the grass and cool off. He's a small guy, as he was neutered at 3months . The only other thing i can think of is worms. He's scheduled for a Rx dose in august. He's healthy and lean as far as i can tell. He gets 5 cups of kibble , plus treats. How's your lab compare at 1 year ?
Re: Slacker 13 month old Some labs don't enjoy retrieving, others are retrieving obsessed (mine is the latter). Harley is now 21 months old and doesn't stop running when we are in the garden or on a walk Does he have long walks each day? Does he run a lot or just potter around? If you think he might have worms I wouldn't wait until August for his next dose, I would see a vet asap.
Re: Slacker 13 month old Charlie is completely obsessed by retrieving to an unhealthy level - it's dangerous and difficult to control, he has very little steadiness and walking him through a park with moving things (footballs, tennis balls, frisbees, tennis courts) is a bit of a nightmare. He will swim out to sea searching for a pebble if someone throws one in the sea. : I personally do not believe that this is part of his breeding or something he was born with (he is a show line lab) I think I inadvertently created it when he was a puppy and the result is pretty much undesirable and unbalanced. I think that the good news from this though is you can train your dog to enjoy retrieving more than he does now, lots of helpful articles on the main site and totally gundogs will help with that. In terms of general activity level - how much stimulating activities does he get, day to day? What is his general routine - eg is he on lead a lot? What other games does he get to play?
Re: Slacker 13 month old Pongo doesn't 'get' retrieving at all! He'll run after a ball maybe three times, then clearly decides that if I want to get rid of it that badly then I should be allowed to. The only way to keep him a little more interested is to have two balls.... he gets one, then I make a sprint towards where this other one is lying, and he'll race me to it. He can't pick it up because he already has one in his mouth.... so he drops that one and runs away with the other. Then I make as though I'm going to 'steal' it again, or I'll kick it away, and he'll chase it.... and so on. But even this game only holds his attention for a couple of minutes. It's not that he's lazy - he loves running crazily around the garden, grabbing sticks, sniffing everything.... he just doesn't see the point in games with balls!
Re: Slacker 13 month old I think it's important to remember that - to the dog - retrieving is only a game. So, if that one doesn't work, try others....
Re: Slacker 13 month old I think the questions here are 'Why do you want your dog to retrieve?' and 'If you do want your dog to retrieve, what incentives are you providing?' Some dogs are retrieving obsessed. For these dogs, the game itself is the reward- they just love running after a toy and bringing it back, time after time. Quite a few Collies are like this, but far from all Labradors are similar. A lot of Labradors prefer sniffing around and eating! I have a tiny (22kg) lab from working lines who is now nearly 2 years old. I taught her a structured retrieve, and she now loves to do this. BUT she doesn't obsess over retrieve articles, and doesn't carry things around on walks for the sake of it. I rarely use balls with her, and she doesn't see them as anything special. On a walk, I'll drop a toy on the path and keep walking, maybe up to 100m or so. She'll glance at where I've dropped it, and carry on doing her own thing. But when I call her to me and send her out, she shoots off as fast as she can, and shoots back with the toy just as fast. For her trouble she gets a tiny piece of sausage. I've never been able to do this enough times for her to lose interest. For her, it's not about the object, but she loves running and loves the positive feedback from me. We do this on walks as otherwise she has a tendency to find her own fun, which is not always appropriate ;D ;D So have a think what your overall goal is here, and how retrieving fits into it Edited to add: By the way, 12 retrieves one after the other is quite a lot, particularly if you're repeating the same exercise with no changes. Not unexpected to have a dog lose interest at that point, I'd say
Re: Slacker 13 month old My Molly thinks variety is the spice of life (AKA butterfly brain!) So when we're out we do a range of different things. These include a bit of formal retrieving with dummies (when she's not allowed to run in), tug games, catching a soft squeaky ball tossed to her, a bit of off-lead heel, and (her favourite) plastic bottle to be thrown and chased. Since I adopted this approach last autumn, her formal retrieving has improved as has her general level of obedience. I guess this is partly age but also because I'm fun to be with! So I'd say, try something new.
Re: Slacker 13 month old I think we have to bear in mind that, whilst all the same breed , they are also different in many ways . My last Lab was not remotely interested in retrieving , or games of any type , she just enjoyed walks where lots of sniffing was involved . Sam, on the other hand, who is a monster of a dog at 38 kilos , is passionate about the whole retrieving game and would literally go all day . I say game because that's what it is to him , we don't work as such but he adores the training , we make it fun .
Re: Slacker 13 month old [quote author=Rosie link=topic=10800.msg160793#msg160793 date=1430593344] e only way to keep him a little more interested is to have two balls.... he gets one, then I make a sprint towards where this other one is lying, and he'll race me to it. He can't pick it up because he already has one in his mouth.... so he drops that one and runs away with the other. [/quote] Come on, Pongo, you're not trying hard enough! Even Willow can manage two balls at a time. I reckon with your mouth, you should be able to manage at least three!! ;D
Re: Slacker 13 month old [quote author=snowbunny link=topic=10800.msg161193#msg161193 date=1430809179] [quote author=Rosie link=topic=10800.msg160793#msg160793 date=1430593344] e only way to keep him a little more interested is to have two balls.... he gets one, then I make a sprint towards where this other one is lying, and he'll race me to it. He can't pick it up because he already has one in his mouth.... so he drops that one and runs away with the other. [/quote] Come on, Pongo, you're not trying hard enough! Even Willow can manage two balls at a time. I reckon with your mouth, you should be able to manage at least three!! ;D [/quote] But why? What's the point? If she is so determined to throw the pesky things away, why should I carry them for her?
Re: Slacker 13 month old Haha!! My two have very different motivation for the ball. It's interesting to read in Clicker Gundog that Helen Phillips has the same difference in her own dogs. Willow simply wants to possess the ball - ALL THE BALLS! - and, once she has it (them), isn't fussed with having it (them) thrown again, she's more than happy to just carry it (them) around in her mouth. For Shadow, though, it's all about the chase. He'll bring it back and spit it out for it to be thrown again immediately. If that doesn't happen, he finds a hill and drops it at the top so he gets to chase it again
