Would you like your dog to learn to properly fetch when you command or to retrieve your morning paper without tearing it up? The process is rather simple but has several steps.

1. The dog will approach the item that you want him to fetch.
2. Lift the item up with its mouth.
3. Hold the item in place without dropping it.
4. Carry the item back to you.
5. Lastly, drop the item in front of you.

Some dogs, if not most, already know how to retrieve on their own. Others will require a lot more patience. Several factors are involved such as the dog’s breed and how many ‘prey dive’ behaviors exist in its genes.

If your dog is having trouble to retrieve on command then you may want to try the following trick:

Each day, start your retrieving sessions off when the dog is hungry before a meal. Offer your dog some food on a spoon, like peanut butter (dog’s love peanut butter), and as the he goes to grab it with its mouth – should the command “Get it!” or “Take it!”. Once this has been done enough times for the dog to retrieve the food on command, then introduce the object that you would for the dog to retrieve in place of the food.

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