As with any kind of dog training, your best result is always going to be a function of your dog's desire to please. Dogs are one of the few animals in this world that have the unique ability to display total and unconditional love and it is this characteristic that makes it possible to train them. Your dog will want to please you.

When it comes to teaching retrieval, the best results are achieved by making it a fun game.

If you throw a stick or object without doing this, your dog will probably look at you as if you are stupid and go about its business as if nothing happened - 'you threw the stick, get it yourself' is the likely thought process. If however you develop an attachment to a toy, say a ball your dog is still unlikely to race off and retrieve it the first time you throw it, there are a few steps or triggers needed to develop the retrieval game.

I trained out latest puppy to retrieve; she is now a compulsive retriever, which is a little unusual for the breed she is a miniature Chihuahua! Her name is Willow.

I started out with the usual puppy games but her favourite was (and still is) tug-o-war. I purchased a puppy toy that was a ball on string and this made the tug-o-war a little more vigorous because I could roll the ball across the ground and Willow would chase it. The praise was long and vigorous when she managed to catch it, and so the seeds of retrieval were planted.

In time, when Willow came around looking for a game, I would fire her up with "well where is it?" and lead her to her toy. At first, I would pick it up and we had the tug-o-war back to wherever I was when we started. After a while, Willow got the idea and would pick it up without any prompting. From here, the "where is it?" question soon began to prompt scampering around searching for where she last remembered having her favourite toy. Willow is a little strange and sometimes hides things away, but she usually remembers where her little stashes are without much trouble.

The next stage was to let her win by releasing my end. After she savagely killed' her prize, I changed to "bring it here" as Willow was doing this anyway. As soon as she reached me, the praise was a vital element of encouragement. Her tail was usually wagging vigorously enough to stir up an omelette! The gradual transformation to retrieval was achieved by introducing new elements to her favourite game and sometimes I used different objects, such as an old sock. Tossing a very short distance further developed the game and once this stage was reached, it was time for a new toy.

Given her size, a tennis ball was not likely to succeed it would be the equivalent in size as a bowling ball to most other dogs. I was able to find mini-tennis balls that were absolutely perfect but it was not as simple as tossing them and expecting Willow to bring them straight back. Having established the tug-o-war routines and small retrievals, the next step was to introduce the new balls as toys. Tug-o-war became a little more close contact but the trick was to make the game fun enough that Willow started looking for the balls at game time. Small rolls became longer and she started chasing the ball down in a relatively short time. Actually, she behaved more like a kitten batting it around with her front paws but once she cornered the ball, she got the idea and bought it back. We now have our retriever.

We started with a game of tug-o-war and developed it into a game of retrieval that is now one of her favourite activities. The process of training any dog must be fun for the dog. Make it full of love and praise so your dog knows what is going to please you. Don't try for results too soon, build up to it and you will succeed.

Learn more about this author, Ian Loft.
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