How Not to Play Fetch with Your Dog: Mistakes More Than Half of Dog Owners Make
Perhaps every owner loves to play with their pet. But have you ever thought about how to do it right?
Due to erroneous actions during the game, the animal's character may deteriorate, and the pet will learn to manipulate a person.
Let's talk about the most common game with a dog called "Fetch".
Its benefit is to teach the dog to catch, hold, carry and give the object to the owner. Almost any toys are suitable for this: balls, frisbees, sticks and others.
What can be wrong in the game? The mistake is if you allow the animal to take over the initiative: not to give up the toy, snatch it from your hands and carry it away, misbehave so that you quickly throw the desired object, that is, whine, bark or pounce, and so on.
As soon as you notice that the dog has imposed its rules on you and has started to manipulate, you should immediately stop the game.
It would be right if you let your pet clearly understand: the owner determines the moment of the throw, and his task is to catch, bring and give the toy.
If the dog follows the rules, he should be praised.
To make the game more challenging, use commands that are not related to entertainment – sit, lie down, give paw, etc. This way, the animal’s attention will be focused on the commands, and you will be able to teach it to give priority to them.
To reward your pet for successfully completing a command, throw the toy again.
