How to Teach a Dog to Fetch the Ball

Among the basic education or training exercises we can do with our dog is teaching them to fetch the ball and drop it when we ask, so we can throw it for them again if we want.

Teaching a dog to fetch the ball is genuinely simple, but teaching them to bring it and drop it into our hand is another story altogether. Let's explain how we should teach our dog this simple trick.

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Associating and Commanding Them to Drop the Ball

Even before teaching them to go fetch the ball, it's a good idea to show them the ball and let them play with it for a while. It goes without saying the balls should be good quality, since otherwise they'll tear them apart quickly and possibly swallow bits of it (something highly inadvisable).

Once our dog is familiar with the ball, we should give it to them to hold in their mouth and praise them. We'll then put our open hand next to their mouth so they drop the ball, and give the command "give it to me" or "drop it".

When they drop it we should praise them a lot and give them a reward, a dog biscuit or a piece of sausage — we need to use positive reinforcement so they associate dropping the ball on our command with something good that has a reward.

If the dog doesn't drop the ball, we shouldn't try to take it away, since then they'll understand that biting down hard is the right thing to do. We need to keep insisting, again and again, until they give us the ball, staying calm and very patient; if after around fifteen minutes they still won't give it to us, we can try bribing them with a little food, and praise them when they drop the ball.

Some dogs learn in a single day and others in two or three weeks; you just need a little patience and consistency, practising a bit every day.

Teaching the Dog to Fetch the Ball and Drop It on Command

Once we've mastered the previous step, it's time to put the throw-and-fetch game into practice. For this, it's best to go to an open field or dog park (preferably with no other dogs, so we can train ours without distractions).

We'll show our dog the ball and move it a little, teasing them to bite it but without letting them do so. We'll then throw it far and give the command "find it" or "get it".

Our dog doesn't think of it as a game but sees the ball as moving prey, so they'll run off towards it until they catch it. Once they do, we should call them and ask them to sit in front of us, give the command to drop the ball, and when they do, give them a reward and plenty of praise.

If the dog doesn't come back, we'll grab a second ball identical to the first, and once the dog has caught the first one, we'll call them and show them the second one. They'll come over to try to get that one too; when they do, we'll give the command to sit and drop the ball. If they do, we'll praise them and give them a reward.

We should throw the ball for them several times, but without overdoing it, leaving time between throws for them to rest and chew the ball a little, enjoying it. This game isn't meant to exercise our dog — it's for them to have fun for a while.

If we notice our dog showing white foam around their mouth, we should stop the game and give them a little water to cool down. The white foam is usually saliva, and giving them water gradually so it doesn't upset them will make it go away.

Tips

Rubber balls sold at very cheap prices are made of a very soft foam that breaks apart easily. We can buy fronton balls, which are hard, elastic rubber and almost unbreakable. They're affordable and will last a long time. We can also use small Kongs, with or without a rope, or any of their favourite toys. Don't use tennis balls, since they're toxic.